About The Museum

The Meridian Museum of Art (MMA) is housed in the historic Old Carnegie Library building, which was constructed in 1912-13, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and as a Mississippi Landmark. The Museum seeks to promote and support the art, artists, and art programs of our area and region through art education, exhibitions, collections, collaborations with other organizations, special events, and community involvement. MMA programs are designed to further these goals and to make art accessible to everyone in the community. The Museum serves an audience from across the state and region, but primarily from Meridian and Lauderdale County and the surrounding counties: Kemper, Neshoba, Newton, Jasper, and Clarke (in MS), and Sumter and Choctaw (in AL).

Schedule of Events

ADULT CLASSES & ARTIST GROUPS Third Saturdays @ 9 a.m. WEEKLY on Thursdays @ 6 p.m.

YOUTH CLASSES – SUMMER (AGES 4-17) AND AFTER SCHOOL (AGES K5-12 GRADES)

WORKSHOPS HOMESCHOOLERS WORKSHOP  (MONTHLY on 2nd Fridays 1-4 p.m.) 

SUMMER YOUTH CLASSES, AGES 4-17

AFTER SCHOOL YOUTH CLASSES, AGES 5-17

ROTATING EXHIBITS of MS/AL Artists and Fine Craftsmen

PERMANENT COLLECTION EXHIBITS

(900 pieces to select from, such as, European Portraits, Drawings, Paintings, Mixed Media, Photographs, Printmaking, Sculpture, etc. Noted artists included are Jere Allen, Charles Ambrose, Walter Anderson, Jason Baldwin, Sam Barber, Thomas Bardwell, Andrew Bucci, Homer Casteel, Terry Cherry, Salvador Dali, Robert DeNiro, William Dunlap, Caroline Durieux, Thomas Eloby, Roland Golden, Hamilton Hamilton, William Hollingsworth, Sir Godfrey Kneller, Laurin McCracken, James Michaelopoulos, Milly Moorhead, Jean Marc Nattier, Alice Neel, Edgar Parker, Sir Henry Raeburn, African Collection of Handcrafts, and many others.) 

PAINT-A-LONG (By appointment)

MERIDIAN MUSEUM ART COLLECTIVE Public Art Projects (Please contact the museum for information).

February 11 – April 1                                     

Photographer Suzi Altman I’m Still Here – Documenting James Meredith (60 photographs for 60 years of desegregation of the University of Mississippi). Suzi Altman is a New Yorker, living and working in the Deep South, specifically Mississippi for over twenty years.  Her work focuses on race, civil rights, the South and everyday life.  She chooses to focus her camera on the underrepresented in society, to shed light on those who have been underserved, and to give a voice and platform to those who need it.  After beginning her career more than thirty years ago with an internship with Rolling Stone Magazine and acclaimed photographer Mary Ellen Mark, Suzi worked for the Associated Press in New York city.  Her works are included in the permanent collections of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., the Mississippi Museum of Art, and the Smithsonian Museum of American History. Suzi’s photographs have been included in three Mississippi Invitational Shows at the Mississippi Museum of Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  She has recognized as the Mississippi Honored Artist of the Year by the National Museum of Women in the Arts Mississippi State Committee.  She was awarded as a Top 40 Under 40 Business Leader by the Mississippi Business Journal.

Artist Eric Jones was born and grew up in Flynt, Michigan. His dad was from Newton, Mississippi and mom was from Alexander, Louisiana.  His parents moved to Michigan so his dad could work for General Motors.  After retirement, Eric’s dad and mom moved to Newton.  Their plans were to build a new home, however, Mrs. Jones passed away in 2013, and the new home was never built.  Eric comes to visit with his dad about a couple of times a year.  Eric now has dual residency in Michigan and Mississippi. Eric is a self-taught artist beginning around the age of five.  He graduated in graphic design/studio art from a community college in the east side of Michigan. He has mastered his technique for color pencil from attending workshops.

Artist Larenzo Harry was born and grew up in Meridian. Instead of leaving his hometown, he decided to stay and remain here his whole life. He took classes at Meridian Community College with John Marshall. He worked in his family’s taxicab company and served as an assistant counselor at Weems Mental Health.

