The MAX: PLACE Quarterly_Spring 2021

Mississippi’s Arts + Entertainment Experience Spring 2021

PLACE James Beard nominee Chef Austin Sumrall, chef/owner of White Pillars in Biloxi and Sipp & Savor guest chef.

Photo by Rory Doyle.

SIPP & SAVOR

When I was dating my wife of 40 years I decided one day to drive her from our hometown in Baton Rouge to meet my grandmother in Dry Prong, Louisiana.

Now my wife and I come from different backgrounds. She’s a born-and-raised city girl, and while I grew up in different cities including Anaheim, California, I had the tremendous advantage of spending summers with grandparents who lived in a very rural community.

When we arrived at my grandmother’s home, the first thing Maw Maw had my girlfriend do was crawl into the dark spider-haunted potato cellar under the house and select some potatoes for lunch. Then she asked her to peel them. Under her watchful eye, my future wife did as she was asked. My grandmother leaned over to me and said, “I like her. She don’t take no tater with her peel.”

The culinary arts in the South are rooted in our heritage and The MAX shares many of these stories in our foodways exhibition. On April 24th we all have an opportunity to experience a celebration of food and beverage during our first annual Food + Drink Experience, Sipp & Savor. We’ll learn a great deal from 12 guest chefs who will travel from all over Mississippi to share tastings of their fine dishes. Many of them attribute their culinary excellence to the traditions prepared and refined by Mississippi home cooks.

I hope you’ll plan to join us for what promises to be a memorable and “tasteful” experience.

Regards,

Mark A Tullos Jr. President | CEO The MAX

Board of Directors Fred Wile, Chair Meridian Melanie Mitchell, Vice Chair Meridian Marian Barksdale, Secretary Oxford Archie Anderson, Treasurer Starkville Ann Alexander, Past Chair Marion Shawn Brevard, Tupelo Sheryl Davidson, Meridian Tommy Dulaney, Meridian Ralph Eubanks, Washington, DC Veldore Young Graham, Meridian Checky Herrington, Starkville Eddie Kelly, Meridian Annie McMillan, Meridian Dede Mogollon, Meridian Sammy Moon, Jackson Joe Norwood, Meridian Caroline Cannada Rush, Meridian Billy Thornton, Gullfport Duffee Williams, Meridian Kelly Swain, Meridian Millie Swan, Hattiesburg Laura Carmichael (Ex-Officio) Director Emeriti Fred Cannon Billy Estes Alan Lamar

Eat. Imagine.

Eat. Drink.

Drink. Experience.

Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience 2155 Front Street Meridian, MS 39301 601-581-1550 msarts.org

AThe beautiful night under thejust southern skyExperience — with Southern food scene got hotter. friends family, food, signature cocktails, Sipp &and Savor at Thedelicious MAX in Downtown Meridian and be your favorite beer andnewest wine —food all brought you by a part of Mississippi’s and drinktoexperience.

Mississippi’s culinary stars.

April 24, 2021

www.sippandsavor.com

www.sippandsavor.com

4.24.21 @sippandsavor

@sippandsavor

Sipp & Savor Food + Drink Experience

Artful Provisions

Sip on cold beers, fine wines, and craft cocktails. Savor irresistible bites from Mississippi’s top chefs. Experience the culinary traditions of the South like you never have before.

Illustration by Elizabeth Williams.

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Imagine over a dozen of Mississippi’s most celebrated chefs coming together to create an extraordinary tasting menu featuring the finest ingredients Mississippi has to offer. Now imagine each of these bites paired with your favorite wine, your favorite beer, your favorite bourbon. Imagine the aromas. Picture that first forkful. Dream of enjoying the magic of this all-you-can-indulge-in experience with your closest friends and family, savoring the finest food and drink in the state.

You don’t have to just imagine. On April 24, 2021, The MAX will be home to award-winning chefs, brewers, and distillers. Stroll through The MAX courtyard, enjoying incredible small plates with chef-paired spirits, beers, and wines; work your way across the street to watch cooking demonstrations by local chefs and restaurants; dance the night away to Ocean Springs’ own Blackwater Brass and their over-the-top funk.

