The Center for Art & Public Exchange is an initiative of the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson, supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
MMA’s Center for Art and Public Exchange (CAPE) uses original artworks, exhibitions, programs, and engagements to increase understanding and inspire new narratives around issues of race and equity in contemporary Mississippi. Since the Museum launched the initiative in 2018, CAPE has evolved through effective leadership, community engagement, and the work of our own Museum staff. Our resources tell the stories of our journey and provide the tools to equip other art institutions to begin and sustain this same process.
Compassion, Art, People, and Equity: The Story of the Center for Art and Public Exchange at the Mississippi Museum of Art describes the history of CAPE, from its inception in 2018 through 2021. From the establishment the values of equity, transparency, and truth, to the CAPE Lab and artist in residency programs, to community engagement programs, this book provides details on how CAPE came to be and continues to evolve.
The 2021 CAPE Toolkit provides a comprehensive outline of the process MMA undertook to establish, evolve, and maintain the CAPE initiative. The Toolkit provides guidelines for other institutions looking to create similar initiatives within their own environments. The development of goals, the training of staff, the creation of an Innovation Lab, and the activation of the Community Advisory Council, are just a few of the features detailed in the Toolkit.