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mississippi’s creative economy
Realizing the Economic Potential
of Creativity in Mississippi
Report includes:
Executive Summary
Study
Vignettes
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Executive Summary
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Welcome
executive summary
Mississippi’s rich creative
Creative companies alone are responsible for over 40,000
legacy defines who we are as
jobs in Mississippi today, but the creative economy is more
a people. The state is the
than just a significant source of employment. It helps define
birthplace of America’s music
the high quality of life in many Mississippi communities, and
and has produced some of the
it is one of the reasons they are excellent places in which to
South’s greatest writers. Our
visit, to work, or to live. Additionally, our creative economy is
creative heritage continues
a major amenity that attracts both tourists and talent to the
to serve as an inspiration for
state, and it kindles innovation and adds significant value to
countless artists, entrepreneurs
other leading industries in Mississippi, as well.
and innovators, and the creative spirit found in Mississippi is
just as vibrant and alive today as it was in decades past.
By understanding the creative economy as it exists in Mississippi
today, we are better positioned to support and further develop
The state’s creative tradition has far-reaching implications,
this key sector. This portion of our economy has the potential to
not only for its contributions to the arts and to American
be a major catalyst for job creation and other economic
culture, but for its impact on the state’s economy as a whole.
opportunities in communities around the state.
To better understand this thriving facet of our economy as it
exists today, the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA),
the state’s lead economic and community development
agency, and the Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) jointly
commissioned a study of Mississippi’s creative economy. It
examines the scope of our state’s creative economy and the
various types of individuals, businesses and organizations that
are at its core.
In looking ahead, we must focus on our strengths and look
at ways we can build upon them. In Mississippi, the creative
spirit of our people is one of our greatest assets. By developing our creative economy, we can further strengthen and
diversify our state’s economy and better position many of our
communities for a bright and prosperous future.
Sincerely,
This study reveals that more than 60,700 people work in
Mississippi’s creative economy, a figure that includes both
individuals employed by creative business enterprises and
those who work in creative occupations for other companies.
Haley Barbour
Governor
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executive summary
The cultural contributions of creativity are readily apparent—as
in Mississippi’s literary reputation, musical heritage, and internationally renowned ballet competition; the economic contributions of creativity are not so evident. This report describes
the many ways that artistic people, creative enterprises and
institutions, and cultural activities can and do attract and retain
jobs, increase productivity, stimulate innovation and growth,
improve learning, and generate wealth. It then suggests ways to
strengthen that reality and promote the image of Mississippi as
a heartland of creativity.
Powerhouse Community Arts Center, Oxford, MS
Introduction
Mississippi’s creative people, companies and institutions, past and
present, are a vital part of what defines the state. Their achievements and talents contribute to Mississippi’s distinctive ambiance.
But these same creative people, companies and institutions collectively also add significant wealth to the state’s economy, in ways
that have been undercounted and under-recognized.
First, the creative economy is a direct source of economic growth,
jobs, and wealth. Second, creativity can improve the competitiveness of manufactured products and services . Third, talented
people, businesses that need talent, and tourists are increasingly drawn to places with a creative and cultural milieu, an
environment that offers interesting attractions, entertainment
and culture. Fourth, a creative environment stimulates innovation in science and technology. Fifth, an educational system that
encourages and rewards creativity is the foundation for the 21st
century work force, and the arts have demonstrated their success
in increasing academic performance.
Mississippi’s Creative Economy:
Counting, Aggregating and Comparing
Mississippi’s creative economy, if defined by the combination
of both employees of creative companies and employees of
other companies who work in creative occupations, includes
roughly 60,704 jobs, shown as the grand total in Figure 2.
Mississippi’s creative enterprises are directly responsible for
the employment of 40,284 people in 2008 (the sum of the
two numbers in the left hand oval in Figure 2) in approximately 3,000 establishments of which almost one in three—
9,580—work in creative occupations. An additional 20,420
Mississippians are employed in creative occupations while
employed in sectors of the economy that don’t fit the criteria
established for “creative enterprises.”
Figure 2: Mississippi’s Creative Economy
Figure 1: Convergence of Clusters
Architecture
Architectural Elements
Landscaping
Aromas
Spiritual Art
Healing Art
Lifestyle
Wellness
Spiritualism
Construction
Creative Enterprises
Culinary Arts
Weaving
Farm Art
Agriculture
and Food
Creative
Economy
Creative Workforce
Other Workers
in Creative
Enterprises
Creative Workers
in Creative
Enterprises
30,704
9,580
Creative Workers
in Other
Enterprises
20,420
Consumer
Products
High Tech
Web Design
Animation
Tourism
Cultural Tourism
Art Souvenirs
Fashions
Design Products
Advertising
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Those industry sectors that are included in the creative economy range from commercial printing and caterers to media
related and advertising agencies. Many in these sectors are
self-employed as sole owners of businesses, freelancers, and
consultants. An estimated 5,250 self-employed individuals,
or 17.5 percent of those in creative occupations, fell into this
category in 2007 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. While
the data presented in this report includes estimates of selfemployed creative workers, it is not able to capture the many
individuals with secondary jobs or informal incomes in creative
fields, which undoubtedly add to the true scale of the creativite economy.
Mississippi has 30,000 people employed in creative occupations, (the sum of the two numbers in the right hand oval in
Figure 2.), jobs that require a significant level of originality and
imagination. Creative occupations are not just found in the
better-known creative sectors like dance theaters, art galleries and advertising agencies. Local governments in Mississippi
employ nearly 9 percent of all creative talent, and faith-based
organizations employ roughly 5.7 percent, primarily musicians.
Trends and Patterns
In the past six years, Mississippi has been hit by Katrina, one of
the worst natural disasters of recent history, only to then be
plunged along with the rest of the nation into a major recession.
Over the five-year time span from 2003 to 2008, the creative
industries experienced more robust growth during boom times
but also were more severely affected by economic contractions. Nevertheless, the creative cluster in Mississippi showed
solid growth in employment over the five years. From 2002 to
2008, creative cluster employment grew by four percent in the
state compared to six percent growth across all industries but
surpassing growth other important value-added clusters such as
advanced materials and agribusiness, food processing and technology. Remarkably, overall job growth in Mississippi’s creative
sectors exceeded growth in those same creative sectors across
the rest of the nation, the exception being 2005 when Hurricane
Katrina hit and the Gulf Coast’s employment in creative sectors
dropped more than six percent.
executive summary
Segmenting the Creative Economy
To better understand the state’s creative economy, this report
separates the creative enterprise cluster into the following six
sub clusters:
•
visual and performing arts
•
design
•
film, video, and media
•
literary and publishing
•
culinary arts
•
museums and heritage
Visual and Performing Arts
The purest segment of the creative economy is made up of
those people who earn their living from their artistic talents,
the most intentional originators of creativity who turn ideas
and visions into art, craft, music, and/or performance. The
music that originated in Mississippi’s Delta region, for example,
has influenced that art form around the world. Although the
scale of this artistic talent is not as great in rural regions as it
is in urban art centers, it is just as important in less populated
places, and in some, far more important. In 2008, this sub
cluster included more than 6,400 people employed in nearly
470 establishments. Based on the occupational data, however,
about 1,800 Mississippians classify themselves as pure “artists”
producing original work. This sub cluster includes a large number of self-employed people but also many others who work
at their art on a part-time basis, supplementing income from
other sources. It’s especially difficult to earn a full-time living in
music or theater in a sparsely populated region, where many of
the artists are employed—for example, as waiters, teachers, or
factory workers The average annual earnings for the entire sub
cluster is about $19,000.
Design
Design is an applied art form, applied to products, print and
web-based content, buildings and landscapes. The most obvious applications are seen in architecture, gardens, advertising,
interior design, and fashion-oriented products. Because the
creative content of this sub cluster is not always self-evident,
it is often overlooked as part of the creative economy. The
creativity embodied in these enterprises is too often taken
for granted, attributed to some other factor, and the firm is
assigned to some different cluster. This sub cluster has the
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second largest employment among the six sub clusters in
the state’s creative economy. Design-related businesses in
Mississippi employ over 8,000 people in more than 700 establishments in 17 sectors.
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executive summary
Film, Video, and Media
This sub cluster comprises 19 sectors that span the distribution and production of motion pictures, music, radio, cable
and television programming and multimedia firms. The sub
cluster is quite evenly distributed across the state. In 2008, it
employed approximately 5,600 people in its 260 plus establishments with an average annual earnings of just over $35,000.
Thirty percent of the employment in the sub cluster is directly
attributable to cable and other program distribution.
Literary and Publishing
Literary and publishing have deep roots in Mississippi. About
9,000 people are employed in the sub cluster’s 17 industry sectors, which represents about 28 percent of the state’s creative
economy. Mississippi is home to a treasure trove of writers
that forms the core of this sub cluster that include some of the
nation’s most widely read and beloved fiction writers. William
Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Willie Morris, Tennessee Williams,
Shelby Foote, Richard Wright, Larry Brown, Richard Ford,
Walker Percy, and Ellen Gilchrist are only the beginning of a list
that goes on and on.
Viking Cooking School, Greenwood, MS
Culinary Arts
Mississippi is known for certain special foods and a rich foodways tradition. Although it may not have the culinary reputation of New Orleans, it has its own distinctive and authentic
tastes. The criterion for being part of the creative economy is
that the business, if an eating establishment, employ a trained
chef, regularly change the menu, serve local fresh foods, and/
or offer the customer a culinary experience. The Mississippi
Hospitality and Restaurant Association estimates that roughly
10 percent of its 2,500 member restaurants have professionally
trained chefs, and about 15 of those places also provide venues
for art or music. In addition, there are about 30 independent
coffee shops with baristas, and some of those roast their own
coffees. The final definition includes catering companies, businesses involved in making and selling baked goods, confectionary stores, specialty food items and food processors, and those
eating or drinking establishments that had special features
associated with creativity.
Museums and Heritage
Tennessee Williams Park, Clarksdale, MS
Mississippi has an exceptionally strong and recognizable cultural
heritage that serves to drive and inspire its creative economy.
This sub cluster is composed of only three industry sectors, museums, historical sites, and zoos and botanical gardens, and these
account for less than 700 jobs and 30 establishments. Although
the smallest of the six creative economy sub clusters, it is the
most difficult to quantify and is inevitably undercounted because
many of the jobs are within government and because there are
so many part-time and volunteer employees. While this sub
cluster may not be large, it plays a critical role in helping many
communities retain their distinctiveness, and it influences much
of the state’s music, literature, art, and tourism.
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Support Infrastructure
Because much of the value of creative economy is based on the
manner in which its products are experienced and success of
the buzz that it produces, the creative economy depends heavily on support from a variety of physical, intellectual, technical,
and social sources to deliver or provide services to the creative
economy. The ultimate strength of the creative economy is tied
in large part to the quality and quantity of the social and support
infrastructure that support it.
Organizations
Guilds, councils, arts associations, advocacy organizations, and
social networks represent the associational infrastructure that
enables members of Mississippi’s creative economy to connect
to one another, to the state’s broader creative economy, and to
external sources of knowledge and creative inspiration. The
approximately 200 arts organizations and networks that this
study found include formal and informal groups of working
artists, educators, and patrons and supporters of the arts.
Education and Training
Mississippi’s educational institutions assume many roles in the
state’s creative economy. They generate its labor force and entrepreneurs; provide access to new ideas, information, and people;
and host entertainment and cultural activities in their communities. In each area of activity, Mississippi has significant strengths
but also opportunities to do more. The state’s talent is first
nurtured in its K-12 schools, and Mississippi’s Whole Schools Initiative is among the best programs in the nation, a model for integrating the arts in the schools. Most of Mississippi’s community
colleges are beginning to respond to the state’s transition from
a mass production economy to an idea- and experience-based
economy and to the growing job market and student demand for
applied creative arts in, for example, digital arts, graphic design,
landscape architecture, and interior decoration. And many colleges and universities are important sources of and venues for art
and culture, especially in the state’s smaller cities.
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executive summary
community at large; and as a way to generate economic impact
for the community in which they are held. Festivals also provide
the opportunity to tell a community’s story and help create a
sense of place.
Places and Spaces: Creativity on Display
Many creative occupations and processes are individual endeavors, calling to mind the image of the solitary artist in a studio or
the writer hunched over a desk. Indeed, creative individuals need
such places to create, either alone or with other creative people.
But they also need more public places to perform, exhibit and
share their work. In Mississippi, hundreds of museums, galleries, theaters, concert halls, restaurants and pubs, historic sites,
buildings and neighborhoods, gardens and public spaces serve
as venues for the performance, exhibition, and dissemination of
creative work.
Resources:
Investments and Involvement
The Mississippi Arts Commission and its network of partners are
the most important resources and sources of support for the
state’s artists and organizations in the arts, providing direct grants
to individual artists and operating grant individual arts councils
around the state. Many of these organizations provide funding
to support individual artists or community focused events and
efforts. Mississippi also has an estimated 46 foundations based in
Mississippi that name arts funding one of their areas of emphasis—for activities such as assisting after school programs; providing disadvantaged youth with arts instruction, supporting the
many arts-focused festivals around the states; and making grants
to support community theaters and symphonies. Other organizations that provide small business assistance include the
Mississippi Development Authority, which provides technical
assistance for promotion, marketing, and business development.
The network of Mississippi Small Business Development Centers
can assist businesses in start-up plans as well as around issues
such as obtaining financing and expanding market share.
Events and Performances
One of the most important outlets for artistic expression is the
multitude of festivals that are found in almost every county in
Mississippi. These festivals serve as an asset for Mississippi’s
creative economy in several ways: as an active market for Mississippi artists; as a way to integrate and promote the arts to the
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V. Recommended Goals and
Strategies
The size of the creative economy alone has a large and direct
impact on the state’s economy—nearly 3,000 establishments responsible for roughly 40,200 jobs that are engaged
primarily in the production, distribution, and marketing of
aesthetically or emotionally oriented products or services—is
sufficient reason to invest in the cluster. It employs more
people than the defense and security, apparel and textiles,
and transportation equipment manufacturing clusters, all
of which are important sectors of the state’s economy. Add
to that the effect of the creative economy on so many other
sectors, such as tourism, agriculture, communications and
information technologies, furniture and health care and its
value as an amenity that attracts tourists and talent, and the
potential value far exceeds the conventional view of the lone
artist at a festival or performer on the street.
The following goals and strategies are based on what has
been learned in this study and on the ideas and vision of
some of the key stakeholders in Mississippi’s arts, education,
and economic development arenas. They are intended to
help the state reap the full benefits of its creative people and
creative economy.
The Creative Economy
1. Is a direct source of growth (Goal II)
2. Adds value to other sectors (Goals IV, V)
3. Attracts talented people, businesses and tourists (Goals I, III)
4. Stimulates innovation (Goals III, IV, V)
5. Is the foundation for the 21st century work force (Goal VI)
GOAL I:
Facilitate efforts that make communities
throughout the state more creative and
vibrant.
In Richard Florida’s Who’s Your City, he demonstrates the
value of place to people and to companies. “Where we live
is the central factor that affects all others—work, education,
and love—follow. 1” Although the book focuses on large
metropolitan areas, small communities can even more easily
executive summary
distinguish or brand themselves and attract people and firms
who may be looking for less expensive, less crowded, and less
hectic places. Those communities that are able to offer enough
of the urban creative amenities and cultural attractions along
with a slower, more family-friendly lifestyle can use that to their
advantage to generate and retain wealth. Strategies that allow
rural communities to convert their creative talent into economic
activities are critical to Mississippi’s future.
Strategy A: Use creative talent and enterprises
to promote community restoration and
revitalization.
•
Reinstate state funding for Mississippi’s Building Fund for
the Arts (BFA) program, a bond bill that could be used to
refurbish and maintain buildings as cultural centers. 2
The fund, authorized at $19.2 million and managed by the
Mississippi Arts Commission, supported 93 projects between
2001 and 2007. Awards were based on artistic quality,
plans, architectural and organizational capacity, and anticipated economic impact.
•
Offer financial or architectural incentives or technical assistance to make abandoned or unused downtown space available to creative businesses, galleries, and/or studio space in
both urban areas and in small communities.
Paducah, Kentucky has had one of the nation’s first and
most successful artists relocation programs. Recruiting artists nationally with zero interest loans and subsidies for architectural changes, the city attracts some 50 artists, which
brought galleries and theaters to a previously distressed
area of the city.
In Pittsfield, Massachusetts, a group of artists worked with
the owners of vacant storefronts in the downtown. The idea
was to give artists the opportunity to work in these spaces
and exhibit their art, and to bring more foot traffic to the
downtown. The effort succeeded in helping both the artists
and the property owners, and downtown Pittsfield is now a
more arts-active and vibrant place to live and work.
1 Richard Florida, Who’s Your City? New York: Basic Books, 2008, p. 6.
2 http://www.arts.state.ms.us/programs/building-fund.php
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•
Develop and communicate programs currently available
through MAC.
•
Consider a “Percent for Art” program such as is being
implemented on university campuses and many federal
projects. Set aside a percentage of funding for public buildings and public spaces to display art such as sculptures, murals and other decorative art in, for example, hotel lobbies,
restaurants, banks, hospitals and outdoors.
•
Consider zoning and private-sector set asides such as those
done in the GSA Art in Architecture Program which commissions the nation’s leading artists to create large-scale works
of art for new federal buildings. These artworks enhance
the civic meaning of federal architecture and showcase
the vibrancy of American visual arts. Together, the art and
architecture of federal buildings create a lasting cultural
legacy for the people of the United States. GSA reserves
one-half of the estimated construction cost of each new
federal building to commission project artists.
The Alluvian Hotel, a cosmopolitan boutique hotel in Greenwood, Mississippi exhibits a collection of award-winning art
by Mississippi artists.
The Mayor of Sheridan, Wyoming enacted Resolution 24-00
to establish an “Art in Public Places” program in July 2000
and the city of 15,000 now has some 50 sculptures with a
western theme downtown. Originally on loan from the artists for $500, about half now have been purchased and are
permanent.
•
Support the designation and formation of “Creative Economic districts,” where creative people and enterprises are
encouraged to concentrate, collaborate, live and work.
executive summary
arts. They created a cultural center in abandoned factories
with low rent space for studios and theater companies.
Granville Island is now the artistic center of Vancouver and
a primary tourist destination served by a steady stream of
sea taxies. 4
•
MDA and MAC would create a program that helps communities become certified (similar to the state’s Certified
Retirement Communities program) and offer technical
assistance to communities to inventory their creative assets
and develop plans to meet criteria for being designated a
“creative community.”
Mississippi offers communities the chance to become Certified Retirement Communities, which is obtained after a
three-month screening process, and to become recognized
under the Mississippi Main Street Association program,
supported by the National Trust for Historic Preservation
and the Mississippi Development Authority.
The Maine Arts Commission established a program in 2001
called “Discovery Research that gave grants and methodologies to communities to map their creative assets,
discover their own cultural resources, and provide funds to
survey local events, artists, traditions, and tradition-bearers
as well as cultural organizations which promote or support
the performing, visual, craft or literary arts. The state is
now transitioning from that discovery model to a capacity
building model.
Vermont, based on recommendations of the Vermont
Council on Culture and Innovation, encouraged selected
communities to look at development through the lens of the
creative economy, emphasizing the importance of place,
creative partnerships, and creative assets. 5
The state of Louisiana recently passed enabling legislation
that allows local communities to create Cultural Districts,
and at least 51 districts have been created around the state
to date. The Districts provide tax exemptions for the sale of
one-of-a-kind art and tax credits to rehabilitate buildings to
help create more vibrant downtowns. 3
Granville Island was formed from a sandbar in the heart
of Vancouver, British Columbia to hide the city’s heavy
industries. In the 1970s a local politician led the move to
change its image and rebuild the island’s economy on the
3 http://www.crt.state.la.us/culturaldistricts/documents/act298.pdf.
4 http://granvilleisland.com
5 http://www.vtrural.org/creative-communities.php.
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executive summary
Strategy B: MAC to continue support and assist
Strategy A:
cultural fairs and festivals.
businesses in the creative industries. Improve
•
ability of existing technical and business support
infrastructure to support the self-employed and
microenterprises.
MAC and MDA offers technical assistance and support for
organizers of fairs, festivals and other celebrations through
the Festivals and Events Coordinators Workshops. The program improves the promotion, marketing, fundraising and
business planning efforts of festivals. These festivals and
other forms of community and regional celebrations can be
used effectively to showcase and market a place’s special
history, culture, creativity or even weirdness, an increasingly sought attribute. 6
•
Help small business development centers, cooperative
and manufacturing extension offices, incubators, MDA’s
Entrepreneurial Center and employment services to better
understand the particular needs and markets of the creative
enterprise. Continue to work through existing programs and
organizations such as tech parks, incubator space, MDA’s
Entrepreneurial Center, etc.
The Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) and the Mississippi
Development Authority’s (MDA) Tourism Division have been
active supporters of many events through grants and other
services. Both agencies recognize the challenges faced by
community groups that produce festivals. To address these
challenges, MAC and MDA have come together to produce
workshops that provide training and networking opportunities for festival coordinators from around the state.
The current Mississippi Arts Commission program to help
artists with business skills could be turned into a “train
the trainer” program that would enable existing services
to better understand and support the needs of artists and
artisans.
www.visualarts.ms.gov. The Mississippi Arts Commission
has created the Mississippi Visual Arts Directory Website.
The website serves as a resource to all things visual arts
in the state and provides artists with the opportunity to
increase their visibility. The site is open to all visual artists
and craftsmen, museums, cultural centers and galleries and
visual arts organizations and all art education facilities.
The City of Lowell, Massachusetts has an event called “Destination World” that brings together all of the city’s immigrant
and ethnic communities around a single event to highlight
the contribution and work of the city’s immigrant population.
This also brings new audiences to the downtown.
Haywood Community College in western North Carolina
hosts an arts business boot camp every summer during
which artisans are taught about managing their business, finances, marketing, use of ecommerce, and budgeting. Most
years, the camp is oversubscribed, with attendees coming
from across the U.S. It’s supported by the Arts Business
Institute, co-located with HandMade in America in Asheville.
GOAL II: Promote entrepreneurship
and small business growth among
creative firms.
The creative economy, with its emphasis on small scale, over
mass production, is exceptionally entrepreneurial. But because
the structure of this cluster favors highly flexible small companies
with uncertain markets that are dependent more on the strength
of reputation and connections than productivity, it is not well
understood or served by the public agencies that assist small
businesses. Business and capital assistance organizations typically are measured by employment growth, which biases publicly
funded services against helping entrepreneurial companies that
are considered “lifestyle” or unlikely to grow very large.
Develop greater capacity to assist
•
Expand Mississippi’s existing “Arts Means Business” program
to reach a greater number of creative enterprises and creative people, possibly working though membership organizations like the Mississippi Craftsmen’s Guild and by training
the staff of existing small business assistance programs and
educational institutions to support creative enterprises.
6 Joe Cortright, “‘Keep Portland Weird’ makes sense as a jobs strategy,” Oregonlive.com, February 13, 2010.
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The Montana two-year college system developed a program called “artrepreneurship” in its arts and crafts
program at Great Falls that emphasizes the business side
of the arts. An evaluation of the first class of completers
found on average a 152 percent increase in sales, 309 percent increase in out-of-state sales, and four new enterprises
started.
•
Strategy B:
The Milwaukee Cultural Council is developing a comprehensive on-line database for all of the people and companies
that are part of the creative economy in southeast Wisconsin as part of its creative economy initiative.
•
Work together across agencies to identify and communicate
the state’s creative brand, i.e., “Mississippi’s Creative Spirit.”
The Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) Tourism Division contracted with North Star Destination Strategies to
determine and define the state’s true, unique and relevant
brand position that will help the state stand out in the tourism marketplace. North Star conducted more than a dozen
pieces of research to identify what differentiates Mississippi
from its competitors. The result? Mississippi is the most
southern of all states and the mother of southern culture
- yesterday, today and tomorrow. From this, Mississippi’s
brand was created, “Find Your True South.”
Many places have branded their creative products, such as
Kentucky Crafted, Native Handicraft from Alaska and Made
in Montana. Fewer have successfully used creativity to
brand a place, although Glasgow, Scotland calls itself the
“Creative City” and the Berkshires in western Massachusetts use “Berkshire Creative: Creativity Lives Here” as a
regional brand.
Consider producing a Mississippi Roots Music show that
celebrates being the birthplace of America’s music.
The Boston Pops has an American Idol style competition
called POPSearch. Held in the summer, it plays to a live
audience of almost half a million and millions more on
television. In 2004, the winner was a van driver for special
needs children. 9
Support branding and marketing of
the state’s creative places, products and assets.
Build the state’s artist’s roster, develop a more comprehensive directory of the larger range of creative enterprises that
includes, for instance, lists of writers, designers, architects,
interior designers, music companies, animators, and graphic
artists. Use the roster to reach broader and more distant
markets for the state’s creative products.
The Georgia Tourism Foundation supports a web site called
Georgia’s Creative Economies that promotes Georgia people, places, and made and grown things. It can be searched
by region, category, and subcategory. 8
Assist existing state programs and resources, such as the
Small Business Development Centers and WIN Job Centers,
to better understand and assist creative enterprises, with
a special effort to target the development and growth of
creative enterprises by underserved populations.
