Creativity finds deep roots and ever-growing branches in a state packed with prolific talents. Discover your own inspiration while exploring our artistic atmosphere.
Immerse yourself in artwork that captures the imagination at the state’s largest art museum, the MISSISSIPPI MUSEUM OF ART. The creativity continues just outside in the 1.2-acre ART GARDEN AT THE MISSISSIPPI MUSEUM OF ART, which features large-scale installations and a performance stage.
American master Walter Anderson’s watercolor paintings of Gulf Coast plant and animal life are the focus of the WALTER ANDERSON MUSEUM OF ART in Ocean Springs. A 1923 Georgian Revival building in Laurel serves as the LAUREN ROGERS MUSEUM OF ART, home to collections of Native American baskets, 19th- and 20th-century American paintings and 18th-and 19th-century Japanese woodblock prints.
Head to the historic train depot in Bay St. Louis to see the ALICE MOSELEY FOLK ART AND ANTIQUE MUSEUM, which honors the self-taught artist, known as “Miss Alice,” by displaying more than 50 of her paintings along with collections of Majolica vases, Depression glass and other antique objects.
Tupelo’s GUMTREE MUSEUM OF ART is an intimate gallery space celebrating regional artists inside a century-old bank building. At THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MUSEUM in Oxford, art is more than a spectator sport—unique activities like Free Sketch Fridays, Family Activity Days and Mini Masters workshops offer hands-on creative opportunities. After exploring the university museum, stroll down BAILEY’S WOODS TRAIL to William Faulkner’s former home ROWAN OAK, also part of The University of Mississippi’s museum system.
Dig deep into the artistry that has evolved from the Delta clay at MCCARTY’S POTTERY in Merigold, which launched in 1954. At PETER’S POTTERY in Mound Bayou, this moldable magic ingredient is shaped into bowls, vases and other collectibles. Visual and musical arts merge at CAT HEAD DELTA BLUES FOLK ART, a combination record store/art gallery/live music venue/all-around cool place in Clarksdale.
Members of the artistic Anderson family produce unique clay creations at SHEARWATER POTTERY, a nearly century- old studio in Ocean Springs. The late “Mad Potter of Biloxi,” George Ohr, is the namesake of the striking OHR-O’KEEFE MUSEUM in Biloxi; the twisted-steel museum buildings were designed by famed architect Frank Gehry.
Traditional folk items like Choctaw baskets and old-fashioned quilts share space with modern masterpieces at the BILL WALLER CRAFT CENTER near the Natchez Trace in Ridgeland. Karl and Mildred Wolfe began creating small ceramic birds and other figures in Jackson’s WOLFE STUDIO in the 1950s; today, their daughter Bebe leads a team of artists who stay true to the original vision.
The spotlight shines bright at THALIA MARA HALL in Jackson, which welcomes Broadway shows, and beautiful musical performances by MISSISSIPPI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA among others. Also in Jackson, local actors shine in classic plays and thought-provoking new productions at NEW STAGE THEATRE. Ballet Mississippi’s toe-pointing productions engage budding ballerinas and delight audiences. As the nation’s ninth oldest continuously operating opera company, the MISSISSIPPI OPERA preserves an age-old art form for the next generation. The NATCHEZ LITTLE THEATRE is the state’s oldest, dating back to 1932.
Performers and productions from all over the globe take to the stage at the restored 1889 OPERA HOUSE that is now the MSU RILEY CENTER in Meridian.
From top musical acts to theatrical productions, there’s something for every audience at Hattiesburg’s SAENGER THEATER, a restored onetime movie palace built in 1929. This region has an ever-changing lineup of plays and musicals, thanks to the cast and crew at the BILOXI LITTLE THEATRE, the GULFPORT LITTLE THEATRE, the BAY ST. LOUIS LITTLE THEATRE and the 35-year-old CENTER STAGE in Biloxi. Get your Bach near the beach with the GULF COAST SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA. Favorite characters come to life on stage with the SOUTH MISSISSIPPI BALLET THEATRE in Hattiesburg.
Built in 1995, the state-of-the-art BOLOGNA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER on the campus of Delta State University in Cleveland has risen and become one of the top entertaining venues in the Southeast. For more than 60 years, the GREENWOOD LITTLE THEATRE has entertained audiences with dramas, musicals, comedies and mysteries.
Broadway, big bands and ballet—the GERTRUDE C. FORD CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS on the campus of The University of Mississippi in Oxford offers a range of cultural performances. The Corinth community theater known as CORINTH THEATRE-ARTS brings beloved musicals and more to life each season. The arts are part of everyday life in Tupelo, home to the all-professional NORTH MISSISSIPPI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA as well as the TUPELO BALLET.
