Hello friends! Over the past few months, you may have gotten to know me a little bit, and I’ve gotten to know many of you as well. A lot has happened since I joined the MAC team, and I would like to update you on what we’ve been working on. Since I stepped into my role in mid-January, MAC has held the Governor’s Arts Awards and Arts Day at the Capitol and finished a very generous and fruitful legislative session.

I have traveled to Laurel, Hattiesburg, Indianola, Cleveland, and Clarksdale. You’ve even heard me on the Mississippi Arts Hour a couple of times. Through my travels, I have heard from artists, arts leaders, teachers, tourism directors, activists, dreamers, builders, mayors, citizens, visitors, and more. It is evident that the arts and creativity are permeating our great state. Local arts organizations are providing inventive, impactful, and transformative programming. The work being done through our Building Fund for the Arts grant program is opening doors for new arts programming, economic investment, and community outreach impact. My travels are allowing me to come to YOU. To see YOUR hard work and hear about all that you are doing in and for your communities. I have more travel coming – so let me know if you want me to visit your area.

I want to thank you, the arts community, and our Legislators. Thank you to everyone who called and lent a voice of support for our agency this year. Thank you to the legislature members who voiced their support for the Commission during the session. Whether you showed up to my very first budget hearing presentation (one week into the job), stood with us at the Arts Day at the Capitol press conference, spoke with leadership, or served as a Committee member, Subcommittee member, or Conferee, we thank you for your generous support of the Mississippi Arts Commission this year. We will provide complete updates on our upcoming budget later this year as everything is finalized, so stay tuned.

We are working to debut a series of “travel logs” that dive into what I’m seeing, who I am meeting, and what I am learning across our great creative state. I want to take you with me as I travel and give insight into the groundbreaking and innovative work being done – along with a peak behind the curtain of new and upcoming developments across the arts industry.