In Kentucky, the state agricultural extension service has an
extension agent in the poor, eastern-most and coal dependent part of Appalachia dedicated to working with artisans
and artists and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst
has an Arts Extension Service that has helped connect communities to the arts and has offered workshops and training
for more than 30 years, now including a creative economy
training program. 7
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Strategy C: Help artists find new full-time
employment that utilizes their talent.
•
Support the development of an artist’s employment service,
either through the Arts Commission or the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.
In Southeast Wisconsin, the Kohler Corporation has an
on-going Artists in Residency program that leads to its arts
edition products. The company also has an art gallery. In
addition, one of the hotels in downtown Milwaukee created
a similar Artist-in-Residency program in which a local artist
worked on his paintings in the lobby of the hotel. The program has elevated the visibility of the arts and artists and
made the lobby of the hotel more attractive.
Northern Michigan University hosts an “Art & Design Career & Employment - Art Jobs” designed to provide access
to numerous art/design career and employment internet
resources. Individuals can search for opportunities across
the entire US and even globally.
7 http://www.artsextensionservice.org
8 http://www.gamadegagrownproducts.org/index.php
9 http://www.myspace.com/popsearch
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GOAL III
Help communities preserve and generate
added value from the state’s rich cultural
and historic heritage.
Strategy A: Encourage investment in and
marketing of the state’s cultural heritage
in more communities.
•
The history and architecture of a place influence how people
feel about their communities and the decisions people make
of where they want to live. This, in turn, influences where
companies want to do business. If a place is distinctive enough,
values, and invests in that uniqueness, cultural heritage can
generate wealth in its own right.
Mississippi represents a prime example of this phenomenon. The
state’s cultural heritage, particularly as demonstrated by its literature, music, and architecture, is a strong, internationally recognized
brand. Literature is epitomized by Oxford, music by Clarksdale,
and architecture by Natchez. But all three art forms are present in
force in many other places across the state. For example, in 2008
Columbus was named one of twelve national distinctive destinations by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
If the heritage of a place can be preserved in the face of the
growth pressures brought on by development, that brand
can be used to promote all aspects of Mississippi’s creative
economy. Many other communities have some of these same
attributes, but they are unrecognized or underappreciated. Taylor, for example, has been recognized as being “quintessential
Mississippi [where] tourists come for photos.” 10
Mississippi should focus on those things which are authentically
part of our Mississippi culture:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Arts
Literarture
Music
Architecture
Food
Sacred places
Civil War and Civil Rights
The state should help communities identify their assets; provide
communities a template and best practices.
Help each community to inventory and assess the economic value of its cultural and historical assets including its
architecture. Although Mississippi has a strong program for
preserving and registering historic places, this step would
look for a unifying theme that is distinctive and defining
and tie it to development efforts.
In Mineral Point, Wisconsin, the town used its early mining
history to create the historic Shake Rag Alley. The nine
buildings attract students in the arts and crafts to classes,
and a nearby artists’ community is home to 17 art galleries
within a few blocks of Shake Rag Alley. 11
•
Make better use of the state’s strong investment in heritage
sites and locations by linking them to the creative economy
and the arts community.
The city of Charleston, South Carolina has worked to establish itself as a center of historic preservation. This includes
the location of the American College of Building Arts, which
offers degrees in historic preservation, and Clemson University’s Graduate Program in Historic Preservation.
Strategy B: Involve the media, new and old, in
promoting all of Mississippi’s cultural assets. For
example, promote literature and strengthening
the market for literary products.
•
Create a year-round arts colony with an emphasis on writers and composers somewhere in the state. The prestigious Mississippi Art Colony for painters is now more than
60 years old, and a similar “camp” for writers would further
enhance Mississippi’s brand as a literary cluster.
In Arkansas the Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow in Eureka
Springs, renamed the Communications Arts Institute, gives
about 50 writers each year a place to work free from distractions and in a community of people with similar interests with whom they share ideas and receive constructive
feedback. Typically, writers—now extended to songwriters
10 Christine Schultz, “You could say that some people’s careers find them,” Southwest Airlines Spirit Magazine, May 2010.
11 http://shakeragalley.com
10
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and composers in the new “composers’ cottage”—spend
between two weeks and three months, but usually about a
month in residency. 12
The Jentel and Ucross year-round art colonies in Sheridan,
Wyoming, combine the literary and visual arts. The residents describe their work at regular community meetings
and Ucross has a stage that puts on musical and literary
events for the community. 13
Strategy C: Further promote the image of
Mississippi as a “global literary capital.”
•
Suggest that Oxford apply to UNESCO for Oxford to be designated a “City of Literature.” This designation will attract
international attention to a community that is so rich in
literary excellence.
The Southern Literary Trail is a collaboration of eighteen
towns from Natchez, Mississippi to Savannah, Georgia that
celebrate internationally renowned writers and playwrights
who were inspired by uniquely southern places. The Trail
maps visitors travel to a region that is home to great writers and timeless stories. The Mississippi trail features such
writers as Tennessee Williams, Eudora Welty, Shelby Foote,
Margaret Walker Alexander, Richard Wright and William
Faulkner. The Mississippi Development Authority is currently developing a Mississippi literary trail modeled after
similar trails such as the Blues Heritage Trail, tamale trail
and agri-tourism trail.
Mississippi communities host a number of literary festivals
and events around the state such as the Tennessee Williams
festival in Clarksdale, the Natchez Literary and Film festival
and the Oxford Conference of the Book.
and the market, not just R&D, and to make similar investments
in helping companies use creativity and design to distinguish and
establish new products in the market and new markets. During
the course of this report, we learned that while manufacturers
in the state recognize the value of consumer-driven design and
innovation to their success, they do not yet use it to their fullest
advantage.
Strategy A: Help manufacturers understand the
importance of creativity and value of design as a
competitive advantage.
•
Create a Creative Economy Toolkit, a resource for business
focusing on the relationship between creativity and economic
growth and how they combine to create value and opportunity.
•
Recommend that the Mississippi Manufacturers Association establish a council on manufacturing design or a design
association within the organization for both education and
application of design among manufacturers.
The Center for Design Innovation in North Carolina’s Piedmont
region brings in top designers to meet with local businesses
and is working on forming a design council. It hosts an annual
Design, Art, & Technology Symposium and brings in frequent
internationally known speakers to give workshops. 14
Winzelear Gear in Chicago, which has been making gears for
industry for more than a century, advertises its gears as an
art form and the company has a partnership with the School
of the Art Institute with fashion designers experimenting
with incorporating plastic gears into unique garments and
accessories. 15
GOAL IV: Enhance the competitiveness of the state’s business and industry through increased use of art and design.
Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s, Mississippi successfully
helped its industries develop or adopt the new technologies they
needed to compete, investing in R&D and in technical assistance.
Now that those process technologies are readily available and
have been adopted in places with much lower operating costs,
the competitive advantage has disappeared. The challenge for
the 21st century will be to adopt innovations driven by the user
12 http://www.writerscolony.org
13 http://www.ucrossfoundation.org/
14 http://www.centerfordesigninnovation.org/
15 http://www.winzelergear.com/
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Oregon Creative Industries was formed in 2008 as a nonprofit association to provide a way for creative people,
whether artists, film makers, designers, and architects, to
intermingle, exchange ideas, and make deals.16
Strategy B: Help business and industry connect
to design resources and expand design capabilities.
•
Include product design support among the services of the
state’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
The Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which was
originally formed to help small and mid-sized manufacturers learn about and adopt newer production technologies,
is well positioned to extend its services to helping small
and mid-sized firms identify, develop, and use their design
competencies and pursue user-driven innovations.
•
Provide state tax credits for investments in design capabilities similar to the state’s Five Year R&D Skills tax credit. Look
at incentives similar to those used in technology businesses.
Such credits have existed for many years for science-based
research but have not been applied to user-driven, design
oriented development. The legislation refers to scientists,
engineers, and research professionals. Similar tax credits
could be given for positions in design.
Strategy C: Facilitate and support networking
among creative people and companies
•
Offer incentives in existing incentive or grant programs for
proposals by three or more firms operating as “flexible
design networks” to encourage sharing design capacities
similar to those given by some 20-30 states in the 1990s for
“flexible manufacturing networks” to promote industrial
modernization in small and mid-sized manufacturers.
USNet was a 15-state program of Regional Technology
Strategies, Inc. supported by NIST to train economic development officials and business leaders in collaborative
approaches to innovation, marketing, and learning.
•
GOAL V: Enhance the support and networking infrastructure for creative talent across the state.
Creative people tend to be heavy users of digital social networking but not necessarily joiners of associations that bring people
together face to face. Yet the evidence is that younger creative
people, in particular, seek places where they can meet in person,
socialize, share ideas, and build different kinds of relationships
than they can on Facebook. Across all age groups, creative
people in Mississippi expressed a desire for more opportunities
for socializing and networking than is currently available.
Strategy A: Promote cross-disciplinary
creative networking.
•
Support local initiatives which encourage more networking
opportunities and activities, particularly those that involve
young creative people.
Berkshire Spark is a networking activity of Berkshire Creative. It occurs monthly at a different locations (e.g. museums, art galleries, banks, etc.). The events bring together
several hundred people (artists, cultural organizations and
for-profit businesses) to meet and explore new ways of
collaborating and partnering. In Milwaukee, Spreenkler
Creative is a social networking site for creative people and
students that informs them about events, internships and
job opportunities, holds events, and provides a blogging
site. 17 It also has a “meetup” page for young talent.
Encourage and support cross-discipline associations of
creative people that mix and blend creative ideas from different perspectives and across different ages and cultures
and propagate creativity.
16 http://blog.oregoncreative.org/
17 http://spreenkler.com/.
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Strategy B: Expand knowledge of, and
familiarity with, existing arts and culture
within the private sector.
•
Strategy A: Expand and strengthen post secondary degree programs in creative fields of study.
•
Promote the value of incorporating and displaying art and
music in private and public facilities and grounds, such as at
hospitals, offices, casinos, and manufacturing plants.
Tampere College in Finland formed a network of community colleges, which includes U.S. colleges, to seamlessly
combine the business side of a restaurant with interior
design, service, menu, image, and pricing principles. During 4-6 week placements abroad students learn these skills
and develop new catering products in teams of three that
include a caterer, chef and baker.
Duke hospital in Durham, North Carolina, has on-going
artists in residence —artists, craftsmen, musicians, and
writers—all supported by North Carolina Arts Council.18
In Sheridan, Wyoming, establishments ranging from the
local Holiday Inn to Arby’s restaurant feature the work of
local artists on their walls.
•
•
Continue to assist transactions between artists, designers,
and businesses
In New York City, a firm called Art Assets serves as a broker
between artists and businesses that want to either buy or
rent local art work. “Art has the power to transform space.
Art Assets harnesses that power to communicate the vision
and philosophy of each client to imbue their space with a
special sense of value and sophistication” 19
GOAL VI: Build Capacity to grow &
retain Creative Talent Living and Working in Mississippi
Expand the culinary arts programs at community colleges,
include artistic content, and offer international internships.
Establish a new two-year associate of applied science degree
program in film/video/music production and convert the
exiting one-year pre-architecture program to a two-year
program with minors in historic restoration and community
design.
Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown,
North Carolina established the Larry Gatlin Entertainment
Technology Center. It offers one and two-year degree programs and continuing education in a range of employment
and freelance opportunities in all technical aspects of the
industry.
•
Expand programs in design disciplines at the state’s fouryear colleges and universities and integrate the arts and
design into science, engineering, and business.
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Engineering supports research projects that involve three engineers
and one artist to encourage creative solutions.
For the fastest growing sectors of the economy, a surplus work
force is no longer a sufficient asset to attract investment. Companies depend on talent, generally, but not always, as measured
by levels of education, and many firms make their investment
decisions based on where that talent already resides or is willing to move. Mississippi should first grow its talent by expanding educational programs for the creative sectors. Second, it
should work to retain and recruit creative and talented people
by providing environments with the amenities they seek. There
is growing evidence that a significant portion of the talent population is looking outside the metropolitan areas for places that
have more space, lower costs, and less traffic. 20
18 http://www.ncartsforhealth.org/CulturalServ.htm
•
•
Create a life-long learning experience;
Encourage the state to adopt creative strategies in education
19 http://artassets.com
20 “In Praise of Boise: Why space really is the final frontier in the Internet age,” The Economist, May 13, 2010.
13
Strategy B: Promote the retention of graduates
and the return of former graduates of creative
degree programs in Mississippi.
•
•
Use social networks to maintain connections among graduates who stay or leave and organize creative alumni groups
in major cities.
Consider creating a “MS Monster.com-type” employment listing
Social networking now makes it easier for graduates who
spread out across the country to stay in touch with each
other and their roots. By giving some structure to Mississippi-based networks of creatives, and providing ways to stay
abreast of opportunities and events back home, some of
those who leave may choose to come back.
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McKinley Technical High School in Washington, DC, which
serves a low-income minority population and utilizes creative endeavors such as broadcasting, gaming, and web design to produce the city’s highest level of STEM skills. The
school, with federal grants, started an Institute of Urban
Game Design.
The Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education received a grant
from the Dana Foundation to provide training to Mississippi
artists interested in working with teachers in school settings
so that students may benefit from authentic experiences
in specific art forms and to make cross-curricular connections among the arts and other core subjects. The goal of
the workshops is to increase the number of artists included
in the Mississippi Arts Commission’s Teaching Artist Roster.
Schools that engage artists routinely consult this roster for
a description of an artist’s skills and a recommendation of
the quality of his/her work in the arts and in education.
Strategy C: Use creative career programs to
increase school retention rates in Mississippi
•
Establish a “middle college,” that combines grades 11 and 12
with two years of postsecondary education, that focuses on
art, design, and multimedia. Such schools, located on community college campuses and heavily supported by the Gates
Foundation, have proven to increase attendance and completion rates among underserved populations.
A middle college that emphasizes creative career paths can
both attract non-traditional learners and develop the state’s
talent base.
•
Offer more curricula choices in creative fields such as music,
film, and digital arts in ways that produce basic skill competencies as well as offer career opportunities.
The Arkansas Science & Technology Authority established
the EAST initiative (Environmental and Spatial Technology)
to use digital arts media to facilitate the teaching of math
and science. The program includes My Community, where
students make documentary films about their communities
and culture.
•
Establish new career and technical education secondary school programs in digital fields including gaming and
animation.
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Study
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
1
I.
2
Introduction
A. The Mississippi Context
B. The Special Challenges Facing
Creative Enterprises in a Weak Economy
3
4
II. Mississippi’s Creative Economy
5
A. Counting, Aggregating, and Comparing
6
B. Creative Enterprises in Mississippi
6
C. Creative Occupations
8
D. Trends and Patterns
9
E. Convergence Among Clusters in Mississippi
10
III. Segmenting the Creative Economy
11
A. Visual and Performing Arts
12
B. Design
15
C. Film, Video, and Media
17
D. Literary and Publishing
19
E. Culinary Arts
21
F. Museums and Heritage
22
IV. Support Infrastructure
24
A. Support Infrastructure: Networking for
24
B. Educational Institutions: Sources of Talent, C. Events and Performances
28
D. Places and Spaces: Creativity on Display
30
E. Resources: Investments and Involvement
31
Compatibility and Competitiveness
26
Learning, and Culture
V. Recommended Goals and Strategies
33
VI. A Vision for the Future
42
Appendix A. Regional Distribution of Creative
43
Activity in Mississippi
Appendix B: Trends in Creative Economy by Region
44
Appendix C: Defining the Creative Economy
46
Table C.1: Mississippi Creative Enterprises
47
Table C.2: Mississippi Creative Occupations
48
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Acknowledgements
This report is a product of a joint effort among the Mississippi
Arts Commission (MAC), Mississippi Development Authority
(MDA), Regional Technology Strategies (RTS), and Mt. Auburn
Associates. We wish to give special thanks to Malcolm White,
Director of MAC, for continually sharing information and
insights, and MDA Executive Director Gray Swoope and Chief
Marketing Officer, Melissa Medley for keeping us connected to
and informed of the economic development interests and implications. Allison Winstead, Candice Thomley and Lee Powell and
all of the staff at MAC and many staff members at MDA were
extremely helpful throughout the project.
We also acknowledge the broad base of support for the
research and preparation of the report to many people we
depended on for information, understanding, insights, and
critiques, including the community college presidents at a
meeting arranged by State Board for Community and Junior
Colleges Executive Director Dr. Eric Clark.
We also thank the many artists, crafts people, festival managers, and manufacturers for completing the three surveys, and
particularly Julia Daily, executive director of the Craftsmen’s
Guild of Mississippi and Jay Moon, CEO of the Mississippi
Manufacturers Association, for supporting these efforts
through their respective memberships and are grateful to Julia
for arranging a site visit and focus group of members. Those who carried out the research and contributed to the
reports include RTS Director of Special Projects Dan Broun;
RTS Senior Associate Jenna Bryant, who did the quantitative
analyses; Mt. Auburn President Beth Siegel and Mt Auburn
managing partner Michael Kane, RTS graduate student intern
Dana Archer Rosenthal, and Beth Williams, who assisted with
copy editing. Stuart Rosenfeld,
Regional Technology Strategies
1
1. Introduction
The culture and creativity that are embodied in the people,
places, and institutions of the state of Mississippi provide both
intrinsic value, by defining communities and contributing to
quality of life, and extrinsic value, by driving and bolstering
regional economies. Intrinsically, the achievements and talents of Mississippi’s
creative people, companies and institutions imbue the state
with a distinctive ambiance and brand. They generate pride
in community and sources of non-commodity-based satisfaction. But they convey much more than a sense of place. The
cultural contributions of creativity are readily apparent—as in
Mississippi’s literary reputation, musical heritage, and internationally renowned ballet competition. These intrinsic contributions have been acknowledged, documented, and valued, but
the economic contributions of creativity are not as evident. The extrinsic economic value, however, has been underappreciated and undervalued and these same creative people, companies and institutions collectively add significant wealth to the
state’s economy, in ways that have been vastly under recognized. Thus, while acknowledging the intrinsic value of the arts
and culture, the extrinsic value in arts and culture and their
application in many other sectors of the economy becomes the
principal focus of this report. The following pages describe the multitude of ways that artistic
people, creative enterprises and institutions, and cultural activities can and do generate new wealth, increase productivity
and competitiveness, attract and retain jobs, stimulate innovation and growth, and improve learning.
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First, the creative economy is a direct source of economic
growth, jobs, and wealth. But it is almost always undercounted
and underrated because (1) so much of it is embodied in selfemployed artists, designers, freelancers and microenterprises;
(2) many creative businesses are classified in sectors not generally thought of as being driven by creativity; and (3) a large
amount is generated by secondary forms of employment and
self-employment. When appropriately aggregated the size of
the creative sectors compare favorably even to the more popular high tech sectors.
Second, creativity can improve the competitiveness of manufactured products and services. Talented firms and people create products, artifacts, experiences, and even processes with
attributes that imbue them with newly discovered or additional
value because they are more aesthetically pleasing, useful,
powerful and desirable. Viking Range is a prime example of a
company that successfully identified and filled a niche in the
market for attractive but industrial strength kitchen appliances. An economy’s capacity to innovate and create new value is the
key to sustaining the growth and wealth generating process.
Third, talented people, businesses searching for talent, and
tourists are increasingly drawn to places with a creative and
cultural milieu, an environment that offers interesting attractions, entertainment and culture. Cost is still important to high
growth businesses but no longer the deciding factor in choosing a location. Jackson’s Fondren district, by reinventing itself
from a slightly rundown neighborhood to a trendy upscale art
district defined by its creative businesses, made itself a much
more attractive location. Fourth, a creative environment stimulates innovation in science and technology. Creativity, as an action or process, has
its own set of profound values apart from economic value. But
as an economic actor, it accelerates the innovation impulse.
Fifth, creativity is increasingly becoming the foundation for
the 21st century work force and the arts a factor in increased
academic performance. When Mississippi began industrializing,
good work habits and literacy were sufficient. As the state’s
industry modernized, industry needed higher order technical
and problem solving skills. But today, in an increasingly digitized
and entrepreneurial economy, creativity is quickly becoming the
2
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key to competitive advantage in many of the fastest growing
sectors of the economy. Further, the arts are proving to be
a potent force for improving academic outcomes while also
developing an appreciation of culture.
For much of the first half of the 20th century, Mississippi sat at the
bottom among all states in almost every measure of income or
wealth. Its farms had been decimated by the boll weevil and its
forests depleted by large timber companies that failed to reseed. A. The Mississippi Context
In 1936, Mississippi took a historic step by enacting a plan to
“Balance Agriculture with Industry (BAWI).” This allowed the
state to provide tax incentives and buildings to labor-intensive
manufacturers that were willing to locate or relocate in the
state, which altered the playing field of economic development forever. The incentives combined with labor costs and a
pro-business climate brought an industrial bonanza, with large
numbers of companies relocating or building new facilities in
the state. Tennessee Williams Park, Clarksdale, MS
Mississippi is fortunate to be an extremely rich source of
talented people. Eudora Welty, Tennessee Williams, Craig
Claiborne, Morgan Freeman, Leontyne Price, Muddy Waters,
James Earl Jones, Walter Anderson, and Willie Morris—and
even Brett Favre, in his own way—are but a very few examples
of Mississippi’s deep reservoir of well-known creative people.
This wellspring of talent developed across the state from a
number of sources: from within an educated, privileged agricultural society that was able to appreciate and invest in the
arts to the landscape of the coast that inspired many artists
and from within the poor and undereducated class of share
croppers and tenant farmers that developed its own art forms
as an expression of and release from the drudgery of daily life. Mississippi’s history and culture has bred and cultivated
imaginative writers; from the writings of William Faulkner,
whose family founded a railroad, and whose novels—it was
recently discovered—were heavily influenced by slave diaries
in his possession1 to Eudora Welty, who was influenced by the
depression and social causes. You find this same talent in the
blues played at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman
Farm, which produced legendary musicians like Son House and
songs like “Parchman Farm Blues” and “Midnight Special.”
Mid-century views of Mississippi’s creativity often were overlooked as a result of northern urban standards of success set by
professional critics, patrons, and the media, not by consumers,
participants, and word of mouth. Urban media paid attention to writers while missing the richness of Mississippi’s blues
music, folk art, patterned textiles, visual art, local theater, local
foods, dance, and period architecture. Too often the critics
that set standards for art and culture missed the art of African
Americans, Native Americans, farmhands and shop owners, and
they glossed over the art that permeated many rural communities and that exists in carefully preserved historic homes, along
the Natchez Trace, and in the distinctive and authentic products
of manufacturers. They failed to appreciate Mississippi’s eclectic, and even eccentric, art. “Arts are not isolated, arts are part of a fabric of life
here, and add to the soul of the community,” according to
Gwen Impson, past president and founder of The Arts, Hancock
County. “The local hospital has art on its walls….whether you
go to a doctor or the hair salon you see art.”
Mississippi is now on the cusp of another transition that may
equal the industrialization that resulted from BAWI. Even
though the state will continue to attract a solid share of the
nation’s manufacturing, the manufacturing employment pie is
shrinking. The future may well depend on a new plan – BIWA
(Balance Industry With Aesthetics). Can the state’s creative sectors fuel new growth and prosperity by generating work, luring
talent-dependent companies, and attracting visitors?
1 Patricia Cohen, “Faulkner Link to Plantation Diary Discovered,” New York
Times, February 11, 2010.
3
Mississippi today is already home to creative talent that exists
across ethnicities, ages, classes, races, and spaces. The state is
known internationally not only for its outstanding writers, musicians, and stars of stage and screen but also for its historic architecture and sites, and world-famous art exhibits and
performances. •
•
Mississippi hosts the USA International Ballet Competition,
one of four international ballet competitions officially
sanctioned by UNESCO, recognized as one of the world’s
premier ballet competitions. The Mississippi Art Colony has passed its 60th birthday, the
oldest artist-run colony in the country.
•
The Delta has become synonymous with the blues and
draws visitors from around the world to experience
“Ground Zero” for the typically Mississippian music forms.
•
The more than 35 year-old Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi
helps preserve and advance local folk art, crafts, and new
art forms.
Can Mississippi assemble the pieces of its creative economy
in such a way that the whole is far more than the sum of its
parts? This report will demonstrate that it is possible to do
just that. First, we estimate the scale and describe the scope
of Mississippi’s creative economy in terms of conventional economic measures: employment/self-employment, companies,
and occupations along the entire value chain. This will enable
the state to assess and understand the creative elements of
the economy alongside other industries and sectors. The report will also describe—based on interviews, web-based
surveys, published materials, and web searches—the support
system for the creative economy that cannot be measured
purely by economic measures. This support system includes
the associational infrastructure, performance venues, events
and festivals, education and training programs, forms of technical and business assistance, and financial resources that enable
creative enterprises to exist, thrive, and grow. Finally, the report will suggest strategies to further develop and
spread the benefits of Mississippi’s creative economy. mCe
The Attic Gallery, Vicksburg, MS
B. The special challenges facing creative
enterprises in a weak economy
This study was begun in a very weak national economy, during
a recession that has affected levels of charitable giving, government budgets, and consumer spending. Moreover, it was completed in the midst of another disaster affecting the Gulf Coast,
the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the largest oil spill on record. Thus, those elements of the creative economy that depend
heavily on private giving and on government support to allow
them to keep their programs affordable are in dire straits. At the same time, the much larger numbers of for-profit creative
enterprises are facing more intense competition from abroad
and tighter pocketbooks among Mississippi-based customers. Purchases of some specialty products, especially those connected
to the housing market, are being postponed, affecting architectural and interior design sectors, and others are being outsourced
to reduce prices. The market for high-end art has also suffered,
although those making functional crafts and mid-range goods
appear to be weathering the recession quite well. Still, the
recession has caused some interruption to the gradual recovery
from Hurricane Katrina, which destroyed so much of southern
Mississippi’s important creative assets, and the tourism-dependent economy of the coast is once again threatened.
