A multi-faceted partnership has earned a $10,000 grant from the City of Jackson’s Department of Human and Cultural Services for the creation of a public sculpture walk in the city’s Midtown neighborhood. This grant matches a $10,000 donation from Millsaps College’s ELSEWorks program, which engages Millsaps students in programs to encourage entrepreneurship and positive social change, primarily in the Midtown area.
Working with the Mid-South Sculpture Alliance, sculptors will be invited to install contemporary sculptures in a new public park in the spring of 2020. The sculptures will remain in place for one to two years, and then rotate out to make room for new sculptures.
Kristen Tordella-Williams, assistant professor of studio art at Millsaps, welcomed the news of the city’s support. Tordella-Williams also serves as vice president of the Mid-South Sculpture Alliance, which will assist with solicitation of art, contracts, installation, and programming related to the sculptures.
“I am ecstatic that we’ve received the grant from the city of Jackson to support public, free sculpture in the Midtown area,” she said. “I truly believe that regular, free access to the arts is essential not only for our collective wellbeing but to spur economic and civic growth as well, projecting a visual statement of Midtown’s successes to the greater Jackson area.”
In addition to the programming related to the sculpture walk, there will be educational opportunities for area residents in the Windgate Visual Arts Center on the Millsaps campus.
“We are excited about the opportunities that will come for individuals to engage with us on campus, right across the street from the Midtown area,” Tordella-Williams said.