Mississippi Arts Commission: Who We Are

Summer 2008

As the summer of 2008 sits upon us like a wet blanket at a barbeque, the Legislature struggles in special session, the nation views presidential politics with keen eyes and the Arts Commission wraps up another historic round of grants and prepares to close the books on the state's Fiscal Year 2008.   

Yesterday I drove the dappled light of the Natchez Trace to attend a picnic and business planning session on the campus of historic Wood College in Mathison.  The setting was inspired by the bucolic outdoor chapel at the center of the handsome campus where a group of local arts supporters, business leaders, state historians and designers gathered to discuss the notion of arts being in the next chapter of the historic Wood College history.  There was time for a brief visit and catch up with Bill Andrews, our statewide coordinator of the third American Masterpieces initiative, Mississippi Gulf Coast Visual Masters, while in the Mississippi State University area.  Returning on the Trace, I had time for a driving tour of French Camp and visited the home of late “outsider” artist L.V. Hull in Kosciusko before arriving back in Jackson.  Finally, I had an early dinner at Basil’s in Belhaven before attending a fine performance of The Fantasticks at New Stage Theatre.  I describe this day to simply point out what rich and diverse arts culture we have here in Mississippi and to share what a day-in-the-life I am so blessed to have as your Director of MAC.

My best,

Malcolm

Summer 2007

First let me say thank you for taking the time to explore our website. If you have reached this space, you are one of 1.7 million visitors we proudly welcomed this year to our cyber world. I hope you find what you are looking for and much, much more. Please contact us if we have omitted or overlooked what information or answers you seek.

We are very excited to have this handsome and informative vehicle to further tell our story and help the user "drill" deeper into the Mississippi Arts Commissions mission, guidelines, programs, procedures and philosophy. It is easy to rely solely on this contemporary medium to state one's case and we work very hard to present a quality website for those who enjoy and are comfortable with this experience. However, we are also aware that not all seekers of information find the internet their sole source, and we too often fall prey to expecting all our constituents to be technologically savvy, properly outfitted and well versed in the navigation skills.

Being reminded of this possibility, I encourage the staff to never assume that everyone needing information should automatically be sent to our website. It is our honor to have you call, make an appointment for a visit or consultation, or just drop by our offices on the eleventh floor of the Woolfolk State Office Building in Jackson to say "hello."  I personally find this old fashioned form of fellowship refreshing, sobering and a tangible reminder that we are here to serve the citizens of Mississippi. With that said, while we are very proud of this website, we hope you never stop calling, writing, making an appointment or just stopping by to visit your arts commission.

Picasso said that all children are born artists, and that our problem is how to remain artistic as adults. And while it is not the goal of the Mississippi Arts Commission to return every adult to their artistic childhood, we are interested in creating an environment for presenting the arts to every Mississippian regardless of their age. We seek to offer a wide variety of programs and funding vehicles to reach the maximum number of our citizens. The cost of doing arts business, like the entire service sector, is going up. The number of people we could reach in the year 2000 cost much more today and our budget has dwindled steadily since that time. We need more resources to reach more people, but money isn't the panacea, but rather a facilitator of possibilities. As we approach the 2008 Legislative season, we will seek increased funding for the arts, we will lobby for more arts in education, more public dollars for public art, money to fund Mississippi's creative spirit and we promise transparent, accountable management of those valued funds.

School started this week and this is a good time to remind ourselves of the role of the arts in education. We at the Mississippi Arts Commission believe that teaching through the arts is an effective and lasting learning experience. We invite you to vist our Whole Schools Initiative website or come by personally and explore what we offer in Arts in Education programming and granting opportunities. We are fully focused on training teaching artist in collaboration with the Mississippi Alliance for Art Educators, The Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network and the Mississippi State Department of Education. Learn more about this innovative and exciting trend in teaching and learning.

As we trudge through these 100-106 degree dog days of summer, let's be very mindful of the opportunities before us, knowing that this too shall pass. Cooler days lie ahead and a brighter future through the arts is our goal.

My best,

Malcolm

Fall 2006

Time has played its tricks, and once again it is early autumn in Mississippi; somewhere between hot and not, baseball and football, the Whole Schools Summer Institute and the first day of school.  And much more than time has passed since the spring.  We have bobbled between joy and discombobulating over Katrina, cried over the loss of Sam Myers, rejoiced at the grace of the Andy Warhol Foundation, laughed at the sight of puppets dancing across Lee Ann’s desk, seen world class dancers parade across the stage at the IBC and witnessed the rising of the MSU Riley Center and the Grand Opera House.  And yes, we do get a lot of work done somewhere in between.

With our Recovery Staff member, Sallye Killebrew, we have raised and processed a half of million dollars in funds toward recovery and reinvigoration of the arts and cultural communities of the coast.  But more important than the money, we sincerely offer hope and a helping hand to our coast constituency, with the message that someday they will know normalcy once more.  We continue in concert with the U.S. Department of Labor and the Twin Districts in Hattiesburg to set forth the Business Recovery Grant program that is historic in its scope and definition of identifying artists as small businesses. 