Sipp & Savor features an incredible lineup of chefs, including celebrity chef and Mississippi native Cat Cora. Among her many other achievements, Cat is the first-ever female Iron Chef, the first female inducted into The American Academy of Chefs Culinary Hall of Fame, the President and Founder of Chefs for Humanity and the Women’s Empowerment Culinary Internship Program, and was awarded The President’s Volunteer Service Award and The President’s Lifetime Achievement Award by former President Barack Obama.

As a special thank you for the generous support of our sponsors, Chef Ty Thames of Eat Local Starkville Restaurant Group, and Chef David Crews of Delta Supper Club, will host an exclusive VIP Experience, featuring music by The Pryor Band, cocktails by The Guest Room, a roaming raw bar, and more.

Thank you to our sponsors for their generous support.

Coca-Cola of Meridian Mitchell Distributing Progressive Pipeline Specialty Roll Meyer & Rosenbaum Structural Steel Van Zyverden A&B Electric Butler Snow Ergon LPK Architects, P.A. Magnolia Steel Mississippi Asthma & Allergy Mississippi Power Nerves and Bones PJ’s Coffee Pretty Presentations Dr. Lane Rush Dr. Sonny Rush Waters International

Benefits Management Group Citizens National Bank Clay Firm Insurance Solutions Jackson Newell Paper Long Wholesale Meridian OBGYN Meridian Plastic Surgery Rush Foundation Hospital Dr. Edward Smith Vital Care Wells Fargo Daniel and Anna Wile Woodstock Furniture Yates Construction Alliance Health Center Austin Holmes Dentistry Ballou Design Belle G Boutique Beau Rivage

John and Rainey Breaux Dr. and Mrs. Joel Callahan Cater’s Market Community Bank Jay and Sheryl Davidson Dr. Fred and Melissa Duggan East Mississippi Oral and Facial Surgery Patrick and Shannon Forde LJ and Nicola Frugé Generations Glass, Inc. Dr. Andrew Gowdey Harvest Grill Hodge Orthodontics Industrial Electric Motor Works Dr. Maham Khan Little Caesars McDonald & Hill, Inc.

McGinnis Lumber Meridian Dental Associates Meridian Pediatric Dentistry Meridian Specialty Travel Mitchell Signs Mosquito Marshall M’Prints Mugshots Pampered Bodies Pinnacle Trust Plant the Earth Poplar Springs Animal Clinic Purdy Kids Southern Pipe & Supply Trustmark Bank Dr. Tariq Umer UPS Xtra Lite Lighting

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On View May 1–August 11, 2021

Choctaw Expressions in conjunction with Savages and Princesses: The Persistence of Native American Stereotypes

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By Stacey Wilson, MAX Curator of Exhibitions

As a result of colonization, slavery, and immigration, The United States has become a melting pot of different cultures, but let’s not forget the first Americans.

Europeans would not have survived without their aid. They taught Europeans to navigate terrain, cultivate plants, and traded and sold goods to them. Before European contact, scholars estimate that there were almost ten million Native Americans living throughout the United States. That number decreased significantly due to disease and warfare with ultimately a population of about 300,000 by 1900. Encounters between the groups were not always harmonious because not all tribes were friendly, but then again, neither were all Europeans.

Today, Native American contributions are often overlooked or forgotten, but what remains are the negative stereotypes.

Stereotypes cause us to quickly respond to situations because of similar experiences and, by definition, are often untrue, generalized beliefs about a group or class. Consequently, this causes racial, cultural, gender, and sexual profiling because stereotypes lead us to judge based on a group as a whole and not the individual.

If we believed stereotypes, which, unfortunately have been ingrained into

our society, we would believe that all Native Americans are lazy, violent, drunks, and the biggest lie of all — that we own their cultural heritage. Society has used Native American imagery to promote merchandise and sports teams for decades. With the removal of these representations in recent years, Savages and Princesses: The Persistence of Native American Stereotypes embraces the Native American’s choice to replace those depictions. Using humor, subtlety, and irony, the contemporary artists encourage visitors to question those stereotypes as they take back their right to symbolize their identities. The exhibition features paintings, sculptures, and mixed media pieces.

The MAX invites you to explore Choctaw Expressions to devalue those stereotypes and learn about The Mississippi Band of Choctaw’s incredible story of perseverance, resilience, and growth. A business-minded tribe, they had large land holdings, farmed, and sold goods to Europeans as early as the 1700s and to the other southeastern tribes, the Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, and Seminole, even earlier. However, the 1800s

Opposite page: Women’s stickball game. Above: Example of Choctaw pottery.

