The Mississippi Arts Commission will host the 2024 State Arts Conference in Jackson, MS, this fall. In 2023, we introduced a second day into the conference schedule. Your feedback told us that you loved it! We are back again this year with the added day to allow for more opportunities to connect, collaborate, and network. Whether you are an artist, an arts professional, a board member, a teacher, or a lover of the arts, the State Arts Conference is the place to be.

Dates: Tuesday, October 15, and Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Location: The Westin Jackson – 407 South Congress Street Jackson, MS 39201

More details are coming soon.

Registration Fee

$45 per person for the two-day conference (EARLYBIRD ends October 1, 2024, meals not included)
$60 per person for the two-day conference (after October 1, meals not included)
$75 per person for the two-day conference + ArtTalk and Dinner on October 15, at 6 p.m. at the Art Garden at the Mississippi Museum of Art (A limited number of tickets are available)
$30 per person for the ArtTalk and Dinner on October 15, at 6 p.m. at the Art Garden at the Mississippi Museum of Art (A limited number of tickets are available)

Early bird registration for the Wednesday night dinner and the conference closes on October 1, 2024.

Schedule

HOTEL RESERVATIONS

A block of rooms has been reserved at The Westin Jackson at a special events rate of $169 USD per night. Space is limited.

The group rate is good from October 13-18, 2024. The last day to book is October 1, 2024.

Room Block Name: 2024 MS State Arts Conference Westin Room Block.

The Westin Jackson is located at 407 South Congress Street, Jackson, MS 39201.

Reserve a Room

PARKING

Street parking (details coming soon)
$18+ 8% tax = daily valet / fenced parking
$28 + 8%t tax = overnight valet / fenced parking

ACCOMMODATION NEEDS

Please let us know if you require any accommodations to participate. Requests should be submitted at least two weeks before the event. If you have none, select “None.” If your needs change, please contact Victoria Meek, Accessibility Coordinator, at MAC: vmeek@arts.ms.gov or 601-359-6030.

Tuesday, October 15 – Confirmed Panels and Sessions

More sessions and panels will be added as information is provided.

FREE Pre-Conference – Mapping Pathways to a Teaching Artist Career 9 a.m. – Noon

This workshop is designed to guide teaching artists as they chart their journey to becoming in-demand professionals. You’ll navigate, chart, and plot your course through a combination of discussions and hands-on activities. By the end of the workshop, you’ll have the insights to map out your career trajectory and steer toward your professional goals with confidence.

This free pre-conference workshop is for those interested in becoming Teaching Artists or working in the general classroom. It is ideal for both emerging and established teaching artists who want to enhance their professional practice, forge strong partnerships with schools, and explore new opportunities for growth. This workshop is limited to 40 participants and free to those who register in advance.

National Folk Festival – Keynote at 1 p.m.

The National Folk Festival is coming to Jackson in 2025, 2026 and 2027. Join Blaine Waide, executive director of the National Council for the Traditional Arts, to hear about the festival, what to expect, and how to get involved.

Blaine Waide, executive director of the National Council for the Traditional Arts, has over 20 years ethnographic experience. He has been a leader of the programming staff since 2013 and executive director since 2023. He previously served as state folklorist of Florida (2011-13), where he directed the Florida Folklife Program. Waide co-edited/co-produced the award-winning expanded reissue of Drop on Down in Florida: Field Recordings of African American Traditional Music 1977-1980. He has an MA in Folklore from UNC Chapel Hill and a BA in English and Classical Studies from University of Arkansas. At the NCTA, he served as the lead staff member for festival management—and curation of artistic programs—for the National in Greensboro, NC (2015-17) and Salisbury, MD (2018-22), and the Richmond Folk Festival. Blaine regularly advises on cultural programming at National Park Service sites throughout the country, and moderates festival talk/demonstrations that often feature National Heritage Fellows alongside other festival artists. In 2020, he served as project director for virtual editions of the National and Richmond Folk Festival.

ArtTalk & Dinner

The ArtTalk and dinner will take place on Tuesday, October 15, at 6 p.m. at the Mississippi Museum of Art.

Details are coming soon

Wednesday, October 16, Confirmed Panels and Sessions

Community Foundation for Mississippi – FREE Breakfast

How might your community look different if artists and arts organizations partnered with planners, developers, and across sectors to re-imagine the public square? Let’s talk about it! The Community Foundation for Mississippi, a place-based funder and host of the Mississippi Rural Placemaking Summit, invites you to breakfast at the Westin to connect you to tools, tactics, and success stories that will inspire and encourage you in your work! Join CFM and others working in the field of Creative Placemaking who are re-imagining public spaces by using the arts to co-create change with the residents of their communities. Bring your best ideas, your imagination, and your appetite to this engaging session on placemaking in Mississippi. Space is limited!

Kate Medley – Keynote

Kate Medley is author of THANK YOU PLEASE COME AGAIN (2024), a coffee table book of photographs, for which she was a James Beard finalist. The book has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN, among others. It was named a Best Book of 2024 by NPR, and won the 2024 Mississippi Institute of Arts & Letters prize.

Primarily working as a photojournalist covering national news across the American South, Kate’s work focuses on storytelling and environmental portraiture, often exploring issues of social justice and the shifting politics of this region. She regularly contributes to The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal, among others.

Kate’s roots are in Mississippi, where she has investigated Civil Rights -era cold cases, covered the devastating impacts of Hurricane Katrina, and chased down hot tamales and Koolicles in the Mississippi Delta. She lives in Durham, North Carolina, with her husband and two children.

Community Concert Panel

Join us for a discussion about bringing communities together through music. We’ll hear from the driving forces behind Greenwood’s Hush Puppy Music Coop, Jackson’s Blue Monday, and Delta Rising. Come with your questions and leave with inspiration for activating your community with a concert series.

Creative Aging in the South

This session will focus on the benefits of providing arts programs that meet Creative Aging standards. Musical performances and hands-on art workshops have improved participants’ cognitive vitality and emotional well-being. These programs provide a meaningful opportunity for musicians and artists to sustain their individual artistic practices and support the local arts community. Come learn how to engage seniors with your arts programs.

Working with Incarcerated writers

Panelists:
Dr. Ebony Lumumba, Department Chair & Associate Professor of English at Jackson State University
Carol Andersen, Assistant Director at the Mississippi Humanities Council
Sally Lott McLellan, Artist and Volunteer with the Prison Writes Initiative
Dr. Shannon Anderson, Instructor of Criminal Justice and Sociology at Hinds Community College and instructor at Pearl Correctional Facility

Everyone deserves access to the arts, including the 27,000 Mississippians in prisons, jails, immigration detention, and juvenile justice facilities. Despite the many obstacles in place to reaching these vulnerable populations, arts programming in prisons has led to significant decreases in depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues and dramatic increases in self-respect, self-esteem, and sense of purpose. Additionally, educational opportunities lower rates of recidivism. The panelists discuss their experience working with incarcerated individuals, including the challenges and rewards of offering arts and education opportunities in prisons.

Sensory Accessibility with KultureCity

KultureCity is the nation’s leading nonprofit on sensory accessibility and acceptance for those with individual disabilities. This session will explore why and how we support individuals with sensory needs. We will also discuss the certification process, the tools provided, and how to work with various venues and events.

Building a Volunteer Community

This session will focus on the strategies for building and sustaining an effective volunteer community. Nonprofit arts organizations often rely on the efforts and expertise of volunteers to produce arts programs, raise funds, and serve the community. Whether your organization engages a few select volunteers or hundreds across the year, learn how to utilize volunteers to support your arts programs.