April 4 – 7                               

West Lauderdale, Northeast Lauderdale, and Lamar School Exhibitions

April 13 – 15                           

Lamar Elementary School Exhibition

April 15                                  

Collaboration with the Meridian Council for the Arts Threefoot Festival Youth Art Contest and Exhibition

JUNE 17 – DEADLINE FOR ENTRY – 49TH ANNUAL BI-STATE

ARTINIS at the Museum  JUNE 22 ANNUAL FUNDRAISER 

Silent Auction of 8 x 8s, Martinis & Cocktails, Artist Demonstration, Hors d’oeuvres, and musical performances

YOUTH SUMMER CLASSES JUNE 26 – JULY 21 
 
June 26 – 29
 
1.  Introduction of Art, ages 4-5, 9:30 – 11:00
2.  Pottery-Hand building, ages 6-12, 11:15 – 12:45
3.  Pottery – Wheel throwing, ages 12-17, 1:00 – 2:30
 
July 10 – 14
 
4.  Drawing and Painting, ages 6-9, 9:30 – 11:00
5.  Printmaking, ages 6-12, 11:15 – 12:45
6.  Drawing and Painting, ages 10-12, 1:00 – 2:30
 
July 17 – 21
 
7.  Drawing and Painting, ages 13 – 17, 9:30 – 11:00
8.  Portfolio Preparation, ages 13 – 17, 11:15 – 12:45
 
Exhibition and Reception
July 23, 2-3 p.m.

CAROLYN NORTON

JUNE – JULY 48th Annual Bi-State Best of Show Winner  

 

nortons spent her childhood observing the natural areas around the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and the mountains of North Carolina with a camera her mom and dad bought her from Sears and a box of watercolors. Her work is still highly influenced by the wonder of the natural world and the need to protect these areas.

She explores themes of grasslands and waterscapes through printmaking, photography, and handmade artist’s books. Her imagery is the result of responding to sound or observing motion, and often eliminates visual cues of horizon and scale to invite the viewer to enjoy a commonplace experience differently. Beginning a work with a technique that is somewhat unpredictable, and continuing the work more deliberately, is a favorite approach for her to make art.

Norton’s work has been shown in group and solo shows nationally and internationally within galleries such as the Blank Wall Gallery in Greece, Davis Orton Gallery in New York, the Griffin Museum of Photography in Massachusetts, Manifest Gallery in Ohio, and the PhotoPlace Gallery in Vermont. She won Best of Show in 2022 at the 48th Annual Meridian Museum of Art Bi-State Exhibition, was a 2021 Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters photography nominee, was included in the 2020 Mississippi Museum of Art Invitational. She holds an MFA in studio art from Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas and a BFA in Communication Arts and Design from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has taught visual arts at the university level for 15 years in Texas, Maryland, and Mississippi, establishing the University of Southern Mississippi’s non-toxic printmaking studio and intaglio printmaking class.

49th Annual Bi-State Art Competition and Exhibition August 1 – September 23 (Reception September 23)      

Juror James Michalopoulos   www.Michalopoulos.com

Entry deadline: June 17, 2023

Recognized as the cornerstone exhibit for Meridian Museum of Art, the Bi-State is the Museum’s prestigious annual exhibit recognizing and celebrating outstanding artistic achievements by artists. Open to current and past residents of Mississippi and Alabama, the competition offers more than $3,000 in awards and prizes, including the $1,000 Alliance Health Center Best of Show Award with an invitational exhibit and the Charlie Busler Memorial Award.

AUGUST 5  ART FOR MERIDIAN – FUNDRAISER COLLABORATION WITH THE MERIDIAN COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS – LIVE AND SILENT AUCTIONS WITH DINNER, ENTERTAINMENT @ NORTHWOOD COUNTRY CLUB

AUGUST 31  YOUTH AFTERSCHOOL CLASSES BEGIN

October 5 – Canvases for CancerBenefit Fundraiser for Anderson Regional Cancer Center and MMA – Featuring a silent auction of works by invited artists

October – November  All About Meridian Exhibition   – Invitational Exhibit to past and current members of the museum and also featuring works from members in the Permanent Collection

Membership Exhibition – Invitational Exhibition to showcase talents of the Museum’s members                                   December 9 – January 27, 2024   

Holiday Gala – December 9, 2023  

 

 

Find Us

Address
628 25th Avenue
Meridian, MS

Hours
Tuesday-Saturday: 11:00AM–4:00PM