Both images courtesy of Chahta Immi Cultural Center, The Mississippi Band of Choctaw.

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American expansion and Native American relocation. Through several treaties between 1801–1830 the Choctaw ceded more than 23-million acres of land to the United States.

Insufficient, the Indian Removal Act of 1830 forced all of the southern tribes to relocate.

About 13,000 Choctaw relocated, but about 5,000 remained.

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw are descendant from that courageous group who refused to leave their ancestral homeland. Choctaw Expressions features artifacts representing their rich culture and history including basketry, beadwork, traditional dress, as well as stickball related objects. A progressive community, the Choctaw went from sharecroppers in the 1830s to now owning a casino and resort as well as a museum — the Chahta Immi Cultural Center, amongst other holdings.

Today, the Choctaw is one of the ten largest private employers in Mississippi and has created jobs for all Mississippians, tribal and non-tribal.

Choctaw Expressions in conjunction with Savages and Princesses: The Persistence of Native American Stereotypes will be on display May 1–August 11, 2021. Make sure to visit the Chahta Immi Cultural Center and the Annual Choctaw Indian Fair in July to experience their cultural heritage and legacy.

A Program of ExhibitsUSA and The National Endowment for the Arts

Learn more at Chahta Immi Cultural Center (Inside the Choctaw Shopping Center) 100 Choctaw Town Center Philadelphia, MS 39350 601-650-1687 www.choctaw.org

Top to bottom: Audience looks on at a demonstration at the Annual Choctaw Indian Fair.

Artist displays her beadwork. Both images courtesy of Chahta Immi Cultural Center, The Mississippi Band of Choctaw.

Study for Vessel, Shan Goshorn, 2015, arches watercolor paper splints printed with archival inks, acrylic paint.

Kitsch Me, I’m Indian, Juanita Pahdopony, 2016, cast concrete, acrylic, aluminum cones, buckskin, rhinestones, paper.

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On View March 23–July 11, 2021

By Stacey Wilson, MAX Curator of Exhibitions

Bloodlines

By Matt Stebly

Originally labeled taboo by mainstream society, tattooing has had a long history of dueling perceptions in America. For centuries, Native Americans viewed tattooing as sacred, but also used it for healing purposes, identification, and as a rite of passage. In the 1700s, tattoos were popular among sailors exposed to tattoos on their travels, but deemed uncivilized by the upper class and sinful by religious groups. With the Civil War, soldiers were tattooed to ensure their bodies were identifiable after death and to show patriotism — a trend that continued with all subsequent wars.

Twenty years later, tattoos became exotic. Hundreds of men and women profited after they tattooed their entire bodies and became sideshow attractions in traveling circuses. By the early 1900s, tattoos began to be normalized and increased in visibility as well.

Previously, tattoos, even full bodied, were strategically placed to be hidden under clothing. By the late 1900s, everyone from musicians and athletes to cancer survivors and motorcycle clubs began getting visibly tattooed. Today, acknowledged as an art form, tattooing continues to have residual negative associations.

Biloxi native Matt Stebly is an artist who is helping the tattoo community break free of those associations as he continues not only the legacy of his great-grandfather, Mississippi’s own Walter Anderson, but also the legacy of Martin Hildebrandt, Civil War veteran and America’s first tattoo shop owner. Stebly has been an artist all his life, starting with drawing and painting, and even dabbling in pottery before becoming a tattoo artist. For the past twelve years, Stebly has used the art of tattooing as a way to create art while maintaining the integrity and themes of his family’s iconic artistic style.

Bloodlines includes tattooing equipment, sketches, paintings, and photography celebrating Stebly’s unique body of work on canvas and on skin. This exhibition offers a great intergenerational family story, an inside look at the world of tattooing, and a unique educational experience. Bloodlines will be on display March 23– July 11, 2021.

Photo of Matt Stebly’s arm, Julian Rankin, 2019.

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On View through April 11, 2021

Tennessee Williams, Jack Mitchell, 1966.

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By Tony Lewis, Ph.D., MAX Curator of Education and Historian

The Transformative Voice of Tennessee Williams Born Thomas Lanier Williams III in Columbus, Mississippi, into an upper middle-class family in 1911, he adopted the college nickname “Tennessee” after moving to New Orleans in 1939.

Tennessee Williams struggled to find his voice for many years, transferring from one college to another followed by years of feeling trapped in menial and demoralizing jobs.

