Mississippi: Public Art in Community

Riverfront Park, Moss Point, Mississippi. Photo courtesy of Mississippi Arts Commission

At a glance, the goal of public art seems simple: to beautify public spaces. Yet the benefits of public art extend well beyond beautification, including facilitating community cohesion and placemaking, strengthening local economies, and creating opportunities for cross-sector collaborations. State arts agencies play an integral role in the promotion of public art through special initiatives, grant programs and percent for art policies. The Mississippi Arts Commission’s (MAC) Public Art in Community Grant demonstrates the power state arts agencies have in using their unique value to collaborate across sectors and enliven communities.

The Public Art in Community Grant, which supports the community engagement, design, installation and activation of accessible public art, was formed through extensive collaboration across the tourism, main street, arts and culture sectors. Partnering with the Levitt Foundation, the Maddox Foundation, Visit Mississippi, Mississippi Main Street Association, Fred Carl, Jr. Small Town Center and the Mississippi Humanities Council, MAC combines a public art grant with a multiyear Levitt AMP Music Series grant to create vibrant community destinations.

The grant supports three project phases. The first phase is about the design of a public art piece. Grantees host inclusive community convenings to garner community buy-in and feedback for the installation and music series. The Mississippi Humanities Council and Carl Small Town Center, in partnership with MAC, provide in-kind support for facilitated community engagement activities that help project planners respond to community needs. The second phase—with support from a combined grant award of $27,500 from MAC, Visit Mississippi and Mississippi Main Street Association—focuses on the public art fabrication and installation. In the third phase, each grantee receives a combined grant award of $40,000 per year for three years ($120,000 total each) from MAC, the Maddox Foundation and the Levitt Foundation to support the grantees in activating their public art site through an annual series of 10 free outdoor concerts in 2026, 2027 and 2028.

Vicksburg Washington Street Park. Photo courtesy of Mississippi Arts Commission

MAC recently announced the recipients of the Public Art in Community Grant. The Heritage Guild of Vicksburg & Warren County’s project embodies the community impact the grant will have across the state. In partnership with Vicksburg Main Street, the guild will install a sound sculpture, In the Key of Freedom. The sculpture will engage multiple senses with its oversized key design serving as a striking visual landmark, while its chimes will create a living soundtrack tied to the Mississippi Blues Tradition. In addition, the guild will activate the site for the Beyond the Levitt Music series, featuring programming that highlights “storytelling in the key,” where local musicians and historians connect the sculpture’s symbolism to Vicksburg’s past, present and future. Moreover, the Walter Anderson Museum of Art, in partnership with Moss Point Main Street, will install a 15-foot-tall sculpture, framing the natural backdrop of Riverfront Park in Moss Point, Mississippi, while symbolizing the city’s commitment to quality of life. The sculpture will serve as a gathering point for a three-year Levitt Music Series and a backdrop for civic and cultural events for years to come.

For more information about public art programming, contact NASAA.