Art exhibitions to depict Mississippi bicentennial

JACKSON — A dozen communities will host exhibitions that the Mississippi Museum of Art prepared for the state bicentennial.

The shows will feature pieces from the collection of the museum in downtown Jackson, including paintings by Walter Anderson, Marie Hull and William Dunlap; quilts by Hystercine Rankin and photographs by William Ferris.

Betsy Bradley, director of the Mississippi Museum of Art, said that during the past 200 years, "artists have helped us to see our hometowns and each other with new eyes and increased sensitivity to the beauty around us."

"The museum's collection of art is made more valuable every time Mississippians have encounters with it," Bradley said in a news release. "The celebration of our state's bicentennial is the perfect opportunity for the museum to share its collection with people across the state."

The schedule for "Art Across Mississippi: Twelve Exhibitions, Twelve Communities":

— "A Social Art: Mississippi Art in the Early 20th Century," May 6-June 16 in the McComb Public Library.

— "Narratives of the Land," June 16-Aug. 19 in the Charleston Arts Center in Charleston.

— "Home and Away: On the Road with Marie Hull," June 8-July 27 at the Fielding L. Wright Arts Center at Delta State University in Cleveland.

— "Eudora Welty's Women," Aug. 1-Sept. 9 at Mississippi Cultural Crossroads in Port Gibson.

— "Narratives of the Land," Sept. 1-Oct. 14 at McComas Hall Art Gallery at Mississippi State University in Starkville.

— "More than Meets the Eye: The Art of the Mississippi Blues," Sept. 8-Oct. 23 at the E. E. Bass Cultural Arts Center in Greenville.

— "A Social Art: Mississippi Art in the Early 20th Century," Sept. 15-Oct. 27 at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Gautier.

— "Voices in the Threads: Quilts from the Mississippi Museum of Art," January and February at the Union County Heritage Museum in New Albany.

— "Formal Explorations: Abstract Art from the Permanent Collection," December until March at the Gumtree Museum of Art in Tupelo.

— "Southern Gothic: Spiritual Sites and Evocative Spaces in Mississippi Art," Feb. 1-March 15 at Historic Jefferson College in Natchez.

— "A Social Art: Mississippi Art in the Early 20th Century, Feb. 9-March 23 at the Meridian Museum of Art.

— "Fine/Folk: Modes of Representation in African-American Art," March 12-May 19, 2018, Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi.

Starting on Dec. 9, the day before the 200th anniversary of statehood, the Mississippi Museum of Art will host its own bicentennial exhibition, "Picturing Mississippi, 1817-2017: Land of Plenty, Pain, and Promise." It will be on display through July 8, 2018, with at least 175 works by more than 100 artists.