Finally achieving recognition for his revolutionary voice with the success of his play The Glass Menagerie (1944), a shocking and thinly disguised autobiographic drama, Williams became known for his colorful and sincere but fatally flawed characters such as Stanley Kowalski, Maggie the Cat, and Amanda Wingfield. Together with Eugene O’Neill and Arthur Miller, Williams led the vanguard of what became known as “New Drama.” He was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 1979.

Williams moved to New Orleans following graduation from the University of Iowa in 1939 and first visited Key West two years later. Both cities, known for their tolerance of different lifestyles, allowed Williams to freely express himself with fewer constraints and judgment. Williams also lived in New York, London, and Rome. Following the success of Menagerie, he continued to enjoy accolades for plays such as A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955), Orpheus Descending (1957), Sweet Bird of Youth (1959), and Night of the Iguana (1961). His plays of this period had long and successful runs on Broadway and beyond, and he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1948 and 1955. Combined, his dramas had a revolutionary and transformational effect on those fortunate enough to attend the theatre, and reached an even broader audience when re-imagined as powerful, gripping films. The most famous of these is the 1951 cinematographic adaptation of Streetcar starring Vivian Lee and Marlon Brando, featuring several iconic scenes that are engrained in human consciousness around the world. Likewise, Cat was made into a classic film in 1958, starring Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor, and Burl Ives.

Williams was a gifted painter in addition to his stature as a world-renowned playwright and poet. Like his plays, Williams' paintings tap emotions ranging from ecstasy to

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despair, transforming pain, struggles, and triumphs into deeply personal, haunting, and challenging visual art.

Williams challenged audiences to consider the postwar World War II ennui and alienation felt by many, something that he experienced throughout his life, as he forged timeless art that appeals to people around the world. Finding salvation, or at least solace, through love and human connection is an enduring theme of his plays and poems.

Today, Williams is celebrated in theatrical circles as the playwright who showed that the tragedies and psychological intensity of everyday life could be transformed into high art. Several institutions and events commemorate his life and legacy. The Tennessee Williams Home & Welcome Center in Columbus offers a snapshot of the author’s life and times. When not on tour, most of Williams’ paintings may be seen at the Key West Art & Historical Museum, which also has a number of papers and other artifacts. Several other places associated with Williams have annual festivals devoted to the author and his work, including the Tennessee Williams Festival Saint Louis (May), Tennessee Williams Literary Festival, New Orleans (March), Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theatre Festival (September), and the Columbus Tennessee Williams Tribute (September). Academic conferences focused on aspects of Learn more at: Williams' work have been Tennessee Williams Home & Welcome Center held at universities such as 300 Main Street Georgetown, Harvard, and Columbus, MS 39701 Washington University in 662-328-0333 www.visitcolumbusms.org St. Louis.

Community Foundation Steps Up

The Community Foundation of East Mississippi, a vital partner of The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience, is lead sponsor of the Tennessee Williams art exhibition.

This targeted support, at the $5,000 level, reflects a mission of assisting arts and education programs and fostering partnerships in a five-county area. The Meridian-based foundation, created in 1984, in 2020 distributed $763,000 in grants to nearly 80 different organizations, and serves as a repository for MAX endowment funds.

“We really just want to build relationships and be involved with what’s important to our community, to see our community thrive and grow,” said CFEM Executive Director Leigh Thomas.

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Enjoy a specially-themed day at The MAX every First Saturday of the month. Register to win a gift basket.

Enjoy free popcorn and beverages all day; and take advantage of our First Saturday discount admission. $5 Adults | $1 Youth 6–17 | Kids 5 and under + Members free. All First Saturday events are free with museum admission.

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3.6.21 The Legacy of Charley Pride 4.3.21 Spring Renewal 5.1.21 Choctaw Expressions

Spend the evening at Maxie's with singer, songwriter, and guitarist Stevie J Blues. A native of Jackson, Stevie J has 20 years experience as a professional musician with a strong passion for the blues. Stop by The MAX and celebrate the history of the blues, the music, the food, and the fun!

Refreshments + cash bar available.

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Friday, April 16 | 6–9pm $20 Non-members | Free for Members Funded in part by a grant from the Mississippi Arts Commission.

