FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (06.08.06)

Contacts: Maggie Lacey (MMA)

601.960.1515

mlacey@msmuseumart.org

Mississippi Museum of Art Breaks Ground

on Renovation of Mississippi Arts Pavilion

Details of Capital Campaign are made public:

Museum has raised over $8 million of $13 million goal.

Jackson, Miss., -- The Mississippi Museum of Art (MMA) in Jackson, Mississippi, breaks ground on the Mississippi Arts Pavilion during the Start of Renovations Ceremony Thursday, June 8, 2006 at 10 o’clock in the morning. The ceremony, attended by the members of the Museum Board of Trustees, Museum staff, press and representatives of state and local government, will be held in the gardens of the Arts Pavilion on Lamar Street between Court and Pascagoula Streets. Individuals and corporations who have already made substantial donations to the Capital Campaign will also be on hand and will be recognized for their support of the Museum.

W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Company has been contracted to oversee the project, which is set for completion by May of 2007. The Museum will re-open at that time with the ninth exhibition in the Annie Laurie Swaim Hearin Memorial Exhibition Series (exhibition name and theme are yet to be announced) and an installation of artwork from the Museum’s permanent collection entitled The Mississippi Story, an exhibition that will portray the history and culture of Mississippi through art, reflecting the national and international context of that story as well.

Museum Director Betsy Bradley will announce details of the campaign to raise money for the project, which has been under way in a silent phase for almost five months now. The Capital Campaign has four distinct phases, three of which are now complete. The first phase secured State and Federal funding for the renovations. The second phase included securing commitments from members of the Museum Board of Trustees and other “Museum Family”. The third phase, which is just being completed, involves securing donations from other lead donors. The final phase, the public phase, will now begin and the Museum will seek support from the community and art patrons from across the state of Mississippi.

The $13 million dollar budget, of which the Museum has raised almost two-thirds (as of June 7, 2006), includes more than just the planning, design, and construction costs for the new facility. A portion of the money will be added to the Museum’s operating endowment, and a portion will go towards a community plaza joining the new Museum facility with Thalia Mara Hall, the Telcom Center, and the future Convention Center. This outdoor plaza will be a civic green space for downtown Jackson and allow the community to come together in a safe and inviting cultural space.

The Mississippi Museum of Art has been a community-supported institution for more than 100 years, and has been at its present location since the late 1970s. The Museum boats a seasoned staff of museum professionals and fiscally responsible administrators who have been managing operating budgets for over 30 years. These individuals are working to ensure that this move is the best thing for the art of Mississippi and for the people of Mississippi. The Museum’s twenty-nine affiliate museums across the state will continue to benefit from the loan of artwork and traveling exhibitions, ensuring that even those Mississippians who cannot make the trip to Jackson can enjoy our rich cultural history. MMA will use its new and larger home to expand its programs and community outreach that are already in place.

With the ground breaking, the Museum begins a complete renovation of the 54,000 square foot facility, inside and out, almost doubling the space the Museum occupies at present. The Architects, Glavé and Holmes, Assoc. in Richmond, Virginia, and Dale & Associates, locally, have adopted a sleek, open design for the now rectangular building. The new space will be filled with light through the use of a large amount of glass and by raising the roof of the entryway, while wood brings warmth throughout. A front porch is added to create a welcoming and comfortable space that will be, literally, the front porch of the downtown cultural district. A vibrant café with wireless Internet will encourage visitors to sit and relax.

Although the move is small geographically, amounting to no more than a city block, it is a huge step in terms of facility capabilities, technology, and the overall philosophy of what an art museum means to the community. The facility’s brilliant architectural makeover will reflect the Museum’s mission to become a symbolic “museum without walls”—an inviting public space that will offer relevant and meaningful cultural experiences to both the Jackson community and the state of Mississippi.

For more information about the Capital Campaign, please call Jordan Kime at 601.960.1515 or email jkime@msmuseumart.org. For other press related matters, or for images of the new facility, please call

Maggie Lacey at 601.960.1515 or email mlacey@msmuseumart.org.