The non-profit sector of the creative economy has been hit
even harder. A National Arts Index fell four points in 2008,
reflecting losses in charitable giving and declining attendance at
larger cultural institutions.2 But the most innovative non-profits are finding answers, and the number of arts organizations
are growing. 2 Liz Bartolomeo, First-Ever National Arts Index Measures Health and Vitality of Arts in the United States, Press Release, Americans for the Arts,
January 20, 2010
4
In many ways, the creative economy offers solutions to communities and companies and new ways to compete and reposition the state as the economy regains its strength. The suggestions are not panaceas but steps that can be taken to revive
and revitalize places and slowly generate and retain wealth. That is the goal of this report.
11. Mississippi’s Creative Economy
Although the term “creative” can be, and is, applied to a wide
range of intellectual activities, we use it in a way that directly,
rather than indirectly, connects it to economic outcomes. Creativity can be used to describe certain types of companies, people, and places. We include all three: companies for
their economic development value and potential; people to
describe the workforce attributes and educational needs; and
geography to describe clustering tendencies, the importance of
milieu, and potential for economies of scale.
The adjective “creative” is applied first and foremost to companies with products that obtain new or added value from a
distinctive appearance, content, sound, or emotional response
as well as all the enterprises necessary to take them from raw
materials to markets. These include businesses, entrepreneurs,
and organizations involved in every stage of production, from
conception to initial presentation, and in every link in the value
chain, from suppliers and equipment manufacturers to marketplaces. Similar to many other industries, creative enterprises
tend to concentrate, or to “cluster,” more heavily in some
places than others. This happens because of some special location advantages, historical antecedents, or sometimes purely
by chance. The aggregated employment in these enterprises
within geographic boundaries equals the scale of the cluster
and represents its economic power in the state. mCe
employ people who do creative work, such as window designers at retail chains, landscape architects at resorts, advertising
writers or web designers for large corporations, or musicians in
churches. Creative and design thinking is also becoming more
important even in occupations not officially defined as “creative,” whether its planning a manufacturing process, starting a
new business or managing a hospital. The need for creativity is
especially important in designing and delivering education and
workforce development programs. We look briefly at the occupational data while focusing primarily on the companies that
represent the economy and recognizing the importance of the
arts and culture to learning outcomes.
Creative Places
Finally, we recognize the importance of place. Creativity
depends on the stimulation, inspiration, and exchange of ideas
that occur where creative people congregate, socialize, develop
relationships, and form networks. The community that supports and encourages creativity embodied in such places, that
has cultural assets that attract tourists, and that hosts creative
events might be called a creative place. Most such places also
find ways to distinguish themselves and provide certain unique
experiences that set them apart from other places. Mississippi
has many such creative places, some recognized and known,
some quirky and exotic but hidden away, waiting to be discovered—or, in some places, dreading discovery that could change
them forever. This report does not attempt to quantify creative
places as it does creative enterprises and occupations but it
does describe the assets that make a place creative and gives
examples of some of Mississippi’s truly creative communities. Creative Workers
Second, we apply the adjective “creative” to occupations with
job requirements that require or benefit from imagination and/
or artistic expression. These occupations exist both within and
outside of creative enterprises. For example, enterprises that
do not fit the definition of a “creative enterprise” quite often
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A. Counting, Aggregating and Comparing
B. Creative Enterprises in Mississippi
Mississippi’s creative economy, as defined by the combination
of both employees of creative companies and employees of
other companies who work in creative occupations, includes
60,704 jobs. Mississippi’s creative enterprises are responsible
for the employment of 40,284 people in just under 3,000
establishments with almost one in three of these people –
9,580 – working in a creative occupation. An additional 20,420
individuals are employed in creative occupations in sectors of
the economy that don’t fit the criteria established for “creative
enterprises.”
Mississippi’s creative economy of nearly 3,000 establish-
The basis for these numbers begins, but does not end, with sectors identified by their North American Industrial Classification
codes (NAICS 3) that most closely represent creative businesses
(Appendix C). But the baseline definition misses many businesses that produce creative products and are not associated
with an industry defined as creative. Examples are specialty
foods, fashion apparel, culinary arts, or handcrafted furniture. To identify these firms and supplement the baseline sector data,
we relied on the knowledge of experts in industry organizations,
web searches, and state industry directories. 4
The industries and occupations used to measure the creative
economy are those typically used in creative economy studies. Industry sector occupations that are included range from artists
and musicians to commercial printers and caterers to mediarelated and advertising agency employees. The starting point
for the definition began with the New England Foundation of the
Arts (NEFA) definition, which was based on earlier Mt. Auburn
work. It was subsequently adjusted to reflect the particular
nature of Mississippi’s creative economy and supplemented
with information about creative enterprises in other sectors
based on information from business directories, associations,
and interviews. The refined definition provides a more accurate,
more conservative view than the very broad NEFA definition,
and more comprehensive estimate of the number of businesses
and people they employ than do the pure industry code-driven
numbers.
Figure 1.
Mississippi’s Creative Economy
Creative Workforce
Other Workers
in Creative
Enterprises
Creative Workers
in Creative
Enterprises
30,704
9,580
Creative Workers
in Other
Enterprises
20,420
ments in over 70 different industry sectors (Appendix C) employed roughly 40,200 people, or approximately three percent of
the state’s total employment of 1.5 million in 2008. The percentage of workers in the creative economy is more than those
employed in Mississippi’s advanced materials cluster, computer
and electronic product manufacturing cluster and only slightly
less than those employed in the transportation and logistics
cluster (3.6 percent).
Employment data, however, provide only a partial picture of
the Magnolia State’s creative economy. Many other individuals are self-employed as sole owners of businesses, freelancers,
and consultants. These self-employed artisans and freelancers
make up a much larger proportion of the creative economy than
in other clusters, and excluding them would greatly understate
the size and importance of the creative economy. An estimated
5,250 self-employed individuals, or 17.5 percent of those in
creative organizations, fell into this category in 2007, according
3 The Office of Management and Budget assigns NAICS codes to businesses that use identical or similar processes of production.
Chair Caning
Campbells Bakery,
Jackson, MS
Street Musician
Port Gibson, MS
4 Determining which businesses produce creative products is by necessity a matter of judgment rather than science, but it provides a more accurate
estimate of the true scale of the cluster. 6
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to the non-employer database published by the U.S. Census Bureau. While the data presented in this report includes estimates
of self-employed creative workers, it does not capture the many
other individuals with secondary jobs in creative establishments. Thus, the numbers presented still somewhat understates the scale of creative economic activity in the state.
To better understand the strengths, weaknesses, and needs of
Mississippi’s creative economy, the 77 industry sectors have
been grouped into the following five subsets, or sub clusters: Design; Film and Media; Literary and Publishing; Heritage;
Culinary Arts; Performing and Visual Arts. The distribution of
employment among the creative economy sub-clusters in Mississippi is quite similar to that of the nation (Figure 2), although
Mississippi has a somewhat larger share of employment in its
performing and visual arts sub cluster and slightly lesser share
in the design sub cluster. Based on the use of available standardized NAICS-based data
alone, the density of Mississippi’s creative economy was
Figure 2:
Distribution of Employment by
Type of Creative Enterprise
Mississippi
Performing and
Visual Arts
20%
Design
26%
Culinary Arts
8%
Film and Media
17%
Literary &
Publishing
27%
United States
Performing and
Visual Arts
13%
Design
31%
Heritage - 2%
Literary &
Publishing
27%
Table 1:
Comparison of Relative Employment in Creative
Economy Sub Clusters Between Selected States
and Mississippi
Sub Cluster
MS
AL
Literary &
publishing
1.0
0.69 1.09 0.84 0.71 1.50 1.24
Design
1.0
0.67 0.57 0.51 0.37 1.48 1.64
Film & media 1.0
0.60 0.67 0.82 0.65 1.26 1.54
Heritage
1.0
0.47 0.60 0.86 0.29 2.02 1.06
Culinary
1.0
0.57 0.65 0.50 0.47 1.55 0.91
Performing
& visual arts 1.0
0.64 0.60 0.87 0.53 0.82 0.80
Total
0.76 0.87 0.88 0.65 1.07 1.02
1.0
KY
SD
WV OH
GA
Source: EMSI, 2008.
Heritage
2%
Culinary Arts - 7%
compared to that of creative economies in four other predominantly rural states, Alabama, Kentucky, South Dakota, and West
Virginia, and to two more urban states, Georgia and Ohio. The
numbers represent a comparison of the proportion of workforce
employed in each category, normalized to Mississippi as the
standard. Thus, for example, 0.67 for design in Alabama
(Table 1) means that the relative number of people employed
in the design sub cluster in Alabama is only 67 percent of the
relative number of people employed in that sub cluster in Mississippi, while 1.48 in Georgia means that the proportion of the
total work force employed in Georgia’s design sub cluster is 48
percent higher than Mississippi’s. Film and Media
20%
Source: Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc., 2008.
Note: Numbers present indices of states’ proportions of relative
employment compared to proportions in Mississippi. Indices lower
than 1.0 indicate a lower proportion of the state’s total employment
compared to Mississippi, and indices greater than 1.0 indicate a higher
proportion of the state’s total employment in the sub cluster.
In Mississippi the relative concentration of people employed in
all creative enterprises was 32 percent higher than Alabama,
15 percent higher than Kentucky, 14 percent higher than South
Dakota, and 54 percent higher than in West Virginia (Figure 3). It was slightly lower in Mississippi than in Georgia and Ohio,
though Mississippi had a much higher concentration in the performing and visual arts sub cluster. The two more urban states
had much greater concentrations of people employed in design
and in literary and publishing. 7
Figure 3:
Comparison of Employment in Mississippi’s
Creative Economy in Selected States
Mississipppi
100
Alabama
76
Kentucky
87
South Dakota
88
65
West Virginia
Ohio
107
Georgia
102
0
27.5
55
82.5
110
Source: EMSI 2008.
C. Creative Occupations
Mississippi has nearly 30,000 people employed in occupations
that require or significantly benefit from a high level of originality and imagination (Appendix C). In 2008, those employed in
creative occupations had average hourly wages of $14.63. The
highest average wages for creative jobs in the state were in the
more heavily populated Capital/River and Coastal regions, both
of which paid above $15.00 per hour (Figure 4).
Figure 4:
Regional Distribution of Creative Occupations
Hills
19%
Pines
13%
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The largest single category among creative occupations is
photographers, with 4,000, followed by public relations
specialists, with 2,000. Some regions, however, are stronger
than others in certain creative occupations. For instance,
the concentration of public relations specialist jobs in the
Capital/River area is 40 percent higher than in the rest of the
nation, which may be related to the presence of governmental agencies and their need to disseminate information to
constituents. The Delta has a higher concentration of librarians, the Pines region a higher than average concentration
of radio and television announcers, and the Coastal region a
strong concentration of landscape architects.
Creative occupations are not just found in the better-known
creative sectors like dance theaters, art galleries, and advertising agencies. Local governments in Mississippi employ
nearly 9 percent of all creative talent, and religious organizations employ roughly 5.7 percent. Photographers comprise
more than 10 percent of the total creative occupations with
about 72 percent of them in the “all other professional and
technical services” sector, which includes such businesses as
meteorological services and specialty surveying companies.
The types of firms that employ creative people vary across
regions. For example, 17 percent of those in creative occupations work in local governments within the Delta region. Casinos in the Delta are responsible for another 8 percent
of this type of employment in creative occupations. Libraries represent another large source of creative employment. Mississippi has twice the librarians per capita than the
national average, perhaps reflecting the state’s literary traditions. Over 81 percent of librarians in the Delta can be found
in public libraries run by Mississippi regional governments. Delta
8%
Coastal
25%
NEED CHART
Capital River
35%
Source: Economic Modeling Specialists, 2008, with regions defined by
Mississippi Development Authority’s Tourism Division.
Photographer, Ken Murphy, displays his new book
8
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D. Trends and Patterns
In the past six years, Mississippi has been hit by Katrina, one
of the worst natural disasters of recent history, only to then be
plunged along with the rest of the nation into a major recession. While the report focuses on the size and scope of the creative
economy, this section takes a cursory look at how creative
industries have fared from 2003 to 2008.
Over the five-year time span, the creative industries experienced more robust growth during boom times (Figure 5) but
also were more severely affected by economic contractions.5 Nevertheless, the creative cluster in Mississippi showed solid
growth in employment over the five year period. From 2002
to 2008, creative cluster employment grew by four percent in
the state compared to six percent growth across all industries. Employment growth in the creative enterprise cluster, however,
has surpassed growth in other important value-added clusters
that had been defined by industrial classifications for the Mississippi Development Authority. These include the advanced materials cluster, agribusiness cluster and food processing cluster.
Figure 5: Growth of Employment in Creative
Industries to All Industries, 2003 to 2008.
Figure 6: Employment Growth in Clusters,
2002 - 2008
15%
13%
4%
Transportation Education &
and Logistics Knowledge
Creation
-9%
Creative
Economy
-10%
Computers &
Electronic
Product Mfg.
-12%
Advanced
Materials
Agribus., Food
Processing &
Tech
Source: EMSI Complete Employment - 2nd Quarter 2009 v2
Overall, job growth in Mississippi’s creative enterprises exceeded job growth in the rest of the nation (Figure 7), except in
2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit. The region of the state most
strongly affected by the events of 2005 was, of course, the Gulf
Coast, which lost 6.2 percent of its creative cluster employment
between 2005 and 2006 (see Appendix B).
4.0%
Figure 7: Changes in Employment in Creative
Economy, 2003 to 2008 in Mississippi and U.S.
3.0%
2.0%1.0%
0.0%
-1.0%
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
-2.0%
2008
4.0%
2.0%
-3.0%
Creative
All Industries
Source: EMSI Complete Employment - 2nd Quarter 2009 v2.
0.0%
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
-2.0%
-4.0%
Mississippi
United States
Source: EMSI Complete Employment - 2nd Quarter 2009 v2.
George Berry, Wood Carver
5 Data in this section is based on the baseline definition of creative industries
using the NAICS codes in Appendix C.
9
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E.
Convergence of clusters in Mississippi
While representing a significant proportion of the state’s economy, Mississippi’s creative economy has far greater impact than
what the data alone reveal. The creative economy operates as
a “keystone species,” a biologists’ term for something with an
impact on its environment that is greatly disproportionate to its
scale. The cluster formed by the state’s creative enterprises both
overlaps and influences a large number of clusters (Figure 8). •
•
Figure 8: Convergence of Clusters
Architecture
Architectural Elements
Landscaping
Aromas
Spiritual Art
Healing Art
Lifestyle
Wellness
Spiritualism
Construction
Culinary Arts
Weaving
Farm Art
Agriculture
and Food
Creative
Economy
•
living on the state’s many small and non-commercial farms
(23,246 firms grossed between $1,000 and $25,000 in 2007). Mississippi’s agriculture also provides a source of inspiration
for art.
Cable companies, web designers, and graphic artists may
also be members of Mississippi’s communications and information technology cluster association, CIT.MS.
The tourism cluster is the most obvious area of convergence,
with many of the sites that attract visitors to places included
as part of the creative economy. The Mississippi Legislature
recently enacted HB 1701 recognizing the economic development benefits of tourism and linking it to heritage, history,
and culture. Creative goods are a large part of the retail sector, with
most of Best Buy’s goods and approximately 10 percent of
Wal-Mart’s sales attributed to creative goods—books, music,
video and sound systems, even musical instruments. Consumer
Products
High Tech
Web Design
Animation
Tourism
Cultural Tourism
Art Souvenirs
Fashions
Design Products
Advertising
Some of the overlap is captured by its definition, which includes
firms that are also part of other clusters. Certain enterprises
operate as creative enterprises within furniture, consumer electronics, information technology and food processing. But some
of the overlap is more subtle and affects companies that fall
outside of the boundaries established for the creative economy. •
•
•
Music, stained glass, and sculptures are part of the attraction
of many religious establishments and creative aromas and
salves are a part of other forms of spirituality.
Building and landscape architects and interior designers are
integral parts of any construction and housing cluster.
Many of the eating establishments designated as part of the
culinary arts cluster purchase local foods from the food systems cluster and are part of its value chain. The culinary arts
may also provide a second source of income for the families
Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts Award Winner
Bill Dunlap, Artist
10
III. Segmenting the Creative Economy
Although the creative enterprise cluster essentially incorporates
the same general industries in all communities, it does differ
from one local economy to another based on the specific conditions, economic relationships, and historic culture of different
places. To better understand the state’s creative economy, this
report separates the creative enterprise clusters into smaller
sub clusters composed of companies that have more characteristics and interests in common and thus stronger interdependencies. This helps to clarify the workings of the creative
economy and frame recommendations. mCe
Design sub cluster is defined in part by companies that apply
creative content to the built environment, architecture, landscaping, and interior design. The sub cluster also includes those
firms that apply design to consumer products or to influence
consumption patterns, such as fashion and furniture design,
graphic design, web design, advertising, and design-intensive
manufacturers. Eyevox, producing high-end video commercials
and corporate films, Aimee’s Linens, Miss Lou Roasters, Sippi
Girlz Collection shirts, the Woodworking Collective in Jackson,
and Viking Range are companies that manufacture products
that engage customers.
Film, Video, and Media sub cluster includes the pro-
Based on interviews, analyses of economic data, examinations
of published materials, and web searches, the creative activities
in the state have been grouped into the following six sub clusters, each with its own particular value chain. The sub cluster
groupings are not mutually exclusive because some sectors can
be part of more than one sub cluster. Potters, for example, design products but are also artists. Bookstores may sell music as
well as books, and museum stores often sell local art and crafts
at their gift shops. Therefore, the sum of employment in the
sub clusters may not add to that of the full creative enterprise
cluster. The six sub clusters with examples of their members are
as follows.
duction and marketing of motion pictures, music, radio, cable,
television programming, internet publishing, and multimedia
firms. This includes sound and film studios, theaters, distributors, and agents.
Visual and Performing Arts sub cluster represents the
Culinary Arts sub cluster, which is not defined by industry
heart of the creative economy, the most intentional originators
of creativity. This sub cluster includes the painters, photographers, sculptors, potters, glassblowers, metal artists, jewelers,
and other artisans who use their imagination to produce works
of art. The value chain associated with this sub cluster includes
the galleries and other venues that support, display, and sell the
products such as Crossroads Pottery and the Delta Arts Alliance. The sub cluster also includes theater, music, dance, and spoken
word and the performers, promoters, producers, directors, and
technicians needed to bring the performing arts to the public,
among them the Coast Community Concert Association, Mississippi Opera, TALK Dance Company, and Walter Anderson Players.
classification alone, is that subset of the food preparation industry in which aesthetics and creative content are what attracts
customers and generates higher prices. The sub cluster includes
food establishments that employ
trained chefs, gourmet food shops
and caterers, and
restaurants such
as Southfork Fish
House in Magee,
and State Theater
in Starkville. Literary and Publishing is the sub cluster for which
Mississippi is perhaps best known. It includes the state’s many
fiction and non-fiction authors, poets, and writers of content for
the news media or web pages. It also includes book, magazine,
and journal publishers, bookstores, distributors, reviewers, and
critics. The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, the Vicksburg Post, Mississippi Public Broadcasting, and University of Mississippi Press
are all part of this sub cluster.
11
Museums and Heritage is defined as a sub cluster of
museums, libraries, and historical assets, including those that
are part of federal, state, and local government agencies or
educational institutions. Examples are the Antique Museum,
the Delta Blues Museum, William Faulkner’s home, and the
Causeyville General Store.
The criteria for inclusion among Mississippi’s “creative enterprises,” again, is that the company’s products or services acquire their competitive advantage, or receive substantial value,
from a distinctive appearance, form, content, or sound. These
diverse businesses are connected by their “creative content,”
a somewhat abstract term. The deeper analysis of the more
tightly interdependent sub clusters, however, forms the basis
for much of the study’s findings and recommendations. What
follows is a look at each of the sub clusters and a summary of
its properties, value chains, strengths, and weaknesses. mCe
INDUSTRIES INCLUDED IN
PERFORMING AND VISUAL ARTS
339911
339914
339992
423940
448310
451140
453920
541921
611610
711110
711120
711130
711190
711310
711320
711510
Jewelry, except costume, manufacturing
Costume jewelry, novelty manufacturing
Musical instrument manufacturing
Jewelry merchant wholesalers
Jewelry stores
Musical instrument and supplies stores
Art dealers
Photography studios, portrait
Fine arts schools
Theater companies and dinner theaters
Dance companies
Musical groups and artists
Other performing arts companies
Promoters with facilities
Promoters without facilities
Independent artists, writers, performers*
*Distributed throughout.
In 2008, this sub cluster included more than 6,400 people emMississippi Musician Plays his Banjo
A.
Visual and Performing Arts
The purest segment of the creative economy is made up of
those people who earn their living from their artistic talents
and who turn ideas and visions into experiences through art,
craft, and/or performance. Although the scale of this artistic talent is not as great in rural regions as it is in urban art
centers, it is just as important in less populated places, and in
some cases, far more important in such places. Mississippi’s
visual and performing arts sub cluster is distributed across the
state with higher concentrations in certain communities that
attract tourists or that are home to universities. Oktibbeha,
Hinds, Leflore, Forrest, and George Counties, for example, had
much higher concentrations of artists and performers based on
the last census. ployed in nearly 470 establishments. Based on the occupational
data, however, about 1,800 Mississippians classify themselves
as pure “artists” producing original work. The average annual
earnings for the sub cluster is almost $19,000, but with very
large income extremes. Individuals employed in theater and
dance companies and fine arts schools can expect annual earnings around $7,000, while workers employed at musical instrument manufacturing earn on average about $40,000.
This sub cluster also includes a large number of self-employed
people and others who work at their art on a part-time basis,
supplementing income from other occupations or with transfer
payments. It’s especially difficult to earn a full-time living in
music or theater in a sparsely populated region, where many
of the artists are employed—particularly as teachers and in
churches. The average annual earnings for the entire sector is
almost $19,000. 12
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The upstream side of the value chain for the visual and performing arts is of less economic significance than the downstream side. Although artists need supplies, equipment, tickets,
advertising, costumes, packing materials, capital, and other
material and service inputs, their greater need is for performance and to expand their markets. This end of the value
chain includes the galleries, shops, art museums, and websites
that display and sell art and crafts, the performance venues
and technical support necessary to support the performance,
agents, and transportation. What is the economic profile of the artists who responded to
the survey? The responses suggest that most are not able to
earn a full-time living from their art but what they do earn is not
captured by any enterprise-based economic analyses. In addition to the transaction-based value chain there is a
knowledge-based value chain that transmits ideas, knowledge
and inspiration. It includes the formal and informal social infrastructure—the guilds, associations, councils, and web-based
groups— and the educational institutions, support services, and
grant making organizations. The Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi, South Mississippi Art Association, The Arts, Hancock County,
and Mississippi Watercolor Society are among the largest
membership-based associations. But there also are more than
forty theater groups and a large number of smaller formal and
informal quilters’ groups. The non-profit sector is vital to this
sub cluster, and therefore often studied as an economic engine
in its own right. •
To learn more about those who earn all or some significant proportion of their living in this sub cluster, we conducted a webbased survey of artists across the state. The following information is based on responses from 200 artists, of whom some 65
percent are over 50 years of age, 62 percent are female, 96
percent have at least some college education, and 54 percent
earn over $50,000 per year. Three out of five are originally
from Mississippi, and the rest transplants that came most often
for employment opportunities—for self or spouse—and/or for
quality of life. The survey was distributed with the assistance of the state’s various arts organizations, which may have been why older artists
were overrepresented and younger talented people, who may
rely more heavily on social and web networks than membership
organizations, may not have been captured to the same extent. By far the largest percentage of responses came from those in
the visual arts and crafts. With those limitations, the survey
was still very useful in understanding how artists earn their livings and what they need to improve their economic situations.
•
•
•
•
•
•
44 percent earn all their income from their art, 46 percent
earn some while holding down another job, and the rest
pursue art mainly as a hobby.
Of those earning other income, 18 percent work for government, one in four teach, 19 percent have retirement
income. Only 9 percent operate incorporated businesses, 31 percent
operate unincorporated businesses, and 25 percent call
themselves freelancers.
Only 16 percent have Dun and Bradstreet numbers, which
leaves 84 percent of them out of many, if not most, economic analyses.
37 percent devote at least 30 hours a week to their art,
while 15 percent spend less than 10 hours a week at it.
One in three describes the income earned from his or her
art as essential, 41 percent as supplementary, and 20 percent as a hobby.
Only 28 work at studios outside their home, and, of those,
only one in seven share space.