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MISSISSIPPI MOVIE MAKERS

Join us for five films that feature Mississippi actors and writers at The MAX Film Series. The films will be previewed by Ward Emling, former director of the Mississippi Film Commission at noon and screened at 8pm that evening. Free and open to the public.

4.2.21 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Tennessee Williams) 5.21.21 Girl Happy (Elvis Presley) 6.4.21 The Hate You Give (Angie Thomas) 7.23.21 The Muppet Christmas Carol

(Jim Henson) 8.13.21 Bruce Almighty (Morgan N G2 02109 2 1Freeman) W ISNPTREI R | | 1313

Spring Events at The MAX There's something for everyone this spring at The MAX: craft workshops for kids, gardening advice and jewelry making for adults, the unveiling of a special painting in the galleries, and safely-distanced social events for members.

For Kids

Mini Maestros

Make + Take Workshops

Thursdays 10:30–11:30am Free with registration

1st and 3rd Saturdays 10am–Noon Free with museum admission

Children 5 and under are invited to learn and play at The MAX. Activities are led by a museum educator and include music, dance, crafts, and games. Free for toddlers and their parents/caregivers.

Museum admission not included. Limit two children per adult. Registration required.

A MAX museum educator will lead children in learning fun at our Make + Take Workshops on the first and third Saturdays of the month. Each child will learn to create a themed craft to take home as a souvenir of their visit to The MAX. Must be accompanied by an adult.

Registration required.

For Members Members Only Exhibition Previews Members are invited to preview two new exhibitions at The MAX this spring.

Choose a convenient time and view the exhibitions while enjoying a complementary beverage.

Free for members Bloodlines, March 23 Sip+View, 2–6pm

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First up, Bloodlines takes an inside look at the world of tattooing and at artist Matt Stebly celebrating his creativity on canvas and on skin. Please RSVP by 3/22.

Choctaw Expressions in conjunction with Savages and Princesses, April 30 Sip+View, 2–4:30pm Reception, 5:30–7pm Choctaw Expressions + Savages and Princesses takes a look at the persistence of Native American stereotypes.

Please RSVP by 4/27.

To RSVP Online: msarts.org Email: members@msarts.org Phone: 601-581-1550 ext. 31

Masks and social distancing are required at The MAX. Dates and times are subject to change.

For updates and to register for events, visit msarts.org.

For Adults

Jewelry Making with Casey Jennings of Ponderosa Drive Designs

The Gestaldt Gardener + Friends Live at The MAX

Wyatt Waters Unveiling + Meet & Greet

March 6 9am–Noon + 1–4pm

April 2 | 8:30–9:30am | $5

April 24 | 3–4pm

Join Felder Rushing at The MAX for the live broadcast of MPB Radio's The Gestalt Gardener. Registration required. Limited seating.

Stop by The MAX and meet Mississippi artist Wyatt Waters. His watercolor, Under the Big Top (painted in Meridian), will be unveiled at this special meet & greet.

You can purchase a gicleé print of the painting in the Museum Store and have it signed by Waters. Free admission. Registration required.

$60 Members $85 Non-members The MAX is hosting artist Casey Jennings for a jewelry-making workshop.

You will learn to create your own customized earrings.

(Each participant will leave with two pairs of handmade earrings.) All supplies and instruction included in the course fee. Class size limited to 25. Registration required.

Maverick Gardeners: Determined Independent Gardeners April 3 | 9:30–11:30am Free with museum admission Join us as Felder discusses the eccentric gardening community that transcends race, culture, and language who garden-their-own-way.

Registration required.

WineDown: Merlot April 11 | 6:30–9pm $15 | Free for Members

Open Ceramics Studio Thursdays | 11am–2pm $70 per month

For our April edition of WineDown, we'll be tasting Merlot. Your team will bring three identical bottles of Merlot to the WineDown — two to taste and one for "the pot." If your wine is selected “Best Bottle,” you'll take home a variety of Merlots! To register your team, visit msarts.org.

MAX Members of all skill levels can practice their ceramics skills in our open ceramics studio. Space in the studio is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Materials and firing included. Registration required at msarts.org by the first of each month.

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By Coleman Warner, Director of Development

Strategic Membership Outreach Planned Business executive Manny Mitchell and wife Melanie, a board member for The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience, are working with the museum’s staff to execute an initiative that should dramatically increase membership. The effort will foster a wide range of positive relationships among art enthusiasts across Mississippi and beyond.

