Mississippi Arts Commission awards $3.8 million to repair and build arts venues in 13 counties
Eighteen theaters, museums, libraries and towns share the Building Fund for the Arts grants announced Nov. 4, from 46 requests worth $9.1 million. Two nonprofits receive public art grants for parks in Amory and Hattiesburg.
Jackson. The Mississippi Arts Commission is awarding more than $3.8 million to 18 organizations in 13 counties to repair, renovate, expand or build places that host arts programs all year. The commission announced the Building Fund for the Arts grants for its 2027 fiscal year on Nov. 4. The Mississippi Legislature provides the money, and the grantees have two years to finish their projects.
Requests came to more than twice the money: the commission received 46 letters of intent asking for $9.1 million in eligible projects, ranked by a panel of experts in the arts, architecture and nonprofit management.
Theaters, a museum and a library entrance
Three grants are of $500,000, the program's ceiling: to the Jackson State University Development Foundation to restore Ayer Hall, to the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson to restore Fountainhead, and to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast to renovate and reopen the historic Gulfport Little Theater. Thalia Mara Hall in Jackson receives $480,000 for its rigging system and performance deck, and ArtPlace Mississippi in Greenwood $300,000 to renovate the Elferts Building.
Community theaters fill much of the list. Panola Playhouse in Sardis receives $240,000 to expand, Tupelo Community Theatre $96,000 for the restrooms in the Lyric Theatre's lobby, Golden Triangle Theatre $85,000 for The Lyceum at Lee, the Vicksburg Little Theatre Guild $28,050 for Parkside Playhouse's heating and cooling and Starkville Community Theatre $25,000 for its playhouse. Lynn Meadows Discovery Center in Gulfport receives $234,000, the Water Valley Main Street Association $180,000 for a performance stage and art park, and the Friends of the Pickens Public Library $54,000 for an entrance that meets the Americans with Disabilities Act. The cities of New Albany and Hattiesburg are also among the grantees.
The program is open to Mississippi 501(c)(3) nonprofits and to cities and counties whose work centers on year-round arts programming; state agencies and history or science museums may not apply. Grants run from $25,000 to $500,000 and may cover up to 60 percent of a project. The other 40 percent must be matched in cash from sources other than the state, and the commission pays 75 percent of a grant only after the match is documented.
Public art in Amory and Hattiesburg
In a second program, Public Art in Community, two nonprofits each receive $15,000 from the commission, $15,000 from the Maddox Foundation and up to $5,000 from the Mississippi Main Street Association for a work of public art. Amory Main Street plans an accessible sensory park with interactive art in a downtown pocket park at Vinegar Bend. Hattiesburg Landmark Preservation plans Park on Pine, a green space on a vacant downtown lot where Pal's Records stood until Hurricane Katrina destroyed it in 2005.
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