Just how much do the artists earn from their craft? The range
is dramatic, from those able to earn their primary income to the
larger population of artists who are supplementing other household income. The responses must be tempered by the common
knowledge that some income from the arts is unreported, some
is bartered, and some is donated. One in five artists admitted to
some unreported income while half sometimes bartered art for
goods or services and most donated art, despite very minimal
tax benefits. But based on reported income, we learned the
following:
•
•
•
About 45 percent earn less than $5,000 per year, 32 percent
between $5,000 and $10,000 and just 8 percent make more
than $30,000.
For just over half, this is less than 10 percent of their household income, for 20 percent it is up to a quarter, and for 11
percent it’s more than three quarters.
The recent recession had a relatively small negative impact,
with 37 percent seeing their incomes go down and 26 percent seeing them go up. 13
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How and where do artists sell their work? One successful wood
artist estimated that he has booths at about 16 shows a year and
most are out of the state. His number of sales has dropped, but
that loss has been offset by increased sales of more expensive
pieces. Travel to fairs provides much of his income, yet he would
prefer to stay nearer to home if there were more shows. •
•
•
Some 36 percent reported no income from festivals, 37 percent estimated up to 20 percent of their income, and only
19 percent earned more than 40 percent of their income
that way.
58 percent have a web presence, but only 29 percent of
those with web sites earned more than 10 percent of their
income on line. Nine percent use Etsy. Artists are using social media; 53 percent use social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace.
What do artists believe they need to be more successful? Skills,
markets, and money stand out as their own highest resource
needs, but artists also said that more support for art venues, advocacy, and networking would be most helpful.
• The very highest needs for resources expressed were for
opportunities to be with other artists, funding (grants), and
marketing assistance—in that order. Exhibit space and skill
improvement were next. • Health insurance surprisingly ranked lowest, perhaps because so many artists have it under another family member
or are covered under Medicare.
• When asked what is most important to the state’s creative
economy, the most common response was having more venues for displaying and selling art. Arts advocacy was next,
networking opportunities was third, and access to information about funding sources was ranked fourth.
• Finally, when asked about their needs for education or assistance, selling outside the state was number one, accessing
funding sources was number two, selling their art was three,
and more contact with other artists was listed fourth. The arts community described a deep reservoir of strengths
in the state’s art and culture. Various respondents mentioned Mississippi’s richness in diversity, willingness to work
together, a historic foundation for art, its inherent talents and
eccentricities, sheer energy, societal support and recognition,
originality, and resourcefulness. Numerous artists mentioned
the Craftsmen’s Guild and Mississippi Arts Commission.
The artists surveyed are proud of the creativity of Mississippi. Descriptions of their strengths included the following
statements.
•
“Having traveled, and lived in Florida and California,
Mississippi is without a doubt the most supportive and
actively seeks to support artists…”
•
“It provides a creative outlet for rural Mississippians.”
•
“A wealth of knowledge despite the feelings and
misgivings of the rest of the nation.”
•
“The history of our people in the field of literature
and music.”
•
“[It’s} so deeply rooted—from music to visual to fiction.
We have more than any other state.”
•
“A general appreciation of the arts and great leadership
at the state level.”
The needs that artists expressed were very consistent, whether it
was resources, education, or assistance: marketing, funding, and
networking were always on top. The state’s artists would like to
be economically self-sufficient. They value networking for learning, inspiration, and support, but they also need capital, either as
grants, loans, or investments. Mississippi Crafts Center, Ridgeland, MS
14
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B. Design
Design is an applied art form, applied to products, print and
web-based communications, buildings, and landscapes. The
most obvious applications are seen in architecture, gardens,
advertising, interior design, and fashion-oriented products. Because the creative design elements of this sub cluster are not
always self-evident, it is often overlooked as part of the creative
economy. The aesthetics embodied in these enterprises are
too often taken for granted or attributed to some other factor,
and the firm considered part of some other cluster, such as
construction, agribusiness, communications and information
technology, or furniture. The following companies, however,
rely heavily on creativity.
•
•
•
•
Canizaro Cawthon Davis worked with the Ramey
Agency on the design of its office in Fondren, which will be
featured as one of 45 world class designs of work space in
an upcoming book titled ”Where We Work: Creative Office
Spaces.” The company’s aim is to “bring our creativity, our
ability to listen, and our focus on appropriate results to
each project,” partner with clients, and produce designs
that achieve shared goals.
Viking Range created a product line of kitchen equipment not intended for the average development home but
a high-end product with a brand that appeals to discerning
foodies. It now is adjusting to new economic realities by
introducing lower-priced but still commercial-quality, highdesign appliances, in a line called the Designer Series. Five independent and entrepreneurial furniture
makers in Jackson share space, rent, tools, and utilities as
a “woodworking collective.” They get their orders through
their contacts with architects and decorators and depend
solely on word of mouth. They sometimes partner with
metal or glass artists for mixed media pieces. The recession
has had no perceptible impact on their business and they
are busy as ever filling orders.
Mad Genius, a 30-employee Mississippi advertising
company, is known for its creative genius. Using “creative
fusion,” it combines all aspects of a product from conception through post production, and promotion. In mid-2009,
Mad Genius merged with a creative film and video production company, Eyevox, crossing over into another sub
cluster, which greatly expanded their capabilities. Clients
range from Southern Farm Bureau Insurance in eight states
to an arts and education initiative, Imagination Education,
Inc., which develops educational resources for Mississippi’s
public schools. Its CEO, Rick Moore, was named Mississippi’s Small Businessperson of the Year by the U.S. Small
Business Administration. •
NunoErin in Jackson has turned sitting and touching into
an interactive experience by making furniture and wall
panels with thermosensitive properties that leave colored
imprints of the body and by using designs that imitate
nature. Its Swamp Collections, for example, uses shapes
found in Mississippi’s Bald Cypress Swamp. It’s founders,
Nuno Gonçalves Ferreira and Erin Hayne, are the creative
soul of the company. Some of Mississippi’s creative and culturally authentic manufacturers—especially those producing low- to medium-volume
fashion apparel and accessories, kitchen or desk supplies, or
specialty foods—take advantage of the state-sponsored Mississippi Market wholesale show. Others may think of themselves
as traditional manufacturers but, when surveyed, it was clear
that they acknowledge and increasingly depend on creative
content in their brand and for their sales, and they expect to
increasingly do so in the future. This sub cluster has the second largest employment among the
six sub clusters in the state’s creative economy. Design-related
businesses in Mississippi employ over 8,000 people in more
than 700 establishments in 17 sectors. But Mississippi has
only a half of the relative concentration of employment in this
sub cluster as that of the national concentration, in large part
because some of its largest sectors, fashion design, architecture,
and advertising, are so heavily concentrated in large metropolitan areas. This does not detract from the subcluster’s importance to the state, where there is particularly under-developed
potential for small and mid-sized manufacturers. In Mississippi, workers in design-related industries earn an average annual amount of $44,000, twice as much as the average
income of all creative enterprise employees in the state. The largest group within the design sub cluster is architectural services,
with 15 percent of total sector employment in 2008. This group
has an average income of $62,000. Average earnings are highest among workers in media representation-related businesses,
which had average annual earnings above $81,000 last year.
15
While the manufacturing companies in this sub cluster have
conventional value chains with suppliers, subcontractors,
and distributors, the value chain associated with the creative
aspects is much more complex. It is made up of 17 different
industries and is the second largest employer in the state’s
creative economy, with over 8,000 working in more than 700
companies. Design companies, for example, are part of the
upstream segment of the value chain of a manufacturer, and
advertising and branding are part of the downstream end. Architects, landscape architects, and interior designers are part of
the homebuilding and real estate sectors.
To further test the hypothesis that the aesthetics of design is
increasing in importance to the state’s manufacturing companies, an online survey was sent to members of the Mississippi
Manufacturers Association. Sixty-one responses, of which 59
percent stated that they sold directly to users or were visible by
users, yielded the following information. •
•
•
•
46 percent replied that aesthetic design is of “significant”
importance, and 63 percent replied it is “of some or significant importance.” Only one in nine said it was not important. Among manufacturers with products that reach end
users, those numbers were 72 percent, with zero saying it
had no significance.
Two in five stated that they use design to “convey meaning
or authenticity,” but more than 63 percent of companies
with consumer products stated this.
58 percent responded that design differentiated their products from those of their competitors, and 53 percent said it
enhanced recognition and meaning.
59 percent claimed design increased sales, 56 percent
said it increased market share, and 36 percent said that it
increased profit margin.
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Figure 7:
Ways that Mississippi Manufacturers Use Design
Product Design
for aesthetics
or to convey
meaning or
authenticity
40%
Corporate
Communications,
Branding
Marketing
and/or website
30%
21%
Packaging
Workplace
Interior
9%
Other
(please specify)
32%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%
Note: Most of the “other” responses are the use of design mostly for
functionality or manufacturability
Source: Survey data from 62 manufacturers, 2010
The companies were also asked who was responsible for
their design.
•
•
•
•
Design is an add-on to other job functions for 39 percent of
respondents.
29 percent of all manufacturers and 39 percent of those
with consumer products have dedicated design divisions.
26 percent contract out to design firms and 16 percent to
freelance designers.
Of those that contract out for design, half go out of state,
and only 3 companies work with or hire from Mississippi
colleges or universities.
Viking Range Corporation, Greenwood, MS
16
How do companies value creativity in the work force and how
much do they invest in design? Design in the past was valued
for its effects on manufacturability, cost, and functionality, not
emotional impact. The survey suggests priorities have changed.
• About 70 percent of respondents said creativity was important or very important (23 percent) in hiring new employees.
• Investments in design did not change much in past year,
which is probably a positive result given the state of the
recent economy. About 26 percent increased investments
and 23 percent reduced investments, with the rest staying
about the same. • More telling, almost 49 percent expect to spend more
on design over the next three years while only 9 percent
expect to spend less.
Overall, product and environmental design both appear to
represent an underutilized capacity for additional growth. The
internationally recognized motion furniture cluster in northeast
Mississippi, for example, has been able to compete successfully for sixty years on the basis of cost and comfort. About ten
years ago, an Appalachian Regional Commission study predicted
a declining market without the investment of more in design
and innovation. Competitors are not eating into the market for
standard goods. Similarly, the large number of historic buildings and neighborhoods in need of renovation create a demand for architecture,
landscaping, interior design, and architectural preservation that
could be better supported within the state’s borders. The associational elements of this sub cluster are either professional organizations that are generally national, such as the
state chapter of the American Institute of Architects in Jackson
or American Society of Interior Designers, or associations that
include more than just creative enterprises, such as the Mississippi Manufacturers Association. Many of the state’s architects
learned their trade in the strong five-year program at Mississippi State, which results in professional accreditation. A small
number of colleges offer programs in the field: architecture
and landscape architecture at Mississippi State University, and
interior design at Mississippi University for Women, University
of Southern Mississippi, Delta State University, and Mississippi
College. The community colleges offer only a one-year prearchitecture program and a scattering of interior design courses.
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The Manufacturing powerhouse ,
PEAVEY ELECTRONICS of Meridian is an
example of how design can be used to advance
a product. Peavey has more than 180 patents
for the design of musical instruments, audio
systems and enabling technologies that give
these systems such a unique sound. For example, while most Dobros are acoustic, Peavey’s
founder, Hartley Peavey, realized that the Dobro,
like the guitar, could be an electronic instrument. He started designing an electric Dobro
on his own, sketching out design concepts and
principles and figuring out how to configure the
straps to be worn over his neck the way Dobros are played. The process then was turned
over to his designers and engineers who added
design and structural improvements. The result
was yet another product line in the long list of
Peavey musical products.
See “Red Hots and Deep Blues: Stories from Mississippi’s
Creative Economy.”
C. Film, Video and Media
This sub cluster comprises 19 sectors that span the distribution and production of motion pictures, music, radio, cable and
television programming, and multimedia firms. The sub cluster
is quite evenly distributed across the state. In 2008, it employed
approximately 5,600 people in its more than 260 establishments with average annual earnings of just over $35,000. Thirty
percent of the employment in the sub cluster is directly attributable to cable and other program distribution. Annual earnings
in businesses associated with cable programming and subscription programming tend to be the highest, an estimated $59,000. Cable and other subscription programming establishments are
primarily responsible for financing and production of original
master recordings, with most of their revenues coming from the
sale and leasing of master recordings.
17
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The upstream end of the value chain traditionally began with
paper products, ink and film, but as it digitalizes it is turning
more to software programs, computers, and communications
hardware. The upstream segment also includes the creative
content for the media, much of which comes from members of
other sub clusters—literary arts and visual and performing arts. The capital equipment inputs for media and communications,
the technologies necessary to record, film, broadcast and reproduce, are among the largest equipment inputs in the creative
economy. One of the state’s premier strengths is integrated
record production and distribution, where Mississippi has twice
the national proportion of jobs. Downstream, video and music
stores, public relations firms, and agents represent the distribu-
similar investments in the Piedmont Triad region. Moreover,
the competition for location is international and a still-weak
dollar is helping to keep production in the U.S., a condition that
could change. tional and market end of part of the sub cluster.
various types of technical and creative support. For example,
the guide lists 5 animation companies, 9 casting companies,
9 costume/wardrobe companies, 10 catering services, and 14
post-production editors, 39 freelance production assistants,
and 7 production coordinators. Between 1903 and 2010, 269
feature, documentary, or television films were made in Mississippi, 115 of those since 2000. The industry is growing, with 37
films made in 2008 alone.
Mississippi is promoting itself as a film location in an extremely
competitive national environment by strengthening its incentive programs and its support infrastructure. Neighboring
Louisiana is already one of the most successful filming locations,
and Michigan is spending lavishly to attract film and video to
compensate for some of its lost automotive jobs. North Carolina invested in studios in Wilmington and now is considering
Mississippi’s incentive program includes 20 percent rebates for
local expenditures, 25 percent rebates for payroll for resident
cast and crew, and 20 percent rebates for payroll for nonresidents whose wages are subject to state withholding. The
Mississippi Film Commission has a location and production
guide that describes the special assets, availability of transportation and education in each region and lists the companies
and freelancers available throughout the state able to provide
INDUSTRIES INCLUDED IN FILM, VIDEO & MEDIA
512110
512120
512131
512132
512191
512199
512210
512220
512230
512240
Motion picture and video production
Motion picture and video distribution
Motion picture theaters, except drive-ins
Drive-in motion picture theaters
Teleproduction and postproduction services
Other motion picture and video industries
Record production
Integrated record production and distribution
Music publishers
Sound recording studios
512290
515111
515112
515120
515210
516110
517510
519110
711410
Other sound recording industries
Radio networks
Radio stations
Television broadcasting
Cable & other subscription programming
Internet publishing and broadcasting
Cable and other program distribution
News syndicates
Agents and managers for public figures
18
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filming and write and produce two short films. McDowell starts
his class using 16-millimeter film so that students understand the
feel of the camera and the essential skills before moving into high
definition and digital methods. About half the students remain in
the state and half leave, many for Los Angeles, where there is now
a network of Mississippians to help newcomers locate and connect. The industry is organized, in part, through the Crossroads Film
Society, a Mississippi organization for independent filmmakers
that has regular events and film festivals, and, in part, through
the Mississippi Film and Video Alliance in Jackson. A number of
other local film festivals are shown in the following chart.
MISSISSIPPI FILM FESTIVALS
Through the efforts of the University of Southern Mississippi, the state is trying to retain
more of its music recording industry. The
Entertainment Industry program in the University’s School of Music is the fastest growing major. Three years ago the School formed
South City Records as an umbrella company
that now hosts five student-run record labels
covering a wide range of genres, including hip
hop, country, bluegrass, R&B, and of course
the blues, all financed by students and faculty.
Crossroads Film Festival, Jackson
***
Oxford Film Festival
***
Tupelo Film Festival
***
Magnolia Independent
Film Festival, Starkville
***
Delta International Film
and Video Festival, Cleveland
***
Natchez Literary and
Cinema Celebration
D.
One of the roadblocks to expanding this sub cluster is an insufficient ongoing source of talent in both film production and technical support. The state’s best—and only—institutional source for
that talent is the University of Southern Mississippi’s four-year
film and video degree program. The program, part of Mass Communications and Journalism, is about 30 years old and has had a
steady enrollment of 50 to 60 students. About a quarter of the
students are older career changers and about ten percent are
African American. Many of the students in the program come
through the community colleges, although only Pearl River Community College has a program in film and video, and it is not for
credit. The film commission is attempting to establish short-term
training programs in the state to develop a larger labor pool for
any film companies that want to hire locally to reduce costs. Literary and Publishing
Literary and publishing is the largest of the state’s creative sub
clusters in terms of employment, with about 9,000 people
working in 17 industry sectors, representing about 28 percent of
the state’s full creative economy. Average annual earnings are
just under $32,000. Mississippi is home to a treasure trove of
writers that forms the core of this sub cluster and include some
of the nation’s most widely read and beloved fiction writers. A
review of one of John Grisham’s latest books by noted author
Ron Powers stated that “Aside from the Upper West and Lower
East Sides of Manhattan, the Mississippi Delta has probably
generated more and better short fiction per acre than any other
real estate in America.” 6 William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Willie
Morris, Tennessee Williams, Shelby Foote, Richard Wright, Larry
Brown, Richard Ford, Walker Percy, and Ellen Gilchrist are only
the beginning of a list that goes on and on.
The University of Southern Mississippi program is fortunate to
have an experienced and well-connected professor in Scott Dixon
McDowell. Students learn about screen writing, editing, and
6 Ron Powers, “Southern Deviations,” New York Times Book Review
November 29, 2009. 19
The vast majority of writers and poets—very likely more than
95 percent—do not have the sales volume to produce a living
wage and require other full time jobs. Among the most popular
is education but many take jobs in the private sector that allow
them enough time for writing. Other writers in the private sector classify themselves as consultants rather than writers and
therefore this sub cluster is very likely undercounted. Still other
writers earn a full-time living employed by the news media or as
writers for corporations who write or edit newsletters, press releases, and technical articles. With the growth of on-line media
that use freelance bloggers and student interns, however, these
employment opportunities are rapidly dwindling.
LITERARY & PUBLISHING
323110 Commercial lithographic printing
323111 Commercial gravure printing
323112 Commercial flexographic printing
323113 Commercial screen printing
323115 Digital printing
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A small number of niche book publishers do operate in the
state, led by the University Press of Mississippi. But other
successful publishers are Quail Ridge Press in Brandon, which
specializes in cook books; Genesis Press in Columbus, which
publishes romance novels; and Yoknapatawpha Press in Oxford,
a small regional press, which publishes southern writers. Mississippi also has 15 specialized magazine or journal publishers,
most of them attached to universities. But the state’s best
known and most widely read magazine, Oxford American,
recently moved to Arkansas. The Southern Foodways Alliance,
headquartered at the University of Mississippi, finds and publishes the best of contemporary Southern food writing. A dozen independent bookstores undergird the sub cluster’s
creativity. These include nationally recognized Square Books in
Oxford and Lemuria in Jackson, which regularly feature readings, book signings, and festivals. Square Books’ role in promoting local authors has been well documented. The bookstore was
one of only a few stores to carry the books of John Grisham, a
graduate of Oxford’s University of Mississippi, at the start of his
literary career; George Saunders and Charles Frazier, author of
Cold Mountain, are two other authors who were championed
by Square Books before they had achieved a national following. 323117 Books printing
323119 Other commercial printing
323121 Tradebinding & related work
323122 Prepress services
424920 Book & periodical merchant wholesalers
451211 Book stores
451212 News dealers & newsstands
Along the supply chain, the state is strongest in its educational
programs, festivals, and writers’ workshops. The materials that
writers use, the writing materials and, increasingly, software
programs, tend to come from national and international sources. Where the sub cluster falls short is in its depth downstream
in the value chain, the publishers, printers, and software houses
that convert content into commercial products. These are heavily concentrated in New York, London, Boston, and a few other
large cities.
Square Books, Oxford, MS
20
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The mass distribution networks, however, and most of the
book reviewers, are with national media or organizations. With
increasing sales through international sources such as Barnes
and Noble, Amazon, and Borders, recognition from New York,
Los Angeles and London critics and agents are necessary for
economic success.
The state also has a number of strong newspapers—55 in all—
both large and small, daily and weekly. Newspaper publishers
are responsible for about two-fifths of the employment in this
sub cluster. Some are traditional newspapers but some are specialized business papers or free publications, generally covering
entertainment and culture and supported by advertisements. The Delta Democrat in Greenville has been publishing since
1868 and took a stand against segregation during the civil rights
movement. The Jackson-based Clarion-Ledger, which dates
back to 1837, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1983 for its articles on
education in Mississippi. The newspaper, which gave very little
coverage to the civil rights movement and opposed desegregation through the 1960s, revised its position in the 1970s and in
2002 hired its first African American executive editor. Almost all
of the papers have now moved on line, creating opportunities
for bloggers and freelancers who are sometimes paid consultants. The state has unusual strength in its commercial gravure printing industry, which produces stationary, invitations, cards and
labels and has four times the proportion of employment the
national average. The sector also pays the highest average annual salaries of all the industries in the sub cluster, an estimated
$51,600.
E.
Culinary Arts
Mississippi is known for certain special foods, and although it
may not have the culinary reputation of New Orleans, it has its
own distinctive and authentic tastes. Some are typical Deep
South foods, some, like catfish, are more closely associated with
the state of Mississippi, and others, like tamales, have found a
new home in Mississippi.
The 2010 fifth edition of Cornbread Nation describes Sam the
Tamale Man, selling tamales from a truck parked on the side
of heavily traveled Highway 49. Food has both cultural and
creative dimensions that are closely intertwined.
•
•
•
•
The 2005 edition of 100 Best Art Towns in America highlighted the Bottletree Bakery in Oxford, as a “favorite local buzz
shop” and an arts venue. It was featured by Southern Living
and Oprah Winfrey as one of the best places for pastries.
In February 2010, Hal and Mal’s restaurant and pub, now
a community institution in Jackson, celebrated its 25th anniversary with 25 bands. It combines local foods, entertainment, and funky art.
Robert St. John is a world famous chef in Hattiesburg who
has authored six cookbooks (plus a work of fiction); sells
his own branded hot sauces, seasonings, and drink mixes;
offers cooking demonstrations; and operates the Crescent
City Grill, Mahogany Bar, and Purple Parrot restaurants,
which together make up the New South Restaurant Group. In Tunica, since 1937, long before the casinos came, oldfashioned southern cooking from catfish Creole to fried
dill pickles at the Blue & White Restaurant on US 61 has
attracted famous musicians—including Elvis Presley, once a
regular—as well as tourists. This sub cluster is the most difficult to isolate because creative
food-related businesses are included in sectors that also include
large numbers of non-creative food enterprises—fast food
restaurants, chains with fixed menus, and others with standard
fares. Our criteria for being part of the creative economy is that
the business, if an eating establishment, employ a trained chef,
regularly change the menu, serve local fresh foods, and/or offer
the customer a culinary experience.
INDUSTRIES INCLUDED
IN CULINARY ARTS
445291 Baked goods stores
445292 Confectionery and nut stores
445299 All other specialty food stores
722320 Caterers
• Selected restaurants
• Selected coffee shops
21
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Even after eliminating the obvious corporate chain establishments, the inclusion of a place of business ultimately is a
judgment call and the number employed an estimate, for which
we relied heavily on reputation and information from the state
association. While still an estimate, we have tried to err on the
conservative side. The director of the Mississippi Hospitality
and Restaurant Association estimates that about 10 percent of
his 2,500 members have professionally trained chefs and about
15 of those places are also venues for art or music. In addition,
there are about 30 independent coffee shops with baristas, and
some of those roast their own coffees, including the Southern
Aroma Coffee Roasters, High Point Roasters, Mississippi Coffee Company, Miss Lou Roasters, and Coffee Roaster. The final
definition used in this report includes catering companies, businesses involved in making and selling baked goods, confectionary stores, specialty food items and food processors, and those
eating or drinking establishments that had special features
associated with creativity.
The sub cluster also is supported by a topnotch culinary arts
school associated with Viking Range and by strong programs
at Mississippi University for Women and Hinds Community
College. Quail Ridge Press in Brandon publishes a special line
of cookbooks, and the state has various food-oriented festivals:
the World Catfish Festival in Belzoni, the Mize Watermelon
Festival, the Creole Crawfish Festival at Horn Lake, the Sante
South Wine Festival in Jackson, and the Sweet Potato Festival in
Vardaman, to name just a few. As conservatively defined (including only a small identifiable
subset of the state’s restaurants), the sub cluster is responsible
for 8 percent of the employment in the state’s creative economy
and almost 200 establishments. The average annual earnings
in this sector is $23,000 but those who work in specialty food
stores make an additional $10,000 per year more.
TAMALES may not be a native taste but
they have been Mississippified and modified
and have become so ingrained in the culture
that there now is a Delta Tamale Trail that
complements Mississippi’s Blues Trail. The
trail includes places such as Solly’s Hot
Tamales in Vicksburg, Tony’s Tamales in
Jackson, and Hot Tamale Heaven in Greenville—plus many others with unlikely names
for gourmet tamales like Shipley’s Donuts
in Vicksburg, Airport Grocery in Cleveland,
Abe’s Bar BQ in Clarksdale, Onward General
Store in Rolling Fork, and Crystal Grill in
Greenwood.
F.