The Meridian couple, in response to the museum’s MAX Forward campaign, recently signaled they will contribute $25,000 for strategic use in cultivating a network of influential supporters. This “friends” network would assist in recruiting other new members, and in drawing attention to the museum’s mission.

“We want to see the museum’s membership base grow and become stronger, opening up many new avenues of support for programs and exhibits that showcase the Mississippi arts story,” said Manny Mitchell, chairman of the board for Mitchell Companies. “Impacting this critical part of the journey of the museum will be exciting in the coming year, as we move beyond the challenges of 2020.”

The unique membership campaign roughly coincides with the museum’s third anniversary, a milestone important to the sponsors.

Museum President/CEO Mark Tullos embraced the focus on membership, saying these individuals are the lifeblood of countless nonprofits. “They take advantage of our diverse programs, introduce young people to our unique resources, and provide critical support for the mission. Building a strong membership and enhancing these relationships is critical to our future.”

The museum has nearly 700 total memberships, in levels that include individual (with dues of $50 annually), dual ($90), and family ($150).

Since high-level memberships cover groups numbering as many as 20, the membership program can potentially reach thousands with benefits ranging from free admission to museum store discounts and VIP event invitations.

The strategic initiative backed by the Mitchells calls for granting free memberships to more than 200 couples or individuals across Mississippi who are known to be supporters of the arts and are likely to renew memberships on their own — and to help attract other members.

Selection of the “friends” to receive complimentary memberships will be guided by the museum’s Board of Directors and others closely associated with the museum’s mission.

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In addition, nearly 100 complimentary memberships will be provided to tourism, media, education, or other professionals who can help advance the museum’s work.

Key Supporters Respond to Fundraising Appeals As The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience weathered financial stresses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a diverse mix of museum friends rallied in late 2020 to support the MAX Forward special fundraising appeal and the Year End Campaign.

Donations recorded in the two campaigns totaled more than $110,000. Supporters also recently provided thousands of dollars in other types of donations, or demonstrated their commitment to The MAX through membership renewals and upgrades.

The museum’s staff and board members deeply appreciate all assistance and encouragement during a time of unprecedented challenges for nonprofit organizations.

While MAX professionals took great care to ensure the safety of visitors, the pandemic nevertheless disrupted visitation and many scheduled events. Preparations are being made for resumption of steady visitor traffic and a normal slate of activities and events, including the Sipp & Savor gathering, a major culinary and social attraction, this spring in downtown Meridian.

The fall MAX Forward appeal to dozens of entities and individuals — all established supporters of the museum — said in part, “Barely two years after The MAX opened its doors, serving diverse audiences on-site and online, this engaging museum is on its way to achieving a broad impact. An exciting strategic plan is nearing completion. We must protect the significant investments already made and advance a mission vital to our economy and image — as well as to our collective recovery.”

Major special gifts or commitments offered in response to MAX Forward included $50,000 from the Phil Hardin Foundation, directed to filling and sustaining a Youth Educator position; $25,000 from Manny and Melanie Mitchell, to strengthen membership outreach and development; and $25,000 from the Mississippi Power Foundation. Other gifts from the special campaign remain possible.

The Year End Campaign, representing outreach to more than 1,400 individuals or entities, netted more than $9,000 in donations, including several at the $500 level.

This effort, targeting contributions at a modest range, offered an opportunity to update a broad audience on development of a strategic plan that focuses on serving young audiences, raising The MAX’s profile, cultivating new institutional partners, and securing a sound financial base for the future.

A mission statement in the draft plan reinforces the importance of The MAX’s agenda: “Mississippi’s rich arts contributions are often unknown or misunderstood. We enlighten and inspire by sharing stories of creative expression to provide opportunity for all generations to reach their full potential.”

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Shop 'til You Drop!

Spring 2021 Membership Promotion Renew your Max membership or purchase a new one and take advantage of double discounts at The MAX Store! Beginning April 1, members of The MAX are eligible for an additional 10% discount on all purchases in the store every Wednesday through March 30, 2022.

MAX membership has its privileges.

Every member receives free admission for one year, invitations to exclusive member events, discounts on select events, and a 10% discount at the store.

Shop for a wide selection of McCarty Pottery, Walter Anderson prints, Capri Blue Candles, jewelry, and so much more.