Governor Haley Barbour has appointed two new MAC board members this month and we are happy to welcome Donna Kennedy Barksdale and David Trigiani to the MAC family.  Also, Governor Barbour has reappoined Barbara Brunini to a full five year board term.  We are fortunate to have these gifted and committed Mississippians join the ranks of our already stellar board lead very ably by Dianne Walton of Meridian.  We welcome Donna and David as arts advocates and thank them for serving as board members at the Mississippi Arts Commission.  We have much work ahead of us as we prepare for a new five-year strategic plan and begin the process of fully funding our grants programs into the future.

We have logged thousand of miles traveling across the state and have recently seen good work in Greenwood, Winona, Natchez, Starkville, Ocean Springs, Hattiesburg and Booneville, to name but a few.  I hope to see you somewhere along the line and encourage artists and arts patrons to invite us to your town, county or crossroads.  Where there is art and culture, the MAC has hopes to be.  I hope you will join us in celebrating our heritage, our hope and our future.

My best,
Malcolm

Spring, 2006

Another beautiful Mississippi Spring is upon us and with it comes my 6-month anniversary as the Executive Director of the Mississippi Arts Commission.  I am still constantly inspired by the work done by this agency.  This has been a very rewarding time for me; learning, promoting and embracing something that I am personally so passionate about. 

Now fully staffed, we are busier than ever focusing on the task of promoting the arts and we continue to assist artists from our hurricane ravaged Gulf-Coast.   With assistance from the Department of Labor, we have been able to hire a temporary Arts Recovery Coordinator to focus on the needs of the artists and arts organizations on the Coast.  Sallye Killebrew, a displaced Gulf Coast resident, will be working closely with the Coast arts community to provide enhanced assistance in a variety of areas.   

With the Legislature in session, our annual budgeting process is in full swing.  With over 60% if our annual budget appropriated by the State, it is more important than ever for you to contact your Senator and Representative to encourage them to fully fund this organization and its mission.  Your voice does make a difference! 

With the tremendous success of this year’s Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts held on Friday, February 17th, we are all reminded of the incredible talent that comes from our State.   Mississippian’s should be proud of the rich heritage our state possesses in the arts and the Governor’s Awards highlight this, “embarrassment of riches” to quote the extremely humorous, Bill Dunlap, a very gifted artist and Master of Ceremonies for the awards since 1992.  I would like to extend a special thanks to everyone who worked hard to make this event a tremendous success.  If you missed the ceremony, you can watch it on Mississippi Public Broadcasting on April 14th at 7:00p.m. 

March 1st was the grant submission deadline for fiscal year 2007.  In mid April, panels are scheduled to review the submitted grants.  This is a very important time for us because it is our mission to support as many individual artists and arts organizations as possible.

Thank you for your support and encouragement during my first few months.  I am delighted to be here and please know it is my mission to spread the word about Mississippi’s most enduring, cultural contributions….the ARTS!!

My best,

Malcolm

Winter, 2006

Greetings and good tidings from your new Director. I am very happy to say that the business of promoting and funding the arts in Mississippi is alive, robust and inspired. While Katrina has taken her toll on our arts community in south Mississippi and especially along our beloved coast, the support continues to pour in from near and far. Our message should be simple and succinct in the renewal and rebuilding process: the arts are not something extra, they are essential! All programs, plans and models of rebuilding should include arts participation on the front end; as landmark, not as an afterthought or "lagniappe" as our cousins in Louisiana are fond of saying. This message should be spoken by all the arts community to anyone who will listen, and especially to those who are not accustomed to the sound of our voice. Like a great choir, let our voices rise up as one and deliver this critical message.

Much work has gone on in the brief time I have been at MAC. It has been my great pleasure to engage and interact with the talented, enthusiastic staff and be a part of the richness of the MAC scope of work. We have devoted much time and energy to Katrina relief and support, conducted a retreat for the Whole Schools Initiative, participated in the public dialogue regarding the aftermath of Katrina, conducted our Mini Grants process, overseen the selection of the 2006 Governor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts, completed our NEA grant application, hosted our annual board retreat, managed to reshuffle the office space AND hired two new staffers who will be coming on board the first of the year. We will highlight and profile those individuals in the next EBLAST and welcome them to the MAC family. Be sure to mark your calendars for February 16 & 17, 2006 for the Governor's Awards to be held here in Jackson.

I sincerely look forward to serving as your Director and welcome your input, observations, phone calls, emails and visits. Also, I encourage you to invite us to your neighborhood for a visit. I have enjoyed visiting Greenville, Grenada, Gulfport, Oxford, Cleveland, Bay St. Louis, Waveland, Ocean Springs, Laurel, Hattiesburg, Taylor, Tippo, Bolton, Vicksburg, Pass Christian, Wiggins, Canton and White's Crossing in the past 5 weeks.

My best,

Malcolm

Photo of Malcolm courtesy of The Clarion-Ledger

Copyright 2006–2009 Mississippi Arts Commission