Mississippi’s “film capital,” the city of Canton played major roles in the movies A TIME TO KILL, MY DOG SKIP and O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?; go behind the scenes at the CANTON MOVIE MUSEUMS downtown. THE HELP featured many scenes in Jackson, and visitors can take a self- guided tour of locations from the movie. In Natchez, sip a soda at the MALT SHOP, which was featured in the James Brown biopic GET ON UP. February means films at the NATCHEZ LITERARY AND CINEMA CELEBRATION, an award-winning themed event complete with lectures, field trips and concerts. Come April, it’s time for the CROSSROADS FILM FESTIVAL, a 20-year-old Jackson area showcase of Southern cinema.
A self-guided driving tour through Greenwood takes visitors to locations seen in the film THE HELP. HOLLYWOOD PLANTATION in Benoit played host to the 1956 movie BABY DOLL, and the antebellum mansion is nicknamed “The Baby Doll House.”
More than 200 films from around the globe are screened each March at the OXFORD FILM FESTIVAL, which has discussion panels with filmmakers.
The FESTIVALSOUTH FILM EXPO takes summer by storm with its film series and competing indie features, all as part of the multi-genre arts festival known as FESTIVALSOUTH.
The RAILS TO REELS FILM FESTIVAL in Meridian celebrates filmmaking from around the world each fall.
The state capitol grounds in Jackson transform into a “Literary Lawn Party” each summer for the MISSISSIPPI BOOK FESTIVAL. The fun and funky Fondren District in Jackson is home to the summertime MISSISSIPPI FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL, which draws chefs from around the South. Mingle with artists, sample fine wines and shop for chic souvenirs at the RIDGELAND FINE ARTS FESTIVAL each spring. Fall finds visitors looking to the skies at the GREAT MISSISSIPPI RIVER BALLOON RACE in Natchez.
Every spring for nearly 50 years, the GUMTREE FESTIVAL has attracted art lovers to Tupelo. Oxford plays host to POP UP OXFORD, a weeklong cultural experience, each winter, and then follows it up in spring-time style with the DOUBLE DECKER ARTS FESTIVAL, which focuses on food, music and the arts.
A juried art competition, a writers’ village, and a culinary showcase are all part of the COTTON DISTRICT ARTS FESTIVAL in Starkville every spring. On the Saturday before Labor Day each year, West Point draws vendors, visitors and musical acts to its PRAIRIE ARTS FESTIVAL. That same West Point weekend also features THE BLACK PRAIRIE BLUES FESTIVAL, which celebrates the music of native son Howlin’ Wolf.
Ben Napier of HGTV’s Home Town plays the “Loblolly Lumberjack” at the LOBLOLLY FESTIVAL, which celebrates Laurel’s heritage as a sawmill town each fall and fills downtown with artists, craftsmen and live music.
Live music, arts & crafts, and amazing food—including the Memphis Barbecue Network-sanctioned Mississippi Delta State Barbecue Championship—are all on the agenda at OCTOBERFEST in Cleveland.
Peek into the world of playwright Tennessee Williams at his birthplace, an 1875 Victorian house in Columbus now known as the TENNESSEE WILLIAMS HOME & WELCOME CENTER. At Mississippi State University in Starkville, see how John Grisham crafted his legal thrillers at the JOHN GRISHAM ROOM.
Beloved author WILLIE MORRIS’ gravesite is found in Yazoo City’s GLENWOOD CEMETERY, the same site he wrote about in Good Old Boy. DONNA TARTT, Pulitzer-winning author of The Goldfinch, hails from Greenwood, while Greenville was home to novelist SHELBY FOOTE.
Eudora Welty spent more than 75 years in the same home in Jackson, and today the EUDORA WELTY HOUSE welcomes visitors to see it just as it was when she lived and wrote here. Fans of GREG ILES’ fiction can see the Natchez-area locations he writes about—and even book a stay in the 1883 home that served as his office. Prolific writer PHILIP SHIRLEY lives near Madison.
William Faulkner’s former home ROWAN OAK in Oxford is a must-see for the literary minded.
Former US Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner NATASHA TRETHEWEY was born in Gulfport and has often written about her Southern roots.
You can’t miss the sky-high hospitality of the “WELCOME TO JACKSON” mural at the corner of State and Pearl streets in the Capital City. In VICKSBURG, you’ll find 32 riverfront murals depicting scenes from the city’s history.
Downtown WEST POINT is in full bloom with a myriad of murals representing everything from wildflowers to dogs playing pool.
Blues legends are larger than life on colorful murals in CLARKSDALE. In INDIANOLA, the late “King of the Blues,” B.B. King, is immortalized on a brick wall with his famous guitar Lucille.
Erin Napier of HGTV’s Home Town designed a number of noteworthy murals in downtown LAUREL. GULFPORT’S FISHBONE ALLEY is a painting-packed passageway adjacent to restaurants and nightlife.
A project dubbed “Off the Wall” is steadily filling the blank spaces in TUPELO with murals and other public art pieces that tell the city’s story.