Museums and Heritage
Mississippi has an exceptionally strong and recognizable cultural
heritage that serves to drive and inspire its creative economy. This sub cluster is composed of only three industry sectors,
museums, historical sites, and zoos and botanical gardens, and
these account for less than 700 jobs and 30 establishments. Many of the jobs are located in the Capital/River tourism region. Although the smallest of the six creative economy sub clusters,
it is the most difficult to quantify and is inevitably undercounted
because many of the jobs are within government and because
there are so many part-time and volunteer employees.
MUSEUMS AND HERITAGE
712110 Museums
712120 Historical sites
712130 Zoos and botanical gardens
22
The common use of volunteers and part time helpers very likely
also contributes to low average earnings, in the neighborhood
of only $21,000, for the sub cluster. This figure is brought down
by annual earnings of only about $10,000 for employees at
historic sites. Museums, zoos and botanical gardens workers
typically average about $23,000.
The state’s website lists 222 museums in the state, which offer
many unique views of the state’s history, culture, and eccentricities. The museums include, for example, the Aaron Cotton
Company Museum in Clarksdale where you can “learn about
the history of cotton and the crops relationship to Blues music”
and Yesterday’s Children Antique Doll and Toy Museum in Vicksburg with “over 1,000 antique and contemporary dolls from the
mid 1800s to the present.” Sixteen Mississippi museums are
described in the national travel book Little Museums 7 :
•
•
•
•
The Prayer Museum in Greenwood is a collection of
religious items from around the world—Tibetan, Buddhist, and
other religious traditions—displayed in William Honey’s home. He also provides personal seminars on the world’s religions.
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Natchez is a city-wide cultural site. Its many
mansions display rich antebellum architecture
that is preserved and renovated by the Historic
Natchez Foundation. The historic Natchez Trace
extends north from Natchez to Nashville, Tennessee. The scale of Natchez‘s historical and
cultural assets is impressive for a city of less
than 20,000 people with nearly 80 sites on the
National Register of Historic Places. Because
some districts include several hundred historic
homes, the actual number of historic places is
in the range of 1,300 and includes 13 National
Historic Landmarks, the highest historic designation given by the federal government. These
assets draw thousands of visitors a year, and
The Ole Place Café: Home of the Hollywood Star
Collection in Ruleville was founded by former Hollywood
costume designer Luster Bayless, who bought a hometown
department store to display costumes worn by well-known
Hollywood stars.
the Mississippi Development Authority’s Tour-
The Casey Jones Museum in Vaughn displays artifacts
and memorabilia based on the story of Casey Jones’ wreck of
the Cannon Ball in Vaughn in 1900, later turned into a famous
song written by an African American maintenance man. cent of the total employment for that county.
Graceland Too is located in Holly Springs, Mississippi,
where Paul MacLeod turned his pink, two-story home into
a floor-to-ceiling shrine to Elvis Presley. The house, which
is full of Elvis paraphernalia, is now repainted white and
remains open to the public 24 hours a day.
B.B. King Museum, Indianola, MS
ism Division found that in Fiscal Year 2008,
approximately 2,000 people were employed in
tourism-related jobs in Adams County, 15 perSee “Red Hots and Deep Blues: Stories from Mississippi’s
While this sub cluster may not be large in terms of employment,
it plays a critical role in helping many communities retain their
distinctiveness, and it influences much of the state’s music,
literature, art, and tourism. In the first three months after the
BB King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center opened in 2008
tourists arrived from all 50 states and more than 30 countries. Sunflower County, where the museum is located at Indianola,
saw a 12.5 percent increase in its estimated travel and tourism expenditures in fiscal year 2009, the year the museum first
opened, compared to the previous fiscal year. 7 Lynne Arany and Archie Hobson, Little Museums. New York:
Henry Holt and Company, 1998.
23
Part of the state’s history, of course, is a source of regret and
shame—the slavery and lack of civil rights for African Americans
and Native Americans. But that history, along with its natural
attractions also has shaped and sharpened its creativity, generating the blues, prolific folk art, oral histories, and sites of civil
war and civil rights events that have become tourism attractions
and have influenced the state’s most treasured literature.
Much of the state’s heritage is retained in museums, carefully
preserved historic buildings and sites, cemeteries, and parks. The Smithsonian’s Guide to Historic America 8 traces Mississippi’s attractions back to 1540, when de Soto crossed what now is
northern Mississippi. Jefferson Davis’s home, The Martha Vick House in Vicksburg, the
Delta Blues Museum, Music Hall of Fame, Seafood Industry Museum in Biloxi, Tupelo National Battlefield, Sports Hall of Fame
Museum, Mississippi Museum of Art, Elvis Presley’s Birthplace,
and Windsor Ruins are only a few of Mississippi’s other noted
historical, cultural, and creative locations. IV. Support Infrastructure
Because much of the value of creative economy is based on the
manner in which its products are experienced and the success
of the buzz that it produces, the creative economy depends
heavily on support from a variety of physical, intellectual, technical, and social sources to deliver or provide services to the
elements of that economy. The value of the support system is far greater than the number
of people it employs or the income it produces. For example,
formal and informal forums for associating, networking, and
sharing ideas are part of how interest in creative enterprises
forms and spreads. Public and private schools and personal
instruction help develop the next generation of creative people
and enterprises as well as consumers of creative products. Planned events—festivals, fairs, exhibits, and shows—operate
as marketplaces for creative goods. Some creative and cultural
goods are place-based, tied to specific locations. Finally, creative enterprises need resources, whether financial, technical,
or business. The ultimate strength of the creative economy is tied in large
part to the quality and quantity of the social and support infrastructure that support it. mCe
Category
Organizations
Description
Formal support networks and groups such as guilds,
councils, associations, and arts centers as well as informal clubs, networks,
and organizations.
Education &
Training
Programs and instruction aimed at developing or enhancing creative talent variously offered by public and private arts and craft schools, private teachers, and within educational
institutions and supporting industries.
Events &
Performances
Activities such as scheduled theatre,
festivals, shows, celebrations, exhibits,
gallery openings, and readings,
open as well as ticketed, that showcase the creative economy.
Places and
Spaces
Locations such as museums, historic
sites, gardens, arts districts, neighborhoods, exhibition halls, film and music
studios, incubators, and shared space
in which creative assets and enterprises can be created, housed, and
displayed.
Resources
Support such as sources of funding,
incentive programs, and information or
assistance provided by government
agencies, non-profit or for profit organizations, and private foundations.
A. Support Infrastructure: Networking for
Compatibility and Competitiveness
Guilds, council, arts associations, advocacy organizations, and
social networks represent the associational infrastructure that
enables members of Mississippi’s creative economy to connect
to one another, to the state’s broader creative economy, and to
external sources of knowledge and creative inspiration. The approximately 200 arts organizations and networks that this study
found include formal and informal groups of working artists,
educators, and patrons and supporters of the arts. Together the
organizations support creative processes and programming for
artists and art enthusiasts of all ages and tastes.
8 William Bryant Logan and Muse, The Smithsonian Guide to Historic America: The Deep South. New York: Stewart, Tabori, and Chamng, 1998.
24
Of the 200 organizations and networks uncovered, the greatest number of them (67) are located in Jackson. As the largest
city and state capital, it is also home to a number of statewide
organizations. The Pines, Coastal and Hills region were evenly
represented with approximately 30 organizations each, and the
Delta area lagged behind with only 17.
1. Arts Councils and Community Arts Organizations
Local arts councils and community arts organizations play an
important role in making creativity visible throughout Mississippi. By sponsoring exhibits of local working or amateur artists, or by
supporting arts programming in local schools or senior centers,
local arts councils help make the arts viable, visible, and accessible to a broad swath of the state’s population.
For example, the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council, the official arts
agency for Oxford and Lafayette County since 1972, was founded
to create opportunities for the community to experience highquality art. To meet this goal, the organization supports 300 days
of programming a year with galleries, festivals, local publications,
libraries and the schools. In east Mississippi, the Starkville Area
Arts Council makes grants and gives awards to arts educators, artists, organizations and students interested in pursuing education
and training in the arts.
In Hattiesburg, Partners for the Arts is a vibrant and growing organization that provides financial support to the performing and
visual arts departments at the University of Southern Mississippi. In 2009, its 300 members raised $87,000 distributed through a
grant program to support the university’s arts programs.
Arts organizations were also instrumental in helping
the Gulf Coast recover after the devastating hurricanes
of 2005. Working with the Hancock County Chamber
of Commerce, the Mississippi Arts Commission, and The
Arts, Hancock County, an arts recovery program set up
shop to help get artists back on their feet and in a sense
lead the charge of recovery for the region. The recovery
program along with The Arts, Hancock County helped
sponsor a traveling exhibition of Gulf Coast artists, helping local artists show their work around the nation and
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2. Guilds, Cooperatives and Professional Associations
Guilds, cooperatives, and informal craft and hobby groups provide individual artists with entré into a community of individuals
involved in similar pursuits. The intangible benefits are significant, if difficult to measure. Those benefits include a shared
spirit of creativity, increased social ties and the exchange of
ideas and inspiration. These organizations also have concrete and measurable benefits, particularly the more formal ones. Cooperative galleries
and guilds may provide places for individual artists to sell their
work. Individuals can benefit from having one centralized body
responsible for marketing and financial management, as well as
by being part of a larger “brand.” The Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi and its crafts gallery and store in Ridgeland is probably
the most prominent of these organizations, but other cooperative galleries and guilds exist in Meridian, Jackson, Starkville,
and Corinth, among other places.
Professional associations serve as advocates for the arts, in
general, and for artists in specific fields. Associations such as
the Mississippi Writers Guild, the Mississippi Museums Association and the Mississippi Gospel Music Association tend to have
statewide membership, which allows them to provide a unified
voice for artists across the state.
3. Amateur and Professional Companies
Amateur theatre, dance and music companies give Mississippi’s
aspiring talent places to hone their skills while their professional
equivalents provide employment for some of the state’s greatest talent. Approximately 50 community and youth theatres
throughout the state offer education, training and performance
opportunities to aspiring actors and the chance to enjoy theatre
to community members. As with many strands of the arts, community theatres are represented by a statewide membership
organization, the Mississippi Theatre Association.
begin to recover from the storm’s devastation.
See “Red Hots and Deep Blues: Stories from Mississippi’s Creative Economy.”
Thacker Mountain Radio Performance, Oxford, MS
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The Mississippi Opera, the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra
and Ballet Mississippi are statewide professional companies. A number of regional companies, including the Tupelo Ballet,
the Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra, the Hattiesburg Civic Light
Orchestra, Meridian Symphony Orchestra and Mississippi Metro
Ballet, also provide opportunities for professional artists and
audiences. Access to companies like these is a boon to music
students at the University of Southern Mississippi who often
find weekend employment playing with the state’s several orchestras, thus gaining valuable professional experience.
1. Cultural Contributions
In Starkville, Mississippi State University sponsors music and
dramatic performances, arts shows, and film festivals, and it
supports outdoor art. The University of Mississippi’s museum,
Gertrude Castellow Ford Center for Performing Arts, and
Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference are open to the entire
community. Just a few examples of entertainment and culture
colleges and universities offer their community include:
•
Belhaven College’s 800-seat Center for the Arts
B. Educational Institutions: Sources of Talent,
Learning and Culture
•
William Carey University’s Sarah Gillespie Museum of Art
Mississippi’s educational institutions assume many roles in the
state’s creative economy. They generate its labor force and
entrepreneurs that originate and produce creative goods. They
provide access to new ideas, information, and people. They
also are responsible for developing the creative, right brain
thinking that employers increasingly seek. In the survey of
manufacturers, 65 percent ranked creativity as an important or
very important trait in new employees.
Educational institutions host entertainment and cultural activities in their communities. They develop interest in and appreciation for the arts in the population that will become the
next generation of artists, designers, and consumers. And they
provide a non-traditional means for raising levels of academic
achievement. In each area of activity, Mississippi has significant
strengths but also opportunities to do even more. How well do the state’s colleges and universities meet labor
market and community needs for creativity and culture? Most
community colleges have had programs in the fine arts for
decades, but mainly as part of their associate of arts transfer
tracks designed to send well-rounded individuals into the universities, not into employment or careers. Most of Mississippi’s
community colleges today, however, are beginning to respond
to the state’s transition from a mass production economy to
an idea- and experience-based economy and to the growing
job market and student demand for applied creative arts in, for
example, digital arts, graphic design, landscape architecture,
and interior decoration. And many colleges and universities are
important sources of and venues for art and culture, especially
in the state’s smaller cities.
and Carey Dinner Theater
•
Millsaps College’s Lewis Art Gallery and Arts and Lecture Series
•
Alcorn State University’s Jazz Festival.
•
Art Colony at Tougaloo College
•
Eudora Welty Writers Symposium at Mississippi University
for Women
Many of the state’s community colleges also are cultural hubs
for their communities. Nearly all sponsor various musical
ensembles and theater groups that perform at the college and
locally. Some specific examples are:
•
Hinds Community College’s Marie Hull Gallery and Montage
Theater of Dance
• Copiah Community College’s co-sponsored Natchez Literary
and Cinema Celebration
• Jones Junior College’s Eula Bass Lewis Art Gallery
• Northeast Mississippi Community College’s Northeast
Art Gallery
• Pearl River Community College’s museum
2. Creative Abilities
The skills and knowledge needed to make a living in creative
fields are acquired in many ways but perhaps are most strongly
influenced by exposure and support at home and in early
school years. Career decisions are influenced by abilities and/or
interests that have been shaped by elementary and high school
teachers, counselors and by institutions’ learning environments. One community college student found that “it was cool to go to
movies” during his previous home schooling, and he turned that
interest into a career path. 26
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a. Starting Young
Mississippi’s “Whole Schools Initiative” is an innovative approach to not only keeping, but to emphasizing, the arts in
schools. It was begun in 1991, when arts curriculums were
being cut in schools. The Whole Schools Initiative, funded and
supported by the Mississippi Arts Commission, infuses and
integrates arts into regular instruction. Its goals are to enrich
students’ lives, build sustainable communities and to improve
teaching and achievement by putting the arts on equal footing
with the three “Rs.” Since 1998 this program has expanded
into the middle and high schools. Schools can contract with
both participating (teaching) artists and visiting artists to
Historically CTE, as vocational education, focused on industrial
trades and agriculture, but now it is moving into newer technology, health, and computer-related fields. Mississippi’s CTE
includes, among its 48 programs, five that directly support the
creative economy: culinary and related foods technology, design
technology for fashion and interiors, audio and television broadcasting, computer graphics, and graphics and print communications. Design technology for fashion is the newest track, started
as a pilot program with 15 students in 2005 to convert the
former occupational clothing track into a more design-oriented
program aimed at higher-end and niche markets. supplement and further enrich their programs. Career and Technical Education, once intended as preparation
The Mississippi School of the Arts
in Brookhaven, created by the legislature in
1999 for artistically talented and gifted Mississippi youth, is a residential school located
on a historic campus. An agreement with
Brookhaven School District allows students to
balance their arts interests with meeting academic requirements at the nearby public high
school. The impact generated from the school
has been profound: In 2009 students graduating
from MSA received $3.2 million in scholarships
offers which exceeded the $3 million annual
appropriation from the State Legislature. These
scholarships include offers from top national
and state universities and specialized arts
programs such as the American Academy of
Dramatic Arts
b. Considering Careers
Students begin to think about their future career opportunities
in middle school. By high school, many are already on clearly
defined pathways in chosen areas of career and technical
education (CTE) programs. for immediate employment, now also must offer a path into
higher education, most often at a community college. Mississippi’s community college system, the oldest state system in
the nation, places a high value on the fine arts in its liberal arts
programs. Thirteen of the colleges have programs for visual
and fine arts, and all but one have programs in music education. The majority of the students going through the fine arts
programs will transfer to four-year schools and go into
teaching careers. Beyond the fine arts, however, programs to support creative
occupations become scarce. Graphic design and mass communications are offered in five colleges each, and culinary arts
in four. Hinds and Mississippi Delta Community Colleges have
commercial kitchens and expose students to the art of baking
and international cuisines. Coahoma has a fashion merchandising and Apparel Studies program. No Mississippi community
college has a two-year architectural program, and none has a
program in film/video, animation, or in historic renovation, all
areas needed to support the growth of Mississippi’s creative
economy. Further, this unmet need receives little attention in
the state’s acclaimed workforce programs that have been so
successful in supporting business recruitment and retention.
Mississippi’s universities also are very strong in the fine arts,
with 13 universities offering degree programs in visual/fine arts
and 13 with programs in music; and many have mass communications programs. The availability of degree programs
is considerably weaker, however, in design, culinary arts, and
literary arts.
27
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the Craftsmen Guild in Ridgeland, Mary O’Keefe Cultural Center
for Arts Education in Ocean Springs, Meridian Artists’ Coop, Dee
Art Place in Columbus, the Caboose Art Gallery in Long Beach,
and the Viking Cooking School in Greenwood are only a few
examples. The state, for example, has more than 100 dance
schools or studios with the industry classification of “fine
arts school.”
C.
Mississippi Arts Commission, WSI Summer Institute
The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss) is the
state’s flagship school for the creative economy, one of only 24
universities in the nation accredited in dance, music, theater,
and visual art. But all of the state’s universities offer something
to the aspiring artist or designer, particularly in music. Delta
State University has degree programs in both music and music
education, Mississippi University for Women offers general
music, music education, and music therapy, and Belhaven University, and Alcorn State University have degrees in music. USM
and, since March 2009, Delta State University operate recording
studios operated by students.
A few of the four-year colleges offer some courses and programs in design, with building and landscape architecture and a
design program at Mississippi State University, degree programs
in interior and graphic design at Southern Miss, plus concentrations in graphic or interior design at a few other colleges. Mississippi University for Women is the state’s only four-year
college offering a baccalaureate in the culinary arts. The University of Mississippi is at the forefront of journalism
and media, with the Edwin and Becky Meek School of Journalism and New Media, but Southern Miss and Alcorn State have
schools or departments of mass communications and most
other colleges have programs or concentrations. Many colleges
contribute to the state’s reputation as a wellspring for literature. Seven colleges are National Writing Project sites for the development of teaching writing. The University of Mississippi offers
a masters’ degree in creative writing, and Belhaven University
has a baccalaureate program in the same area. Mississippi residents can also acquire skills and knowledge in a
number of non-degree granting private schools. The Natchez
Clay Center, Allison’s Wells School of Arts and Crafts in Canton,
Events and Performances
One of the most important outlets for artistic expression is the
multitude of festivals that are found in almost every county
in Mississippi. These festivals celebrate everything from the
writings of Eudora Welty and Tennessee Williams to the culture
of Coastal Mississippi and art from the creations of Walter
Anderson to the blues of BB King. Indeed, the Mississippi blues
illustrates just how numerous festivals are in the state. These festivals and arts events serve as assets for Mississippi’s
creative economy in several ways that generate economic
impacts for the community in which they are held. First, they
provide an avenue for Mississippi artists to reach larger numbers of audiences and customers. Second, those festivals and
arts events that celebrate local culture or history and tell a story
about their communities help create a brand and special sense
of place. Third, they integrate and promote the arts to the community at large and expose residents to different ideas
and people.
According to the Blues Highway Association’s annual listing of
festivals, there are 56 festivals in the state that prominently
feature the blues. From the large annual Mississippi Delta Blues
and Heritage Festival in Greenville to the Mississippi Gulf Coast
Blues and Heritage Festival in Pascagoula, blues fans and performers can spend almost every weekend of the year hearing
and playing the music they love. Jessee Robinson performs at Hal and Mal’s, Jackson, MS
28
From April to November of 2009, there were only eight weekends that didn’t feature at least one blues festival. Many of
these festivals are featured on the state’s Blues Trail, which
highlights historical events in the music’s past and helps promote new events by reminding tourists about where live music
is currently taking place (See Red Hots and Deep Blues: Stories
from Mississippi’s Creative Economy). To underscore the importance to the state’s economy, in April 2010, “Mississippi –
The Birthplace of America’s Music” was the theme of the
Mississippi Economic Council’s 61st Annual Meeting.
1. Festivals as Market Assets
About 66 percent of the Mississippi visual or craft artists who
responded to a survey earned income through selling their
products at festivals or fairs, and 30 percent reported earning
more than a fifth of their income from such events. The Cotton
Arts District Festival in Starkville is an example of the type of
market asset that festivals represent. Each April, the Starkville
Area Arts Council holds an event in the historic Cotton District.
The event features a juried arts competition. The 2010 event
showcased more than 100 artists and attracted approximately
42,000 attendees. For musicians , festivals are often the best way to get their art
out to new and appreciative audiences. More than half of musicians who responded to the survey reported earning income
from festivals or annual events. As mentioned, the blues festival circuit is promoted heavily and is usually the prime venue
for local acts to perform and promote their music, with many
artists selling their CDs and merchandise at the events. While
the festivals do attract national level talent, the focus is still on
local artists. Respondents to the survey of festivals in Mississippi showed that more than 75 percent of musical performers
hailed from within the state.
Outdoor concert at the Cedars, Fondren, Jackson, MS
Figure 8:
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Origins of Participants, by percent
50
37.5
25
12.5
0
City
Region
State
Outside State
2. Festivals Promoting the Arts
For many individuals, festivals and events represent their
primary exposure to the arts. Even if nothing is purchased,
listening to new music, looking at art and traditional crafts, and
sampling new cuisines can contribute to a community’s overall
appreciation of artistic endeavors. Indeed, survey respondents
saw this exposure as one of the main purposes of the events. One sponsor of a festival in Vicksburg said, “Our mission is to
promote and raise awareness about Mississippi music, heritage and culture. It’s good business for everyone; the venues,
and the opportunities created for musicians. Our efforts to
provide more music is important for local businesses faced
with employee retention issues. By encouraging businesses to
participate in providing great Mississippi music, we improve the
quality of life for our community.” Festival survey respondents
generally agree with that assessment with 80 percent saying
that the festival had a medium or major impact in preserving a
community’s local culture.
3. Festivals and Economic Impact
While the altruistic nature of promoting the arts certainly is
present, festivals generate a large economic impact. In terms
of sheer attendance, 56 survey respondents reported that more
than 460,000 individuals attended the events, which, while
impressive, is only a fraction of the total annual attendance for
all festivals in the state. Extrapolating the numbers reported
by those surveyed to the full 149 festivals held that year suggests more than 1.2 million participants. Although most of
the attendees at these festivals were from within the state, 70
percent of respondents reported that more than 10 percent of
attendees came from outside Mississippi. 29
Attendees don’t only spend their time at the festivals; they also
spend money, which can have a sizable impact on the economy
of the host community. Seventy-five percent of respondents
reported that the festival had a medium or major impact on
tourist spending in their communities. This amount translates
into helping entrepreneurs in the community; 57 percent of
respondents reported that the festival had a medium or major
impact on small businesses in the region. The Loose Caboose Festival in Newton is just one example of
the impact of how a festival can impact a small community. The
small festival promotes local crafts and local artists and brings
people to downtown Newton who otherwise might not visit
it. One small business owner recognizes just how important
that event is: “Repeat business to our community is somehow
never calculated into economic impact, but as a business owner
downtown I personally know the number of customers that
come back to my shop from the festival alone and no amount of
advertising could reach that many people in one day.”
D.
Places and Spaces: Creativity on Display
Though many creative occupations and processes are individual
endeavors, calling to mind the image of the solitary artist in
a studio or the writer hunched over a desk, creative individuals need places to create, either alone or with other creative
people. But they also need more public places to perform,
exhibit and share their work.
In Mississippi, hundreds of museums, galleries, theaters, concert
halls, restaurants and pubs, historic sites, buildings and neighborhoods, gardens and public spaces serve as venues for the performance, exhibition, and dissemination of creative work.
1. Museums and Heritage Sites
More than 300 cultural heritage sites and 130 museums spread
throughout the state serve as venues for the celebration, exhibition and, in some cases, sale of art and cultural heritage. These
venues celebrate and commemorate a wide range of the state’s
artistic and cultural heritage, its most notable achievements and
talent and, in some cases, its new and emerging artists.
The preserved homes of some of Mississippi’s most famous
artists are one subset of this group. Tourists and residents alike
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can draw inspiration from visiting the homes and workplaces of
talent like Eudora Welty, Tennessee Williams, Mississippi John
Hurt, and Alice Moseley.
Another example is the handful of museums that celebrate the
artistic accomplishment and legacy of Mississippi natives, such
as the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum, the Walter Anderson Museum
of Art or the BB King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center. The Walter Anderson Museum of Art in Ocean Springs holds a
permanent collection of approximately 800 pieces of work by
Walter Anderson, a muralist, potter and painter, and his brothers Peter and James, all of whom made their homes and artistic
careers on the Gulf Coast. Since Hurricane Katrina, the museum’s mission has also included supporting Gulf Coast artists
by providing opportunities to exhibit their work. (See Red Hots
and Deep Blues: Stories from Mississippi’s Creative Economy.”)
2. Galleries and Studios
The study identified more than 100 galleries and working
studios that provide venues for new and emerging artists to
produce, display and sell their work, the majority of which are
located in the Capital and Coastal tourism regions of the state. Undoubtedly, there are many more homes, restaurants, coffee
shops, and classrooms that serve these same purposes, though
perhaps more informally.
A wide range of fine and visual arts, from photography to
jewelry to watercolor painting, can be found in the states’ galleries and working studios. Some of these places focus on one
type of art or media, such as Jackson’s Pearl River Glass Studio,
a renowned stained glass studio that is open to the public for
visiting and observation and hosts an annual event to showcase
Mississippi artists. Others are owned and operated by cooperatives or membership groups, and serve to display the varied
work of their members, as with the Meridian Artists Co-op and
the Hattiesburg Arts Council gallery.