MAXLive.org The yearlong pandemic clearly broadened our skills at The MAX. One area of positive change is the creation of streaming and recorded programs. Over the past year we have shared illustrated talks, art demonstrations, and musical performances with audiences locally and throughout the world.

We have created a new location for you to enjoy and participate in almost every program.

MAXLive.org is a new landing page on our website that hosts an archive of past programming. In the future, MAXLive.org will also be the “go-to” place if you cannot attend a program in person. While we adore seeing our guests at The MAX, this new tool makes our programming accessible to people everywhere! Visit today just by typing MAXLive.org in your Internet browser.

MAXLive.org

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MAXLive.org

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Membership at The MAX gives you a front row seat to everything Arts + Entertainment. Grand Patron Level Members + above are listed below.

As of January 31, 2021.

Charter Performer’s Circle Mr. & Mrs. Jimmy Alexander Dr. & Mrs. Gary Boone

Charter Benefactor’s Circle

Dr. & Mrs. Woodie Abraham Jr. Dr. & Mrs. Ric Alexander Mr. & Mrs. Duncan D. Chalk Mr. & Mrs. Greg Creel Ms. Juanita Crowe Mr. & Mrs. Robert B. Deen Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Thomas K. Dobbins EMBDC Freddie’s Fine Spirits Mr. & Mrs. Hardy P. Graham Sr. Insurance Advisory Group, LLC Mr. & Mrs. Steven LaBiche Mr. & Mrs. Larry Love Mr. & Mrs. Archie R. McDonnell Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Phillip McLain Mr. & Mrs. Manny Mitchell Mr. & Mrs. Bill Scaggs Stifel Nicolaus Dr. & Mrs. James Lee Valentine Waters International Trucks, Inc. Mr. & Mrs. Fred Wile Mr. & Mrs. Brad Woodall

Charter Grand Patron

Dr. & Mrs. Richard Abney Mr. William E. Arlinghaus Mr. & Mrs. Claiborne Barksdale Mr. & Mrs. Cole Cardwell Dr. & Mrs. Robert J. Cater Mr. & Mrs. Robert A. Coffin III Dr. & Mrs. Jeffrey N. Cook Mr. & Mrs. Michael M. Davis II Mr. Tommy Dulaney & Mrs. Rebecca Combs-Dulaney Mr. & Mrs. Bill Hammack Mr. & Mrs. Miles Hester Mrs. Alice James

Mr. & Mrs. Larry Johnson Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Labruyere Mr. & Mrs. Robert S. Loeb Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Samuel E. Long III Dr. & Mrs. David Makey Meridian OB/GYN, PLLC Mr. Evan & Dr. Shelley McDonald Mr. & Mrs. Mitch McLellan Mr. & Mrs. Scott McQuaig Mr. & Mrs. Tony Pompelia Dr. Kendrick & Dr. Lindsey Prewitt Hon. & Mrs. Lawrence Primeaux Mr. & Mrs. David G. Ray Mr. & Mrs. Chuck Reece Mr. & Mrs. Don Rogers Ms. Peg Wahrendorff Mr. & Mrs. Coleman Warner

Benefactor’s Circle

Mr. & Mrs. Bob Barham Mr. Courtland Gray & Mrs. Shannon Crowe Mr. & Mrs. Maurice Hall Dr. & Mrs. R. Condon Hughes Meridian Airport Authority Dr. Tonea Stewart

Grand Patron

Mr. & Mrs. David Brevard Mr. & Mrs. Douglas Coleman Mrs. Elizabeth S. Frohse & Dr. Thomas T. Tischer Mr. & Mrs. Checky Herrington Mr. & Mrs. Maurice Kahlmus Dr. & Mrs. Nathan Myatt Dr. & Mrs. Michael Nanney Mr. & Mrs. Terry Pankhurst Mr. & Mrs. Kyle Temple Mr. & Mrs. Scott Vincent Dr. & Mrs. John D. Voss Mr. & Mrs. George S. Warner

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2155 Front Street Meridian, MS 39301

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Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Permit #290 M E E T I N G S Tupelo, MS 38801

Host an Unforgettable Experience at The MAX For an experience your guests will remember for years to come, book your next event at The MAX. We offer unique settings — a rooftop terrace, a soaring Hall of Fame gallery, an outdoor courtyard and lawn — perfect for corporate or private affairs.

Contact our events manager at erin@msarts.org or 601-581-1550, ext. 19 for help planning your next event.