Kristen-Tordella Williams’ work is part of the Mississippi Invitational at the Mississippi Museum of Art. Image: Williams/MMA

The 2021 Mississippi Invitational exhibition, a survey of recent works created by contemporary visual artists living and working in the state, opened August 14 at the Mississippi Museum of Art in downtown Jackson.

As part of a statewide, collaborative effort to welcome visitors back to art museums and sculpture gardens, Museum admission is free in August.

Forty-two artists have been selected, the largest number of artists represented since the Museum launched the biennial program in 1997.

The exhibition will feature works across a variety of media from artists around the state, including Jackson-area artists Kira Cummings, Brenden Davis, Drew Dempsey, Sue Carrie Drummond, Karen Gilder, Allan Innman, daniel johnson, Paula McClain, Christina McField, Alexis McGrigg, Chip Sheppard, Sabyna Strerrett, Kristen Tordella-Williams, Stacy Underwood, Greg Walker, Chris Windfield and D’Artagnan Winford. See the full list here.

On view through October 10, 2021, this year’s Mississippi Invitational works were selected by guest curator Danielle Burns-Wilson.

“To be invited to serve as guest curator for the Mississippi Museum of Art’s 2021 Invitational is already an honor, but to do so against the backdrop of all that is happening around us is even more meaningful,” stated Burns-Wilson.

Invitational artists will be eligible to apply for The Jane Crater Hiatt Artist Fellowship—a grant of up to $20,000 awarded to one artist. The recipient will be announced during an opening reception on August 13.

MMA Director Betsy Bradley said, “The might and fortitude of artists has always been an inspiration to me. In the face of all that is contrary, they summon the courage and strength to make something that speaks their truth to other people. And our communities are better for it. The 2021 Mississippi Invitational demonstrates that the power to make something beautiful, to survive, to connect with ideas and with others, can be stronger than the temptation to withdraw.”

A publication accompanying the exhibition will be available in The Museum Store.

The Mississippi Invitational and its biennial exhibition and catalog are made possible with support from the Community Foundation for Mississippi/Jane Crater Hiatt Fund. The opening events are sponsored by Ross & Yerger.