3. Performance Venues
Local and touring performing artists find a stage and audience
for their work in a range of venues located in all corners of the
state, from the Tennessee border to the coast. These venues
run the gamut from community theatres to municipal auditoriums, blues clubs to casinos.
30
Ground Zero Blues Club is a music venue in Clarksdale that
showcases renowned blues musicians, some of whom got their
start in Mississippi. Furthermore, one of the club’s owners is a
talented Mississippi native who has returned home: actor Morgan Freeman. Ground Zero is a destination for visitors—many
of whom are international—that come to the Mississippi Delta
seeking an authentic experience.
More numerous and spread throughout the state are countless
community theatres, restaurants, bars, coffee shops and music
halls that serve as performance venues for aspiring local talent. Corinth Theatre-Arts is a community theatre that nurtures local
talent through open auditions for its production season and its
youth summer program, while Cups, a local coffee roaster and
purveyor, hosts local acoustic and folk musicians at its location
in Jackson’s Fondren district. Jackson’s Fondren District
is one prominent example of such a district.
The neighborhood has been revitalized and is
now a desirable residential, commercial and
entertainment district. A high concentration of
artists, painters and musicians mix comfortably
with other area residents, themselves a mix of
professionals, long-time residents and newcomers. Galleries, boutiques and restaurants all
serve as venues to showcase the work of local
artists. The community is now an experience
rather than just a place to live or work.
See “Red Hots and Deep Blues: Stories from Mississippi’s Creative Economy.”
Though it takes place in a bookstore, Oxford’s Thacker Mountain Radio also presents a unique opportunity for local writers
and musicians. The weekly radio program, broadcast live each
Thursday, showcases authors and musicians. Caroline Herring,
one of the show’s founders and original performers went on to
become an integral part of the Austin, Texas music scene and
has released five albums since 2001. (See Red Hots and Deep
Blues: Stories from Mississippi’s Creative Economy.”)
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The state’s universities and colleges also provide many venues
for performers. Mississippi State University’s Meridian campus
is home to the recently renovated Riley Center, a fully restored
1889 opera house and a 200-seat theatre. Southern Miss’s
music and theatre performance facilities showcase the talent of
students and professionals and draw an audience from a onehour radius.
Important venues that are easily overlooked are the casinos,
especially the concentration around Tunica along the Mississippi
River and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. People come for the entertainment as well as the gaming, and the stages attract both big
name and local artists.
4. Arts Districts and Buildings
Creative industries and individuals benefit from proximity to like
minded organizations, companies and individuals. Concentrations of creative economy actors also create positive spillover
effects for other individuals and companies that may not be
directly involved in the creative economy. For this reason, the
existence of arts districts and entire buildings devoted to the
arts are a critical part of any place’s creative infrastructure.
In several locations throughout the state, artists and creative
organizations are all brought under the same roof in historic
buildings. The E.E. Bass Cultural Center in Greenville, the Mary C.
O’Keefe Cultural Center in Ocean Springs and the Madison Square
Center for the Arts in Madison are all former school buildings that
now house a range of spaces for creative activity: studios, exhibition spaces, auditoriums, classrooms and offices for local arts
organizations. A similar plan is underway in Hattiesburg.
E. Resources: Investments and Involvement
Success for artists and other creative enterprises depend, at
least in part, on access to financial capital and technical support from private and public sources. Resources can come in
the form of grants made by charitable foundations and statesupported institutions or in the form of technical assistance
provided by organizations geared toward creative businesses
and entrepreneurs. But the majority of creative enterprises
have the same needs as any other new or growth-oriented businesses for venture capital and working capital. 31
The Mississippi Arts Commission is the most important resources and sources of support for the state’s artists and organizations in the arts. In terms of support for individual artists, MAC
offers grants up to $5,000 to individual professional artists under its Artist Fellowship program. The grant program is seen as
“awards of merit.” While applicants are not required to submit
information on how they might use the funds, MAC expects the
recipients to dedicate the funds towards expanding their ability
to create new work. MAC also offers mini-grants of up to $500
to provide artists with funds to assist with professional training,
promotional efforts, or purchase of supplies.9 MAC also provides operating grant support for individual arts
councils around the state. Many of these organizations provide
funding to support individual artists or community focused
events and efforts. For instance, the Greater Jackson Arts Council provides grants to organizations that use arts to enhance
quality of life in particular neighborhoods of the capital city.
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network of Mississippi Small Business Development Centers can
assist businesses in creating start-up plans and in navigating issues such as obtaining financing and expanding market share. In
some states, small business development centers have developed
expertise around creative enterprises recognizing that artists may
require particular types of services. Mississippi does not as of
yet have any comprehensive services but there are some geared
towards the success of particular types of creative businesses.
For instance, the Franklin Furniture Institute at Mississippi State
University offers entrepreneurs and companies in the wood products industry information about new market opportunities such
as sustainably-produced products and how to enhance design to
meet the aesthetic needs of an increasingly fragmented marketplace. Programs such as these that are tailored to the specific
needs of creative industry can have a substantial impact on those
businesses that choose to make use of these types of services.
Mississippi also has a large number of organizations that
award grants to artists and arts organizations. An estimated 46
foundations based in Mississippi name arts funding one of their
areas of emphasis—for activities such as assisting after school
programs; providing disadvantaged youth with arts instruction;
supporting the many arts-focused festivals around the state;
and making grants to support community theaters and symphonies. The Gertrude C. Ford Foundation, Inc., for example, is an
independent foundation based in Jackson contributed operating
grant support to, among other organizations, the Mississippi
Museum of Art, the New Stage Theater in Jackson and the
Mississippi Opera. The past year has been a difficult time for cultural and arts
organizations to attract funds. The weak economy has reduced
funds available from foundations and government agencies creating intense competition among non-profit organizations that
rely in part on charitable giving or the public sector. Needed resources are not limited to financial concerns. Organizations that provide small business assistance, such as
those operated by the Mississippi Development Authority, can
provide substantial assistance for promotion, marketing, and
business development. For artists or other businesses within
the creative economy such assistance can be invaluable. The
The furniture industry in Mississippi
9 http://www.arts.state.ms.us/grants/artist-fellowship.php
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V. Recommended Goals and Strategies
The size of the creative economy alone has a large and direct
impact on the state’s economy—nearly 3,000 establishments
responsible for roughly 40,200 jobs that are engaged primarily
in the production, distribution, and marketing of aesthetically
or emotionally oriented products or services—is sufficient
reason to invest in the cluster. It employs more people than the
defense and security, apparel and textiles, and transportation
equipment manufacturing clusters, all of which are important
sectors of the state’s economy. Add to that the effect of the
creative economy on so many other sectors, such as tourism,
agriculture, communications and information technologies, furniture and health care and its value as an amenity that attracts
tourists and talent, and the potential value far exceeds the
conventional view of the lone artist at a festival or performer on
the street. The following goals and strategies are based on what has been
learned in this study and on the ideas and vision of some of the
key stakeholders in Mississippi’s arts, education, and economic
development arenas. They are intended to help the state reap
the full benefits of its creative people and creative economy.
The Creative Economy
1. Is a direct source of growth (Goal II)
2. Adds value to other sectors (Goals IV, V)
3. Attracts talented people, businesses and tourists (Goals I, III)
4. Stimulates innovation (Goals III, IV, V)
5. Is the foundation for the 21st century work force (Goal VI)
GOAL I:
Facilitate efforts that make communities
throughout the state more creative and
vibrant.
In Richard Florida’s Who’s Your City, he demonstrates the value
of place to people and to companies. “Where we live is the
central factor that affects all others—work, education, and
love—follow. 10” Although the book focuses on large metropolitan areas, small communities can even more easily distinguish
or brand themselves and attract people and firms who may be
looking for less expensive, less crowded, and less hectic places. Those communities that are able to offer enough of the urban
creative amenities and cultural attractions along with a slower,
more family-friendly lifestyle can use that to their advantage to
generate and retain wealth. Strategies that allow rural communities to convert their creative talent into economic activities
are critical to Mississippi’s future.
Strategy A: Use creative talent and enterprises
to promote community restoration and
revitalization.
•
Reinstate state funding for Mississippi’s Building Fund for
the Arts (BFA) program, a bond bill that could be used to
refurbish and maintain buildings as cultural centers. 11 The fund, authorized at $19.2 million and managed by
the Mississippi Arts Commission, supported 93 projects
between 2001 and 2007. Awards were based on artistic
quality, plans, architectural and organizational capacity,
and anticipated economic impact.
•
Offer financial or architectural incentives or technical assistance to make abandoned or unused downtown space
available to creative businesses, galleries, and/or studio
space in both urban areas and in small communities.
Paducah, Kentucky has had one of the nation’s first and
most successful artists relocation programs. Recruiting artists nationally with zero interest loans and subsidies for architectural changes, the city attracts some 50 artists, which
brought galleries and theaters to a previously distressed
area of the city.
In Pittsfield, Massachusetts, a group of artists worked with
the owners of vacant storefronts in the downtown. The
idea was to give artists the opportunity to work in these
spaces and exhibit their art, and to bring more foot traffic
to the downtown. The effort succeeded in helping both the
artists and the property owners, and downtown Pittsfield is
now a more arts-active and vibrant place to live and work.
10 Richard Florida, Who’s Your City? New York: Basic Books, 2008, p. 6.
11 http://www.arts.state.ms.us/programs/building-fund.php
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•
Develop and communicate programs currently available
through MAC.
•
Consider a “Percent for Art” program such as is being
implemented on university campuses and many federal
projects. Set aside a percentage of funding for public buildings and public spaces to display art such as sculptures, murals and other decorative art in, for example, hotel lobbies,
restaurants, banks, hospitals and outdoors.
•
Consider zoning and private-sector set asides such as those
done in the GSA Art in Architecture Program which commissions the nation’s leading artists to create large-scale works
of art for new federal buildings. These artworks enhance
the civic meaning of federal architecture and showcase
the vibrancy of American visual arts. Together, the art and
architecture of federal buildings create a lasting cultural
legacy for the people of the United States. GSA reserves
one-half of the estimated construction cost of each new
federal building to commission project artists.
The Alluvian Hotel, a cosmopolitan boutique hotel in Greenwood, Mississippi exhibits a collection of award-winning art
by Mississippi artists.
The Mayor of Sheridan, Wyoming enacted Resolution 24-00
to establish an “Art in Public Places” program in July 2000
and the city of 15,000 now has some 50 sculptures with a
western theme downtown. Originally on loan from the artists for $500, about half now have been purchased and are
permanent.
•
Support the designation and formation of “Creative Economic districts,” where creative people and enterprises
are encouraged to concentrate, collaborate, live and work. •
The state of Louisiana recently passed enabling legislation
that allows local communities to create Cultural Districts,
and at least 51 districts have been created around the state
to date. The Districts provide tax exemptions for the sale of
one-of-a-kind art and tax credits to rehabilitate buildings to
help create more vibrant downtowns. 12
with low rent space for studios and theater companies.
Granville Island is now the artistic center of Vancouver and
a primary tourist destination served by a steady stream of
sea taxies. 13
•
MDA and MAC would create a program that helps communities become certified (similar to the state’s Certified
Retirement Communities program) and offer technical
assistance to communities to inventory their creative assets
and develop plans to meet criteria for being designated a
“creative community.”
Mississippi offers communities the chance to become Certified Retirement Communities, which is obtained after a
three-month screening process, and to become recognized
under the Mississippi Main Street Association program,
supported by the National Trust for Historic Preservation
and the Mississippi Development Authority.
The Maine Arts Commission established a program in 2001
called “Discovery Research that gave grants and methodologies to communities to map their creative assets,
discover their own cultural resources, and provide funds to
survey local events, artists, traditions, and tradition-bearers
as well as cultural organizations which promote or support
the performing, visual, craft or literary arts. The state is
now transitioning from that discovery model to a capacity
building model.
Vermont, based on recommendations of the Vermont Council on Culture and Innovation, encouraged selected communities to look at development through the lens of the
creative economy, emphasizing the importance of place,
creative partnerships, and creative assets. 14
Cat Head Delta Blues and Folk Art, Clarksdale, MS
Granville Island was formed from a sandbar in the heart
of Vancouver, British Columbia to hide the city’s heavy
industries. In the 1970s a local politician led the move to
change its image and rebuild the island’s economy on the
arts. They created a cultural center in abandoned factories
12 http://www.crt.state.la.us/culturaldistricts/documents/act298.pdf.
13 http://granvilleisland.com
14 http://www.vtrural.org/creative-communities.php.
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Strategy B: MAC to continue support and assist
cultural fairs and festivals.
•
MAC and MDA offers technical assistance and support for
organizers of fairs, festivals and other celebrations through
the Festivals and Events Coordinators Workshops. The program improves the promotion, marketing, fundraising and
business planning efforts of festivals. These festivals and
other forms of community and regional celebrations can be
used effectively to showcase and market a place’s special
history, culture, creativity or even weirdness, an increasingly sought attribute. 15
Strategy A: Develop greater capacity to assist
businesses in the creative industries. Improve
ability of existing technical and business support
infrastructure to support the self-employed and
microenterprises.
•
Entrepreneurial Center, etc.
The Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) and the Mississippi
Development Authority’s (MDA) Tourism Division have been
active supporters of many events through grants and other
services. Both agencies recognize the challenges faced by
community groups that produce festivals. To address these
challenges, MAC and MDA have come together to produce
workshops that provide training and networking opportunities for festival coordinators from around the state.
The current Mississippi Arts Commission program to help
artists with business skills could be turned into a “train the
trainer” program that would enable existing services to better understand and support the needs of artists and artisans.
www.visualarts.ms.gov. The Mississippi Arts Commission
has created the Mississippi Visual Arts Directory Website.
The website serves as a resource to all things visual arts
in the state and provides artists with the opportunity to
increase their visibility. The site is open to all visual artists
and craftsmen, museums, cultural centers and galleries and
visual arts organizations and all art education facilities.
The City of Lowell, Massachusetts has an event called “Destination World” that brings together all of the city’s immigrant
and ethnic communities around a single event to highlight
the contribution and work of the city’s immigrant population.
This also brings new audiences to the downtown.
Haywood Community College in western North Carolina
hosts an arts business boot camp every summer during
which artisans are taught about managing their business, finances, marketing, use of ecommerce, and budgeting. Most
years, the camp is oversubscribed, with attendees coming
from across the U.S. It’s supported by the Arts Business
Institute, co-located with HandMade in America in Asheville.
GOAL II: Promote entrepreneurship
and small business growth among
creative firms.
The creative economy, with its emphasis on small scale, over
mass production, is exceptionally entrepreneurial. But because
the structure of this cluster favors highly flexible small companies
with uncertain markets that are dependent more on the strength
of reputation and connections than productivity, it is not well
understood or served by the public agencies that assist small
businesses. Business and capital assistance organizations typically are measured by employment growth, which biases publicly
funded services against helping entrepreneurial companies that
are considered “lifestyle” or unlikely to grow very large. Help small business development centers, cooperative
and manufacturing extension offices, incubators, MDA’s
Entrepreneurial Center and employment services to better
understand the particular needs and markets of the creative
enterprise. Continue to work through existing programs and
organizations such as tech parks, incubator space, MDA’s
•
Expand Mississippi’s existing “Arts Means Business” program
to reach a greater number of creative enterprises and creative people, possibly working though membership organizations like the Mississippi Craftsmen’s Guild and by training
the staff of existing small business assistance programs and
educational institutions to support creative enterprises.
15 Joe Cortright, “‘Keep Portland Weird’ makes sense as a jobs strategy,” Oregonlive.com, February 13, 2010.
35
The Montana two-year college system developed a program called “artrepreneurship” in its arts and crafts
program at Great Falls that emphasizes the business side
of the arts. An evaluation of the first class of completers
found on average a 152 percent increase in sales, 309 percent increase in out-of-state sales, and four new enterprises
started.
•
•
Build the state’s artist’s roster, develop a more comprehensive directory of the larger range of creative enterprises
that includes, for instance, lists of writers, designers, architects, interior designers, music companies, animators, and
graphic artists. Use the roster to reach broader and more
distant markets for the state’s creative products.
The Georgia Tourism Foundation supports a web site called
Georgia’s Creative Economies that promotes Georgia people, places, and made and grown things. It can be searched
by region, category, and subcategory. 17
Assist existing state programs and resources, such as the
Small Business Development Centers and WIN Job Centers,
to better understand and assist creative enterprises, with
a special effort to target the development and growth of
creative enterprises by underserved populations. In Kentucky, the state agricultural extension service has an
extension agent in the poor, eastern-most and coal dependent part of Appalachia dedicated to working with artisans
and artists and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst
has an Arts Extension Service that has helped connect communities to the arts and has offered workshops and training
for more than 30 years, now including a creative economy
training program. 16
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The Milwaukee Cultural Council is developing a comprehensive on-line database for all of the people and companies
that are part of the creative economy in southeast Wisconsin as part of its creative economy initiative.
•
Consider producing a Mississippi Roots Music show that
celebrates being the birthplace of America’s music.
The Boston Pops has an American Idol style competition
called POPSearch. Held in the summer, it plays to a live
audience of almost half a million and millions more on
television. In 2004, the winner was a van driver for special
needs children. 18
Strategy B: Support branding and marketing of
the state’s creative places, products and assets.
Strategy C: Help artists find new full-time
employment that utilizes their talent.
•
•
Work together across agencies to identify and communicate
the state’s creative brand, i.e., “Mississippi’s Creative Spirit.”
The Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) Tourism Division contracted with North Star Destination Strategies to
determine and define the state’s true, unique and relevant
brand position that will help the state stand out in the tourism marketplace. North Star conducted more than a dozen
pieces of research to identify what differentiates Mississippi
from its competitors. The result? Mississippi is the most
southern of all states and the mother of southern culture
- yesterday, today and tomorrow. From this, Mississippi’s
brand was created, “Find Your True South.”
Many places have branded their creative products, such as
Kentucky Crafted, Native Handicraft from Alaska and Made
in Montana. Fewer have successfully used creativity to
brand a place, although Glasgow, Scotland calls itself the
“Creative City” and the Berkshires in western Massachusetts use “Berkshire Creative: Creativity Lives Here” as a
regional brand.
Support the development of an artist’s employment service, either through the Arts Commission or the Mississippi
Department of Employment Security.
In Southeast Wisconsin, the Kohler Corporation has an
on-going Artists in Residency program that leads to its arts
edition products. The company also has an art gallery. In
addition, one of the hotels in downtown Milwaukee created
a similar Artist-in-Residency program in which a local artist
worked on his paintings in the lobby of the hotel. The program has elevated the visibility of the arts and artists and
made the lobby of the hotel more attractive.
Northern Michigan University hosts an “Art & Design Career & Employment - Art Jobs” designed to provide
access to numerous art/design career and employment
internet resources. Individuals can search for opportunities
across the entire US and even globally.
16 http://www.artsextensionservice.org
17 http://www.gamadegagrownproducts.org/index.php
18 http://www.myspace.com/popsearch
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GOAL III
Help communities preserve and generate
added value from the state’s rich cultural
and historic heritage.
Strategy A: Encourage investment in and
marketing of the state’s cultural heritage
in more communities.
•
The history and architecture of a place influence how people
feel about their communities and the decisions people make
of where they want to live. This, in turn, influences where
companies want to do business. If a place is distinctive enough,
values, and invests in that uniqueness, cultural heritage can
generate wealth in its own right. Mississippi represents a prime example of this phenomenon. The
state’s cultural heritage, particularly as demonstrated by its literature, music, and architecture, is a strong, internationally recognized
brand. Literature is epitomized by Oxford, music by Clarksdale,
and architecture by Natchez. But all three art forms are present in
force in many other places across the state. For example, in 2008
Columbus was named one of twelve national distinctive destinations by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
If the heritage of a place can be preserved in the face of the
growth pressures brought on by development, that brand
can be used to promote all aspects of Mississippi’s creative
economy. Many other communities have some of these same
attributes, but they are unrecognized or underappreciated. Taylor, for example, has been recognized as being “quintessential
Mississippi [where] tourists come for photos.” 19
Mississippi should focus on those things which are authentically
part of our Mississippi culture:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Arts
Literarture
Music
Architecture
Food
Sacred places
Civil War and Civil Rights
The state should help communities identify their assets; provide
communities a template and best practices.
Help each community to inventory and assess the economic value of its cultural and historical assets including its
architecture. Although Mississippi has a strong program for
preserving and registering historic places, this step would
look for a unifying theme that is distinctive and defining
and tie it to development efforts.
In Mineral Point, Wisconsin, the town used its early mining
history to create the historic Shake Rag Alley. The nine
buildings attract students in the arts and crafts to classes,
and a nearby artists’ community is home to 17 art galleries
within a few blocks of Shake Rag Alley. 20
•
Make better use of the state’s strong investment in heritage
sites and locations by linking them to the creative economy
and the arts community. The city of Charleston, South Carolina has worked to establish itself as a center of historic preservation. This includes
the location of the American College of Building Arts, which
offers degrees in historic preservation, and Clemson University’s Graduate Program in Historic Preservation.
Strategy B: Involve the media, new and old, in
promoting all of Mississippi’s cultural assets. For
example, promote literature and strengthening
the market for literary products.
•
Create a year-round arts colony with an emphasis on writers and composers somewhere in the state. The prestigious Mississippi Art Colony for painters is now more than
60 years old, and a similar “camp” for writers would further
enhance Mississippi’s brand as a literary cluster.
In Arkansas the Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow in Eureka
Springs, renamed the Communications Arts Institute, gives
about 50 writers each year a place to work free from distractions and in a community of people with similar interests with whom they share ideas and receive constructive
19 Christine Schultz, “You could say that some people’s careers find them,” Southwest Airlines Spirit Magazine, May 2010.
20 http://shakeragalley.com
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feedback. Typically, writers—now extended to songwriters
and composers in the new “composers’ cottage”—spend
between two weeks and three months, but usually about a
month in residency. 21
The Jentel and Ucross year-round art colonies in Sheridan,
Wyoming, combine the literary and visual arts. The residents describe their work at regular community meetings
and Ucross has a stage that puts on musical and literary
events for the community. 22
Strategy C: Further promote the image of
Mississippi as a “global literary capital.”
•
Suggest that Oxford apply to UNESCO for Oxford to be designated a “City of Literature.” This designation will attract
international attention to a community that is so rich in
literary excellence. The Southern Literary Trail is a collaboration of eighteen
towns from Natchez, Mississippi to Savannah, Georgia that
celebrate internationally renowned writers and playwrights
who were inspired by uniquely southern places. The Trail
maps visitors travel to a region that is home to great writers and timeless stories. The Mississippi trail features such
writers as Tennessee Williams, Eudora Welty, Shelby Foote,
Margaret Walker Alexander, Richard Wright and William
Faulkner. The Mississippi Development Authority is currently developing a Mississippi literary trail modeled after
similar trails such as the Blues Heritage Trail, tamale trail
and agri-tourism trail.
Mississippi communities host a number of literary festivals
and events around the state such as the Tennessee Williams
festival in Clarksdale, the Natchez Literary and Film festival
and the Oxford Conference of the Book.
GOAL IV: Enhance the competitiveness of the state’s business and industry through increased use of art and design.
the 21st century will be to adopt innovations driven by the user
and the market, not just R&D, and to make similar investments
in helping companies use creativity and design to distinguish and
establish new products in the market and new markets. During
the course of this report, we learned that while manufacturers
in the state recognize the value of consumer-driven design and
innovation to their success, they do not yet use it to their fullest
advantage.
Strategy A: Help manufacturers understand the
importance of creativity and value of design as
a competitive advantage.
•
Create a Creative Economy Toolkit, a resource for business
focusing on the relationship between creativity and economic growth and how they combine to create value and
opportunity.
•
Recommend that the Mississippi Manufacturers Association establish a council on manufacturing design or a design
association within the organization for both education and
application of design among manufacturers. The Center for Design Innovation in North Carolina’s Piedmont
region brings in top designers to meet with local businesses
and is working on forming a design council. It hosts an annual
Design, Art, & Technology Symposium and brings in frequent
internationally known speakers to give workshops. 23
Winzelear Gear in Chicago, which has been making gears
for industry for more than a century, advertises its gears as
an art form and the company has a partnership with the
School of the Art Institute with fashion designers experimenting with incorporating plastic gears into unique garments and accessories. 24
Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s, Mississippi successfully
helped its industries develop or adopt the new technologies they
needed to compete, investing in R&D and in technical assistance. Now that those process technologies are readily available and
have been adopted in places with much lower operating costs,
the competitive advantage has disappeared. The challenge for
21 http://www.writerscolony.org
22 http://www.ucrossfoundation.org/
23 http://www.centerfordesigninnovation.org/
24 http://www.winzelergear.com/
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Strategy B: Help business and industry connect
to design resources and expand design capabilities.
•
Include product design support among the services of the
state’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
The Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which was
originally formed to help small and mid-sized manufacturers learn about and adopt newer production technologies,
is well positioned to extend its services to helping small
and mid-sized firms identify, develop, and use their design
competencies and pursue user-driven innovations.
•
Provide state tax credits for investments in design capabilities similar to the state’s Five Year R&D Skills tax credit. Look
at incentives similar to those used in technology businesses.
Such credits have existed for many years for science-based
research but have not been applied to user-driven, design
oriented development. The legislation refers to scientists,
engineers, and research professionals. Similar tax credits
could be given for positions in design.
Strategy C: Facilitate and support networking
among creative people and companies
•
Offer incentives in existing incentive or grant programs for
proposals by three or more firms operating as “flexible
design networks” to encourage sharing design capacities
similar to those given by some 20-30 states in the 1990s for
“flexible manufacturing networks” to promote industrial
modernization in small and mid-sized manufacturers. USNet was a 15-state program of Regional Technology
Strategies, Inc. supported by NIST to train economic development officials and business leaders in collaborative
approaches to innovation, marketing, and learning.
•
Oregon Creative Industries was formed in 2008 as a nonprofit association to provide a way for creative people,
whether artists, film makers, designers, and architects,
to intermingle, exchange ideas, and make deals.25
Encourage and support cross-discipline associations of
creative people that mix and blend creative ideas from different perspectives and across different ages and cultures
and propagate creativity. GOAL V: Enhance the support and networking infrastructure for creative talent across the state.
Creative people tend to be heavy users of digital social networking but not necessarily joiners of associations that bring
people together face to face. Yet the evidence is that younger creative people, in particular, seek places where they can
meet in person, socialize, share ideas, and build different
kinds of relationships than they can on Facebook. Across all
age groups, creative people in Mississippi expressed a desire
for more opportunities for socializing and networking than is
currently available. mCe
Strategy A: Promote cross-disciplinary
creative networking.
•
Support local initiatives which encourage more networking opportunities and activities, particularly those that
involve young creative people.
Berkshire Spark is a networking activity of Berkshire
Creative. It occurs monthly at a different locations (e.g.
museums, art galleries, banks, etc.). The events bring
together several hundred people (artists, cultural organizations and for-profit businesses) to meet and explore
new ways of collaborating and partnering. In Milwaukee, Spreenkler Creative is a social networking site for
creative people and students that informs them about
events, internships and job opportunities, holds events,
and provides a blogging site. 26 It also has a “meetup”
page for young talent.
25 http://blog.oregoncreative.org/
26 http://spreenkler.com/.
39
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Strategy B: Expand knowledge of, and
familiarity with, existing arts and culture
within the private sector.
•
Promote the value of incorporating and displaying art and
music in private and public facilities and grounds, such as
at hospitals, offices, casinos, and manufacturing plants.
Duke hospital in Durham, North Carolina, has on-going
artists in residence —artists, craftsmen, musicians, and
writers—all supported by North Carolina Arts Council.27
In Sheridan, Wyoming, establishments ranging from the
local Holiday Inn to Arby’s restaurant feature the work
of local artists on their walls.
•
Continue to assist transactions between artists, designers,
and businesses
In New York City, a firm called Art Assets serves as a
broker between artists and businesses that want to
either buy or rent local art work. “Art has the power
to transform space. Art Assets harnesses that power to
communicate the vision and philosophy of each client
to imbue their space with a special sense of value and
sophistication” 28
GOAL VI: Build Capacity to grow &
retain Creative Talent Living and Working in Mississippi
For the fastest growing sectors of the economy, a surplus work
force is no longer a sufficient asset to attract investment. Companies depend on talent, generally, but not always, as measured
by levels of education, and many firms make their investment
decisions based on where that talent already resides or is willing to move. Mississippi should first grow its talent by expanding educational programs for the creative sectors. Second, it
should work to retain and recruit creative and talented people
by providing environments with the amenities they seek. There
is growing evidence that a significant portion of the talent
population is looking outside the metropolitan areas for places
that have more space, lower costs, and less traffic. 29
•
•
Create a life-long learning experience;
Encourage the state to adopt creative strategies in education
Strategy A: Expand and strengthen post
secondary degree programs in creative fields of
study.
•
Expand the culinary arts programs at community colleges,
include artistic content, and offer international internships.
Tampere College in Finland formed a network of community colleges, which includes U.S. colleges, to seamlessly
combine the business side of a restaurant with interior
design, service, menu, image, and pricing principles. During 4-6 week placements abroad students learn these skills
and develop new catering products in teams of three that
include a caterer, chef and baker.
27 http://www.ncartsforhealth.org/CulturalServ.htm
28 http://artassets.com
29 “In Praise of Boise: Why space really is the final frontier in the Internet age,” The Economist, May 13, 2010.
40
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•
Establish a new two-year associate of applied science
degree program in film/video/music production and
convert the exiting one-year pre-architecture program
to a two-year program with minors in historic restoration and community design. A middle college that emphasizes creative career paths
can both attract non-traditional learners and develop
the state’s talent base.
•
Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown,
North Carolina established the Larry Gatlin Entertainment Technology Center. It offers one and two-year
degree programs and continuing education in a range of
employment and freelance opportunities in all technical
aspects of the industry.
•
Expand programs in design disciplines at the state’s fouryear colleges and universities and integrate the arts and
design into science, engineering, and business. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Engineering supports research projects that involve three engineers and one artist to encourage creative solutions.
Strategy B: Promote the retention of
graduates and the return of former graduates
of creative degree programs in Mississippi.
•
Use social networks to maintain connections among
graduates who stay or leave and organize creative
alumni groups in major cities. • Consider creating a “MS Monster.com-type”
employment listing
Social networking now makes it easier for graduates who
spread out across the country to stay in touch with each
other and their roots. By giving some structure to Mississippi-based networks of creatives, and providing ways
to stay abreast of opportunities and events back home,
some of those who leave may choose to come back.
Offer more curricula choices in creative fields such as
music, film, and digital arts in ways that produce basic
skill competencies as well as offer career opportunities. The Arkansas Science & Technology Authority established the EAST initiative (Environmental and Spatial
Technology) to use digital arts media to facilitate the
teaching of math and science. The program includes My
Community, where students make documentary films
about their communities and culture.
•
Establish new career and technical education secondary
school programs in digital fields including gaming and
animation.
McKinley Technical High School in Washington, DC,
which serves a low-income minority population and
utilizes creative endeavors such as broadcasting, gaming, and web design to produce the city’s highest level of
STEM skills. The school, with federal grants, started an
Institute of Urban Game Design.
The Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education received a
grant from the Dana Foundation to provide training
to Mississippi artists interested in working with teachers in school settings so that students may benefit from
authentic experiences in specific art forms and to make
cross-curricular connections among the arts and other
core subjects. The goal of the workshops is to increase
the number of artists included in the Mississippi Arts
Commission’s Teaching Artist Roster. Schools that engage artists routinely consult this roster for a description
of an artist’s skills and a recommendation of the quality
of his/her work in the arts and in education.
Strategy C: Use creative career programs to
increase school retention rates in Mississippi
•
Establish a “middle college,” that combines grades 11 and
12 with two years of postsecondary education, that focuses
on art, design, and multimedia. Such schools, located on
community college campuses and heavily supported by the
Gates Foundation, have proven to increase attendance and
completion rates among underserved populations. 41
VI.
A Vision for the Future
Mississippi already has much of what it needs to be more
widely recognized for the creative people and places it
already possesses, to extend its economic impacts to more
people and more places, and to broaden the impact of creativity on other sectors of the economy. The state has a literary and music tradition and a broadbased architectural heritage that can hold its own against
any state in the nation. Mississippi is a mecca for anyone
interested in the history of the blues, southern fiction, or antebellum architecture. It’s also known for being a wellspring
of performing and visual artists. Mississippi has a plethora of both formal and informal associations, guilds, coops, and social networks that serve as
both sources of inspiration and innovation and various forms
of business support in all forms of creative endeavor. Mississippi also has regions that are rich in creative talent,
though not necessarily in assets or incomes; regions that
have been historically poor that have been helped economically only marginally by industrialization. Creativity,
unbounded by age, class, race, or ethnicity—and sometimes
even benefitting from it— which may offer a new approach
to economic growth. It builds on its existing place- and
people-based strengths, not on outsiders, on distinctiveness,
not on imitation, on customization, not mass production. Mississippi’s Rural Place Building initiative was the Southern
Growth Policies Board’s 2010 Innovator Award winner, which
recognized its ability to identify and build on community assets, promote entrepreneurship and new business development, and collaborate on regional issues.
Creativity can affect and infect large numbers of people and
businesses. In the past, many employers valued conventional work habits over ideas, and the unconventional worker
was penalized. Today, the new fastest growth sectors need
and want creative people, and they are restructuring the
workplace to accommodate them.
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Creativity also appeals to young people, both as it is expressed and exposed in the amenities available in the community and in the social environment. Those that are mobile
often choose locations based on such amenities and they
need to be made aware of what Mississippi has to offer.
Finally, the effects of the creative economy extend across
many other sectors of the economy, from agriculture and
furniture to automobiles and telecommunications. The
most obvious intersect is with tourism, but the application
of artisans to farmers, auto or furniture designers to each
other, landscaping to construction, creativity to research,
and music to religion put art and design at the heart of those
sectors. Their success depends heavily on their access to
and use of creative talent.
The state is fortunate to have an arts commission that works
closely with and supports artists across the state, an economic development agency that recognizes the importance
of creativity to its goals, and an extensive arts program in
the elementary schools. The areas that are still most in need
of strengthening are higher education in applied arts and
design, the application of design in manufacturing, more accessible and relevant business support for microenterprises,
and fuller integration of the arts with technology. Mississippi Arts
Commission,
WSI Summer Institute
42
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Appendix A.
Regional Distribution of Creative
Activity in Mississippi
The Capital/River region, the most populous region of the
state, has the largest number of quantifiable jobs in creative
enterprises, more than 11,000 workers, which represents
about three percent of its workforce. The two largest
sectors in this tourism region are design, and literary and
publishing, which together account for just more than half of
the employment in creative enterprises within the region. Figure 1:
Employment in Creative Enterprises by
Tourism Region
15.1%
16
13.4%
14
10.9%
2008 jobs per 1,000 people
12
10
8.6%
8
6.2%
6
4
2
0
Capital/River Coastal
Hills
Pines
Delta
Literary firms and businesses related to publishing dominate
employment in most of the regions in Mississippi, but they
appear to be most important to the Hills. The Hills’ creative
economy has 38 percent of the jobs in the literary and publishing sector, primarily in the industries involved in commercial printing.
While employment numbers are important in grasping the
size of the creative economy, the total number of jobs do not
identify areas of specialization. Table 2 details areas of the
creative economy in which each region has a concentration
of employment compared to the nation. The numbers are
based only on the aggregation of sectors by industry classifications that are designated as “creative.” They do not include the creative enterprises discovered through in-depth,
company by company reviews and added to the totals since
comparable data are not available at the national level.
Most of the regions do not display a uniqueness of creativity; however, concentrations of employment in the visual and
performing arts, including crafts, are equal to or above the
national average in the Capital/River, Coastal and Hills regions.
Table 2:
Regional employment concentrations
compared to national average concentrations
(location quotients) by sub cluster, 2008.
Mississippi Capital/River Coastal Hills
Design
0.59
0.76
0.55 0.62 0.47 0.28
Source: NAICS 2008 only, excludes employment in creative
Film & Media 0.57
0.71
0.53 0.53 0.52 0.41
enterprises in other sectors.
Literary &
Publishing
0.70
0.72
0.56 1.09 0.50 0.43
The Coastal tourism region has a similar distribution of
employment within the creative enterprises. Nearly 50 percent of the employment in creative enterprises is related to
design and literary and publishing. Coastal Mississippi does,
however, have a slightly higher percentage of jobs in literary
and publishing enterprises.
Heritage
0.57
1.53
0.45 0.00 0.11 0.34
Culinary Arts 0.73
0.83
0.59 0.55 0.90 0.88
Performing & 1.02
Visual Arts
1.20
1.07 1.07 0.86 0.45
Total
0.82
0.62 0.71 0.57 0.43
0.84
Pines Delta
Source: EMSI, 2008 and RTS
43
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While this report has been focused on sub clusters within
the creative economy that tend to stand out in terms of
scope and scale of employment, there are some sectors
within these sub clusters that, though less numerous, are
important to note in discovering the true creative character
of region. In the Delta tourism region, the culinary arts and
film and media sectors did not exhibit high employment or
significant employment concentration. However, within
those sub clusters, employment concentrations for confectionery and nut stores, radio stations, and baked goods
stores are well above the national average.
The Capital/River region tends to mimic the specializations
of the state as a whole. Integrated record production and
distribution, media representatives, commercial gravure
printing, cable and other program distribution, historical
sites and direct mail advertising all have high concentrations
of employment when compared to the nation as a whole. Dance companies have twice the employment concentration
in the Capital/River region as in the United States. Design industries help to characterize the Coastal region’s
specialization. Jobs in display advertising and drafting service
establishments are most intense in this region. The Coastal
region also has a great concentration in tradebinding and
related work. The Hills tourism region has the highest concentration of employment in commercial gravure printing of
any other region of the state, a concentration 17 times the
national average. Integrated record production and distribution industry
employment is five times the national average concentration
in the Capital/River region, twice the national average in the
Hills region, and also well above average in the Pines region.
Appendix B.
Trends in Creative Economy
by Region
The dip in 2005 creative cluster employment was not felt in
every region of the state. The Delta, reeling from negative
creative employment growth in 2004, outperformed the
other regions in terms of growth in the cluster in 2005.
In more recent times, the creative employment in northern
Mississippi has suffered losses. The Delta lost more than
five percent of the jobs in creative enterprises from 2006 to
2007 and continued to experience decline in jobs in 2008. Creative job losses of a lesser degree were also felt in the
Hills region. Between 2006 and 2008, the Hills creative sector lost over 4 percent of its employment. All of the regions,
however, were affected by the most recent recession and
experienced slow job losses in the creative economy. To
date it appears that the Coastal and Capital/River regions
have weathered the financial storm better than the rest of
the state, but the true effects of the Great Recession remain
to be seen.
Comparisons of each region against the State of Mississippi
are presented in the following graphs.
Employment Growth in Creative Industries
Mississippi and Capital/River Region
6.0%
4.0%
2.0%
0.0%
-2.0%
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
-4.0%
Mississippi
Capital/River
44
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Mississippi and Pines Region
Mississippi and Coastal Region
8.0%
6.0 %
4.0%
2.0%
0.0%
-2.0%
-4.0%
-6.0%
-8.0%
6.0%
4.0 %
2.0%
0.0%
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
-2.0%
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
-4.0%
-6.0%
Mississippi
Coastal Region
Mississippi
Pines Region
Mississippi and Delta Region
4.0%
2.0%
0.0%
-2.0%
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
-4.0%
-6.0%
Mississippi
Delta Region
Mississippi and Hills Region
6.0%
4.0 %
2.0%
0.0%
-2.0%
-4.0%
-6.0%
-8.0%
2003
2004
2005
Mississippi
2006
2007
2008
Hills Region
45
Appendix C:
Defining the Creative Economy
The definition in this report includes 77 industries, as classified by the North American Industry Classification System
(NAICS 30), that are involved in the production, distribution,
and marketing of artistic goods and services. The definition includes only industries whose businesses are primarily
engaged in the artistic community in the state of Mississippi. For example, electronic stores retailing mass-produced
televisions, DVD, and game consoles are not included in this
definition. Still included, however, are the companies who
created the movies on the DVDs sold in electronic stores.
Measuring the creative economy involves two major steps.
Our team starts from the belief that the demand for goods
and services drives the need for jobs in any economy. The
team starts with a look at creative industries by using established industrial codes (NAICS ) to develop the baseline
definition. The data are collected at the establishment level.
Included in this baseline definition are also the self-employed who report their earnings to the IRS. A conservative
approach is applied to the selection of the appropriate NAICS codes. All or most of the businesses in a selected NAICS
definition must fit the creative economy criteria. It is this
baseline definition that is used in comparisons across time
and geographies.
Defining the creative economy along with industry codes
can be quite misleading as some businesses may not fall
into industries typically thought of as creative in nature. Thus, the definition presented in the table below should be
thought of as a starting point. When data were available,
EMSI data were augmented to present a more complete
picture of the economy. An example of this approach would
be in the culinary arts sector of the economy. Using business
directory data from Selectory.com and the Southern Aroma
Coffee Roasters, the definition was expanded to include food
processors, specialty restaurants and coffee roasters that fit
into the creative economy. The Viking Culinary School was
also added to the culinary arts definition based on employment reported to Selectory.com. Another example is the
large number of public libraries that are typically classified
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under local government. In this case, employment data was
obtained from the Mississippi Library Commission. The design industry was augmented to include those manufacturing firms whose products are design-focused such as Viking
Range and Peavey Electronics. Employment counts for both
companies were obtained from Selectory.com. Selectory.
com was also used to add in textile and apparel companies
whose design and manufacturing processes fit the creative
definition. This enhanced definition is used to quantify the
true State of Mississippi creative economy.
In addition to collecting data on industries in the creative
economy, our work also involves a direct look at creative
workers. The team captures the creative workers who work
in creative industries on the industrial side of the equation, however, most creative occupations are found in other
industries like government, accounting firms, and hospitals. To get a more complete illustration of the creative workforce
the team reviews the staffing patterns of the all industries in
the economy and the total number of creative workers regardless of whether they are employed in a creative industry. Creative occupations are determined by the skills inherent in
the job function.
Data used in this report came primarily from Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc. (EMSI). EMSI estimates suppressed
data for regional economies in an effort to gain a more
comprehensive picture of employment. Additionally, EMSI
estimates jobs and earnings for all workers in the economy
and not just those who are attached to an establishment.
Because the number of non-covered workers (workers who
are not covered under the unemployment insurance law) in
a given area can be large, job figures in EMSI Complete will
often be much larger than those in state LMI data.
30 The Office of Management and Budget assigns NAICS codes to businesses that use identical or similar processes of production.
46
Table C.1: Mississippi Creative Enterprises
Culinary
445291
445292
445299
722320
Arts
Baked goods stores
Confectionery and nut stores
All other specialty food stores
Caterers
Design
332323
337212
Ornamental and architectural metal work manufacturing
Custom architectural woodwork and
541310
541320
541340
541410
541420
541430
541490
541810
541820
541830
541840
541850
541860
541890
541922
millwork
Architectural services
Landscape architectural services
Drafting services
Interior design services
Industrial design services
Graphic design services
Other specialized design services
Advertising agencies
Public relations agencies
Media buying agencies
Media representatives
Display advertising
Direct mail advertising
Other services related to advertising
Commercial photography
Film & Media
512110
Motion picture and video production
512120
Motion picture and video distribution
512131
Motion picture theaters, except drive-ins
512132
Drive-in motion picture theaters
512191
512199
512210
512220
512230
512240
512290
515111
Teleproduction and postproduction services
Other motion picture and video industries
Record production
Integrated record production and
distribution
Music publishers
Sound recording studios
Other sound recording industries
Radio networks
515112
515120
515210
516110
517510
519110
711410
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Radio stations
Television broadcasting
Cable and other subscription programming
Internet publishing and broadcasting
Cable and other program distribution
News syndicates
Agents and managers for public figures
Cultural Heritage
712110
Museums
712120
Historical sites
712130
Zoos and botanical gardens
Literary Arts & Publishing
323110
Commercial lithographic printing
323111
Commercial gravure printing
323112
Commercial flexographic printing
323113
Commercial screen printing
323115
Digital printing
323117
Books printing
323119
Other commercial printing
323121
Tradebinding and related work
323122
Prepress services
424920
Book and periodical merchant wholesalers
451211
Book stores
451212
News dealers and newsstands
511110
Newspaper publishers
511120
Periodical publishers
511130
Book publishers
511199
All other publishers
519120
Libraries and archives
Performing and Visual Arts
339911
Jewelry, except costume, manufacturing
339914
Costume jewelry and novelty
manufacturing
339992
Musical instrument manufacturing
423940
Jewelry merchant wholesalers
448310
Jewelry stores
451140
Musical instrument and supplies stores
453920
Art dealers
541921
Photography studios, portrait
611610
Fine arts schools
47
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711110
711120
711130
711190
711310
711320
711510
Theater companies and dinner theaters
Dance companies
Musical groups and artists
Other performing arts companies
Promoters with facilities
Promoters without facilities
Independent artists, writers, and
performers*
*Distributed throughout.
Designers
17-1011
17-1012
17-3011
27-1021
27-1022
27-1023
27-1024
27-1025
27-1027
27-1029
Table C.2: Mississippi Creative Occupations
Artists
27-1011
27-1012
27-1013
27-1014
27-1019
27-2011
27-2012
27-2031
27-2032
27-2041
27-2042
27-2099
27-3043
51-9071
Art directors
Craft artists
Fine artists, including painters, sculptors
and illustrators
Multi-media artists and animators
Artists and related workers, all other
Actors
Producers and directors
Dancers
Choreographers
Music directors and composers
Musicians and singers
Entertainers and performers, sports and related workers, all others
Writers and authors
Jewelers and precious stone and metal
workers
Culinary Artists
35-1011
Chefs and head cooks
51-3011
Bakers
Cultural
25-4011
25-4012
Archivists
Curators
25-4013
25-4021
25-4031
25-9011
Museum technicians and conservators
Librarians
Library technicians
Audio-visual collections specialists
Media
11-2011
11-2021
11-2031
13-1011
27-3011
27-3021
27-3022
27-3031
27-3041
27-3042
27-3099
other
27-4011
27-4012
27-4013
27-4014
27-4021
27-4031
27-4032
27-4099
Architects, except landscape and naval
Landscape architects
Architectural and civil drafters
Commercial and industrial designers
Fashion designers
Floral designers
Graphic designers
Interior designers
Set and exhibit designers
Designers, all other
Advertising and promotions managers
Marketing managers
Public relations managers
Agents and business managers of artists, performers, and athletes
Radio and television announcers
Broadcast news analysts
Reporters and correspondents
Public relations specialists
Editors
Technical writers
Media and communication workers, all Audio and video equipment technicians
Broadcast technicians
Radio operators
Sound engineering technicians
Photographers
Camera operators, television, video, and motion picture
Film and video editors
Media and communication equipment workers, all other
48
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Vignettes
RED HOTS AND DEEP BLUES
Stories of Mississippi’s Creative Economy
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
2
Introduction
3
The Thrill is Most Certainly Not Gone
The Delta Blues Live On
5
From Brookhaven to Hollywood
The Mississippi School of the Arts Creates
Future Stars
9
After the Deluge
The Visual Arts Help Bring Ocean Springs
and Bay St. Louis Back to Life
13
University of Southern Mississippi
the Arts University of Mississippi
19
Preserving the Past, Preparing for the Future
Natchez Looks Forward
23
Fashionably Fondren!
A Jackson Neighborhood Takes Off
27
Luxury and Revitalization in the Delta
Viking Range Leads the Charge in Greenwood
31
The Word from Oxford
How the Literary Arts Continue to
Shape a Community
35
The Hot Tamale Trail
Taste Treat of the Delta
41
Peavey Electronics
Taking Rock N’ Roll Global
45
Pearl River Community College
Helping Mississippians Reach Their
Creative Potential
49
Red Hots & Deep Blues
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Acknowledgements
This report is a product of a joint effort among the
Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC), Mississippi
Development Authority (MDA), Regional Technology
Strategies (RTS) and Mt. Auburn Associates. We wish
to especially thank Malcolm White, Director of MAC,
and his staff for continually sharing information and
insights, and MDA Executive Director, Gray Swoope,
Chief Marking Officer, Melissa Medley and the MDA staff
for suggesting sites for the vignettes. We also thank the
many people we interviewed at each of the sites for the
time they spent with us and their candor.
The vignettes were written by Dan Broun, Jim Lott, Jenna
Bryant, Dana Archer-Rosenthal, Michael Kane, and Stuart
Rosenfeld. Beth Williams was the final proof reader.
Dan Broun, Editor
Stuart Rosenfeld, Project Manager
Regional Technology Strategies
We wish to express our gratitude to the individuals and groups
across the state that generously provided the photography used
throughout this study.
2
1. Introduction
What would the American creative scene be without
Mississippi? Imagine today’s rock n’ roll without the blues
licks that still make up its core. Imagine southern literature without Faulkner embracing regional literary identity. And can we imagine a world that never had Elvis? But
Mississippi’s contributions to creativity are not only in the
past. In 2010, throughout the state there are individuals,
organizations and communities that are showing how arts
and design strengthen the economy of the Magnolia State.
This report tells these stories in a way that portrays the
full gamut of Mississippi’s creativity. Each story is based on interviews with many people,
background research, and, in many cases, site visits. We
appreciate the full cooperation and candor of many people across the state of Mississippi in helping us compile
these vignettes.
These profiles hopefully begin to offer a more complete
picture of Mississippi and how creativity continues to
flourish and have a real impact as we enter a new decade. In effect, the people, programs and institutions described
in the vignettes represent important assets in the state’s
creative economy. In some instances, these assets are
well-developed and functioning effectively, both creatively
and economically. In others, the assets could be more
strongly supported and turned into even richer components of the state’s creative economy. We highly recommend that the vignettes be viewed as a starting point for
further development.
Powerhouse Community
Arts Center, Oxford, MS.
Tamales, Mississippi Delta
Taste Sensation
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In this report you will read about how:
The Gulf Coast’s visual arts community worked to
recover from the devastating hurricanes of 2005
Hartley Peavey took his guitar playing dreams
and created a world-renowned company
Pearl River Community College looks to
expand its creative offerings
Historic preservation contributes to the
economy of Natchez
Greenwood and fortunes were turned around
by a creative entrepreneur
A tourist trail brings hot tamales to
famished customers
The story of the Delta Blues brings new
dollars into the state
The literary arts thrive in Faulkner’s
hometown of Oxford
The creative economy contributed to the
revitalization of the Fondren section of Jackson
The University of Southern Mississippi and
the Mississippi School of the Arts train the
state and young people for careers in the arts.
Chair Caner at work Street Musician
Port Gibson, MS
Campbells Bakery
Jackson, MS
MS Arts Commission
WSI Summer Institute
3
The Thrill is Most Certainly Not Gone
The Delta Blues Live On
5
The iconic image of the Delta blues is Robert Johnson standing at the crossroads making a deal with the devil to play the
guitar like no one had before. So it would be cliché to say
Mississippi is at a crossroads when it comes to taking advantage of promoting the blues to tourists from around the
globe. It also would be wrong. With places like Ground
Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, the sparkling new
BB King Museum and Delta Interpretative
Center in Indianola and the Blues Heritage Trail
linking sites around the state, blues in the Delta and beyond
have moved beyond the crossroads to take a place on the
main street of economic development.
It wasn’t always this way, and indeed the thought of basing a
tourism industry on the blues once might have been seen as
impossible and possibly even sacrilegious. After all, the traditional blues were born out of poverty. Musicians sang about
growing up in tough circumstances and often used their music
not as a way to celebrate their hometown, but as a pathway
to escape it. How do you attract visitors to that environment?
In fact some people would prefer that you not even try.
“Some people don’t want to promote the blues,” says Luther
Brown, Director of the Delta Center for Culture and Learning at
Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi. “These ‘blues
Nazis’ say you can’t have blues unless we are living in poverty.”
Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign
In years past, people were making their way to the Delta on
their own, and little was done to promote the area as a tourist destination. While there is a long history of blues festivals
in such towns as Greenville or Clarksdale, most tourists had
to rely on word of mouth to find local juke joints where blues
music still is played or grave markers where legends were put
to rest. mCe
“First we needed better maps and guides,” he said. “If you
come without a guide, then all you see is poverty. Second,
we worked to publish a dedicated issue of Living Blues magazine focusing on the Mississippi Delta. And third, we put up a
marker at Club Ebony in Indianola that got everyone excited
about the potential for blues markers.”
It was the latter effort that has borne the most obvious fruit. In 2003, the Mississippi Blues Commission was reestablished
by the State Legislature, and one of its major activities was
the creation of a Blues Heritage Trail. The Trail features more
than 100 markers that highlight critical events or individuals
in the history of this most American of music forms. The trail
also features six markers outside of the state and Brown has
a vision of markers going up around the world.
“Eventually, we need to see markers outside the country,”
Brown noted. “For example, there is a big blues festival
in Notodden, Norway. Having a marker there would be
a relatively inexpensive and targeted way to promote the
Mississippi Delta.”
Another exciting development is turning the markers into
more than just signs on the side of the road. The goal is to
have the markers become multi-media so that tourists can
hear the music the signs commemorate.
Brown and others have noticed a change in attitude about
the blues that can be in part attributed to the success of the
trail, although understandably it can be hard to measure dollars generated by signs on the side of the road.
Then, to help promote the blues, a group of organizations and
individuals formed the Blues Highways Association to formalize efforts to increase blues tourism in the state. According to
Brown, one of its founders, the Association had three main goals. Riley B. King (B.B. King) Blues Trail Marker, Indianola, MS
6
“At first, local businesses expressed doubts about the blues
trail,” Brown said. “They said things like ‘Why would anyone
care about the blues. I don’t like the blues.’ Now people say
things like ‘I don’t really like the blues but when I was traveling in Germany everyone was excited to hear I was from the
Delta because of the blues.”
The Whole Delta is a Stage
As exciting as the trail is, the key to getting visitors to spend
more time and spend more money in the state is ensuring they have something to do while they are in the state. Clarksdale, in particular, has worked to promote the blues.
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The B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in
Indianola sits on the site, and actually includes part of the
original building, an old cotton gin where King himself once
worked. The museum, which opened its doors in 2008, has
an ambitious aim. “The museum is the story of music, the story of civil rights,
and the story of Mississippi told through the life experience
of B.B. King and through the people of this community,” said
former museum director, Connie Gibbons. “It is really a powerful, compelling story.”
Exhibits are fully multi-media, and visitors are able to not only
Oscar winner Morgan Freeman along with partner Bill
Luckett opened the Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale. The club showcases blues artists from around the country,
and on selected nights you can see internationally renowned
musicians return to the Delta to play.
But, the festival circuit continues to be the heart and soul of
the blues industry in the Mississippi Delta, across the state,
and even across the Mississippi River. Festivals range from
the oldest, the Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage Festival
in Greenville, to smaller events such as Bentonia Blues
Festival. Large events in Helena, Arkansas, and Memphis also
have spillover benefits in Mississippi, with tourists staying
at hotels and stopping to visit museums and historical sites
on the Mississippi side of the state lines. The sheer number
of blues related festivals is impressive in 2009, from April to
the middle of November, there were only eight weekends
without a scheduled festival in the state. The festivals mean
thousands of visitors who spend money on food and lodging
during their stay.
see artifacts from King’s musical journey but also to learn
about the history of the Delta, in the 20th century, from the
great flood of 1927 to segregation to the civil rights movement and the creative spirit that grew out of those struggles.
Visitors are exposed to the beauty and intricacy of the blues
through such activities as mashing up their own blues songs
or combining a classic from King himself with a hip-hop track
from Outkast or other artists. All of these activities are aimed
at making sure that the blues remain a living part of American
musical life.
Although the museum is young, the economic impact has
already been tremendous. Sunflower County, where Indianola
is located, saw a 12.5 percent increase in its estimated travel
and tourism expenditures in fiscal year 2009, the year the
museum first opened, compared to the previous fiscal year. The museum is funded in part by a local tourism tax and
attracts visitors from around the nation and the world. Within
the first three months of opening, the museum hosted visitors
from all 50 states and more than 30 foreign countries. The Original Guitar Hero
At one of those festivals, you just might be fortunate to catch
a glimpse of perhaps Mississippi’s most famous blues export,
B.B. King, who was born in the little delta town of Itta Benna. But no worries if you don’t catch him rocking the stage at
the local festival, a new and impressive museum is telling his
story in a way that not only preserves blues heritage but also
is serving as an economic engine for the region. B.B. King Museum, Indianola, MS
7
One of the keys to the museum’s early success has been the
goal of its planners to make sure that it is a world class facility. Nationally recognized exhibit and architectural firms were
brought in to make sure that the museum was a historical place
that operated with a 21st century sensibility. It was not necessarily a cheap endeavor, but a key to its success was the extent
to which the local community bought into the vision. Supporters
of the museum raised $1.7 million from Indianola residents
alone—an impressive figure for a town of only 12,000 people.
Involving the community is one of the major goals of the museum. The museum is sponsoring children’s programs to make
sure that the music reaches young children who otherwise
might not have exposure. The museum sponsors after-school
programs for elementary school-aged children that extend
beyond the blues. “Blues are the foundation for all American music,” Gibbons
said. “For instance, so much of rock and roll is based on the
blues, so we don’t have to limit ourselves in our school programs to blues. This is what allow us to keep music relevant to
young kids.”
Shelly Ritter, who directs an older museum, the Delta Blues
Museum in Clarksdale, which also operates a blues program
for young people, agrees that the blues are a gateway to help
young people understand the power of music.
“I see us as preserving music heritage; it just evolves into new
music,” she said. “I encourage it by keeping the roots music
alive and keeping it viable. Like the kids that come into our
program, they start new music and it is usually a rock band, but
it is based on the blues licks they learn in the class.”
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Indeed, Ground Zero took the deeper pockets of its investors to
be able to stick through the inevitable growing pains that any
music venue faces as it builds its customer base. The Museum is
working to recreate Club Ebony, an old music haunt in Indianola,
establishing it as a place where people can spend the day at the
museum and return at night to see blues masters in action.
Another challenge is making sure that the benefits of blues tourism flow throughout the community. Making sure, for instance,
that local tour guides are given the opportunity to lead tourists
around the community and to encourage visitors to eat at locally
owned shops. Brown, for instance, who organizes large tour
groups through his program at Delta State, always makes sure to
take his groups to lunch at the Senator’s Place, a locally owned
restaurant serving home-cooked meals in Cleveland.
Brown and others would like to see more local businesses take
advantage of the opportunities that heritage tourism offers. For
instance, there are few galleries or places in the Delta where you
can buy hand-crafted art or souvenirs, a missed opportunity to
market to the thousands of visitors who are looking to bring back a
piece of the Delta along with the memories of the music they hear. Despite the challenges, most people are optimistic about what
the future holds for blues and blues related tourism in the state.
“Lots of people are looking for authenticity and real stuff,”
Gibbons said. “Mississippi can offer that in ways others can not.
We’re in paradise and we don’t even know it.”
Increasing the Impact
All those involved in blues tourism recognize there are real
challenges to making sure that blues and blues related tourism
succeeds. One big problem is making sure there are enough
places for people who visit to see music being played. “There are great musicians in the Delta and they don’t always
have a place to play,” Gibbons says. “The biggest challenge is
having live music where it is consistent. That is one thing that
Clarksdale is doing. But it is expensive to establish consistency.”
8
From Brookhaven to Hollywood
The Mississippi School of the Arts
Creates Future Creative Talent
Mississippi School of the Arts, Brookhaven, MS
9
During hard economic times when school budgets are tight,
coupled with pressures to devote every minute of every school
day to test preparation, the arts are often the first to go. Students are told to put aside their artistic talents for another
day, even with the knowledge that that day may be put off
indefinitely. After all, how many of us take time after a long
day of work to act in a community theater production or write
a short story? But what if your job were as a full-time actor or
a full-time writer? The Mississippi School of the Arts (MSA), a
residential school for high school students in the state, is giving
young people a chance to not only experience the arts but to
prepare for careers that contribute to the creative economy.
Located in Brookhaven, the residential school serves about 250
students from across the state. Students enroll for their final
two years of high school. They can choose to concentrate in
a particular artistic discipline, such as dance, literary arts, theatre, visual arts, or vocal music.
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studio. All this means that MSA is not for everyone. It is for
those young people who truly are passionate about becoming artists or who want a career in the arts.
“It is a hard long day and they have to want it,” Principal
Jana Perry said. “This is not for someone who kind of wants
to take an arts class. It’s for someone who wants to pursue
arts as a profession.”
“You Don’t Have to Be a Starving Artist.”
Pursuing arts as a profession is on the minds of staff and
teachers at MSA, and part of their mission is helping students understand the paths they can take once they leave
MSA and eventually enter the world of work.
Lights, Camera: Class
Suzanne Hirsch, the superintendent of MSA who grew up in
southern Mississippi, says that teaching students about the
possibility of working in the arts is not their only goal. They
need to teach the parents about possible careers in the creative economy as well.
Of course, students do not simply show up at the campus and
begin to take classes. Rather, MSA employs a rigorous admission process that requires students to not only pass substantial academic requirements but to have an “on site audition”
where they show that they have talent in their chosen course
of study. Looking at the audition process for the theatre
course of study offers some indication of what is expected of
students who want to attend MSA. The on-site audition for
theater includes:
“When I was in high school I didn’t even know the arts were
a possibility as a career, because no one in my area knew
it was career. We are trying to educate families that you
don’t have to be a starving artist, the arts don’t have to
have something you can ‘fall back on-’ this can be it.” One
of the interesting elements of the MSA curriculum is that
the school recognizes that teaching students about the arts
is more than just creative expression.
•
•
•
•
Performance of a cold read, and
Performance of a memorized dramatic or comedic monologue (words spoken by one person in a play) from a published play (two minutes maximum).
Performance of an adjustment (a change in a character’s
behavior) to the original monologue.
Performance of a movement based improvisation.
If a student passes that gauntlet and makes it to Brookhaven,
what can he or she expect? An even more rigorous schedule—
classes from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm and then back to rehearsal or
Mississippi School of the Arts, Lampton Auditorium, Brookhaven, MS
10
“We are fostering artists, period, and that is our mindset,”
Perry said. “But then we start talking to them about what connects them to arts. A person may be in the vocal arts but he is
being called to work in a medical profession as a doctor who
specializes in larynx development. That particular discipline
works with vocalists. So if you don’t want to perform for a living
there is a whole business side of things. We help them make
those discoveries.”
Connecting with the Community
MSA’s counselors work with students to help them explore
careers and how best to meet their goals. One of the unique
things about MSA is that students get such strong exposure
to academics and life outside the walls of the Brookhaven
campus. Students take academic classes at Brookhaven High
School in science and mathematics, which are treated seriously. MSA test scores rank among the highest in the state.
Attendance at Brookhaven High is just one of the ways in which
the school contributes to the local community. The campus,
located on the site of the former Whitworth College in downtown Brookhaven, is actually owned by a local group called the
Brookhaven Trust. A local advisory board consists of representatives from the local arts council, local government and
local citizens.
The interaction between the school and the community is
critical especially in a residential program, where students are
away from their families for nine months of the year. But the
residential component of the program is absolutely critical
to the school’s success and its ability to serve students from
across the state.
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Excelling Beyond the School Walls
One of MSA’s challenges is helping families and prospective
students in these smaller communities understand how the
arts can be a career and what a rich tradition the state of
Mississippi possesses.
“It is absolutely amazing, but very few people realize what a
long list of artists Mississippi has produced, and we make sure
students know that list,” Perry said. “We talk about what it is
about Mississippi that produces the arts. And we want them to
go back to their community and talk about their experience at
the school.”
“Our biggest challenge is getting our name out and not missing children who could benefit from the MSA. Maybe we get a
student a year late, a senior says ‘can I come?’ and we say you
have to be a sophomore. We’ve been given this opportunity by
the State Legislature and I don’t want to miss any opportunity
for any child. “
An additional challenge is the real budget constraints at the
state level that threaten all public schools, especially one that
is able to be so generous to its students by offering free tuition
and boarding at the school. The school feels the pressure to
justify its economic impact not only on Brookhaven but on the
state. Given that the school only opened its doors in the fall of
2003, students who graduated from MSA and then went on to
a four-year college are just now entering in the workforce. “People may not have an outlet in a smaller community
where budget constraints are so tight they may not be able
to afford to offer a ceramics class or vocal class,” Hirsch said. “That means students are not exposed to that rich culture in
Mississippi that is already there. At MSA, we are just tapping
into it and helping it thrive.”
Mississippi School of the Arts, Brookhaven, MS
Where young musicians excell.
11
Despite the young age of the school, there is evidence that the
school is making a difference. For instance, in 2009, students
graduating from MSA received $3.2 million in scholarships
offers, which exceeded the $3 million annual appropriation
from the State Legislature. These scholarships include offers
from top national and state universities and specialized arts
programs such as the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
The relative youth of the school means that demonstrating
long-term impact is difficult. But the success of more established programs such as the North Carolina School of the Arts
in Winston-Salem suggest that the future is bright for the MSA. The MSA is hoping to expand its arts curriculum. It began
offering dance in the fall of 2009, and in the future it hopes to
add media arts and instrumental music as concentrations.
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Certainly there has been some exposure for the school through
the omnipresence of that singular artistic medium known as
“American Idol” in which MSA student Jasmine Murray was a
finalist in 2009.
While not every performer makes it to Hollywood out of
Brookhaven they might just go on to become a world class ballerina performing at the USA International Ballet Competition
in Jackson, produce a Tony-award winning Broadway hit or
maybe join the long list of Mississippi literary giants studied in
classrooms across the country. 12
After the Deluge
The Visual Arts Help Bring
Ocean Springs & Bay St. Louis
Back to Life
Chandeleur Outfitters, Ocean Springs, MS
Bay St. Louis Little Theater, Bay St. Louis, MS
13
Hurricane Katrina was the worst natural disaster in the history
of the United States but in the midst of this disaster, residents
of Mississippi’s Gulf Coast turned to art—for comfort and as a
way to make sense of the hurricane.
“I often felt I was living in the middle of a Salvador Dali painting,” says artist Ruth Thompson. “Every morning I walked out
and looked at the water and it was beautiful and it was as it
was supposed to be and then you turned around and nothing
was as it was supposed to be.”
Slowly, things are beginning to return to normal on the Gulf
Coast, and the visual arts are playing a key role. If they are
not making things exactly as they were before, perhaps they
are making them even better. In particular, two communities
at either end of the Mississippi coast, Ocean Springs and Bay
St. Louis, are emerging from the storm with a greater sense of
how a community’s economic future can be built on the arts.
Bay St. Louis
Like many Bay St. Louis residents, Thompson grew up coming to the community from “across the lake” in New Orleans. Indeed, Bay St. Louis was home not only to many families with
vacation homes but also to individuals who commuted to work
in the Big Easy from Mississippi. The New Orleans influence
did not stop with commuting patterns; the town became noted
for its general whimsical nature, its funkiness and its love of
the arts.
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Thompson embraced the arts, both culinary and visual, through
her own business. Her family opened a bakery downtown that
provided homemade items to local residents while doubling as
a large gallery to display local artists’ work. The gallery was one
of 52 places in the city that sold art prior to Katrina and, like
most of the rest of the 52, her place of business was completely
wiped out by the storm. But, like most of Bay St. Louis’ community of artists, she didn’t give up hope for some day helping her
community rebuild.
The Arts, Hancock County was a relatively new organization
when Katrina hit. Started in 2000 through the hard work of
Gwen Impson, a transplant from the Washington, D.C. area,
the organization started as an attempt to help the artists of the
county network. After the storm, it became an organization
steeped in recovery.
Working with the Hancock County Chamber of Commerce, the
Mississippi Arts Commission, and The Arts, Hancock County, an
arts recovery program run by Thompson set up shop to help get
artists get back on their feet and, in a sense, lead the charge of
recovery for the region. The U.S. Department of Labor stepped
up with a business recovery grant that made available to artists
up to $5,000 in supplies to make or market their art. While
the grants could not be used to rebuild houses and studios
destroyed in the storm, the money was critical in helping artists
return to their craft.
Hitting the Road
The next step was to find a place to sell the art. The Arts Recovery Group, along with The Arts, Hancock County, worked to
create a traveling exhibition featuring local artists that would
travel across the nation. The impetus for the show was practical, according to Thompson.
“Mostly, my job after the storm was looking for artists to give
them opportunity to sell their work outside the community,” she
said. “Not only did local consumers not have money to buy art,
we didn’t have walls to put art on.”
Mockingbird Cafe, Bay St. Louis, MS
Thompson worked with others to secure 12 shows around the
country that let people know that Hancock County was still
there and still producing quality art. The impact was substantial, with many local artists getting national representation and
just as importantly a chance to hope again.
14
“One artist fell into a black depression after the storm,” Thompson remembered. “The shows gave him a reason to get up
every morning and work.”
The shows ran from November 2005, just two months after the
storm, until July of 2007. But by then, the rest of the country
had begun to turn elsewhere. “By 2008, the Katrina card had been played,” Thompson said. “People didn’t understand that we were still in recovery mode.
They said “c’mon, it has been two years, get over it.’”
“Arts are really at the center of the recovery”
Of course, people with this mentality were not seeing a town
with many of its buildings still in ruins and its once vibrant
downtown still in full recovery mode. Luckily, the local chamber
and The Arts, Hancock County didn’t stop working to help make
the arts a real part of the continuing recovery effort.
“As an economic development professional, I saw arts as a visitor attraction component for Hancock County,” Tish Williams,
the director of the Hancock County Chamber of Commerce said. “You need something besides the beach to keep people coming
back. Hurricane Katrina’s impact on the arts allowed me to get
the word out that Bay St. Louis was coming back.”
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“Arts are not isolated, arts are part of the fabric of our life
here. It adds to the soul of the community,” says Impson. “Everywhere you go there are arts. The local hospital has art
on its walls. During the storm, they evacuated the patients,
then the equipment and then the art. So whether you go to
the doctor or the hair salon you see art.”
While the town may take years before it is at the point it was
prior to the storm, when it was named one of the 100 best
small towns for art in the U.S., it is clearly on the path to
recovery. Downtown now features several galleries that highlight local
artists, and an estimated 17 businesses sell art in Hancock
County. Almost as important, the rebuilt homes in the community hopefully will bring an influx of new residents who
represent a market for the arts. The famed Second Saturday
Art Walk is back and running, which, as one local resident put
it, represents a “return to normalcy” for a community that
had to deal with anything but normal circumstances.
The Chamber provided office space for the arts recovery effort
and, just as importantly, opened an arts gallery in its office, becoming the first arts space to open after the storm. The organization also became a fierce advocate for the arts as a focal point
for the recovery effort, an effort that shone through in dramatic
fashion with the reconstruction of a bridge spanning the Bay.
The new glimmering bridge now features art-created by local craftspeople-across its structure, serving as a reminder of the importance of the arts to the region. The bridge was recently awarded
an American Transportation Award for its innovative design.
“Arts are really at the center of recovery,” Williams says. “This
is not just starting at the Chamber, this is an entire community
embracing art.” That community includes businesses beyond
the galleries that are beginning to reopen downtown. Ellis Anderson reading at Bay Books, Bay St. Louis, MS
15
Ocean Springs
When you are picking up pieces in the street from destroyed
buildings, it might seem awkward to describe yourself as fortunate. But the arts community of Ocean Springs often uses
the word “lucky” to describe the relative lack of damage they
faced during those bleak days of 2005. The major art institutions, particularly the Walter Anderson Museum of Art, suffered limited damage, and the vibrant downtown was able to
suffer limited interruption in business as a result of the storm. But while the high ground of Ocean Springs may have prevented catastrophe, it has been the drive of certain individuals who
recognize the importance of the arts to the community and it
is helping the town’s creative economy thrive.
When you think of Mississippi’s creative legacy, you might
think of William Faulkner or Eudora Welty in the literary arts or
Elvis Presley or B.B. King in music. But for the visual arts tradition on the coast, it is the Anderson family of Ocean Springs,
along with George Ohr, Richmond Barthe, and Dusti Bongé
that came to mind. Shearwater Pottery, founded by Peter
Anderson, has been in operation since the 1920s producing
beautiful work and attracting visitors from around the globe. Walter Inglis Anderson is considered one of the premier visual
artists of the 20th century and is the namesake of one of only
two accredited arts museums in the state.
An “unusual” and powerful asset
The Walter Anderson Museum of Art is at the center of much
of the visual artistic life on the coast. The museum not only
puts on displays of Walter Anderson’s and other artists, it
sponsors exhibits that travel to museums around the country
getting the word out about the Mississippi Gulf Coast and its
arts heritage.
“Having an accredited museum in a community the size of
Ocean Springs is an unusual asset,” said Gayle Petty-Johnson,
a former director of the museum. “You wouldn’t anticipate
finding a museum on the Mississippi Gulf Coast that sends out
traveling exhibits around the globe.”
The prominence of the museum in the local life of the community was one reason that Ocean Springs was able to begin
the recovery process. The museum reopened quickly after
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the storm, and staff helped the town put on an annual arts
event, the Peter Anderson Festival. But more than anything, the
simple act of the museum opening its doors after the storm was
an important symbol to members of the community.
“We started opening every Sunday and made it free for Mississippi residents,” Petty-Johnson said. “What we would see were
people just sitting in galleries. We gave them a place where
they could get some of their soul back. “
The museum staff also opened up their gallery space to begin
to feature Mississippi Gulf Coast artists.
“We also started showing living coastal artists,” Petty-Johnson
said. “That had not been in our vision. Katrina gave us a new
mission. There were no galleries in Ocean Springs and these
artists needed an outlet to earn money. We began to show
really the finest of our Gulf Coast artists.”
The museum reached out to promote local artists during
its traveling shows. Whether it was Sausalito, California, or
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Petty-Johnson would seek out local
galleries to display gulf artists as a companion to the Walter
Anderson traveling exhibit. This helped spread the word about
the quality artistic expression still going on in Ocean Springs
and throughout the Gulf region.
“All of this has come to us because of the arts”
The presence and outreach of the museum, and indeed of the
Anderson family, is one that is felt by not only the residents
but by the business community. “We’ve reaped the benefits of a community that was created as
a result of the catalyst that is the Anderson family,” said Margaret Miller, director of the Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce. “We’ve gone from a few businesses in downtown to more than
100 restaurants in the community. All of this has come to us
because of the arts. I don’t even qualify that statement.”
With a community so dependent on the tourist trade, Miller
and others see the visual arts as way to draw visitors to the
community and a way to keep them there. 16
“Arts are part of what makes a community attractive to doctors and retirees,” Miller said. “My husband doesn’t even
know he likes art, but that is really what keeps him here and
keeps his interest. Just the idea that it’s out there.”
If Ocean Springs has artistic challenges, it is in the continued
perception that it plays the genteel relative of staid Mobile as
compared to the perception of Bay St. Louis as a funky refuge
for the wondrous debauchery of New Orleans. Staff at the
Walter Anderson Museum, for instance, expressed some wry
amusement when recounting that when they try to break out
and show more eclectic works, visitors complain that they
straying away from the traditional watercolors and coastal
scenes of the Anderson family. It is true that most artists find
that the money they make selling art tends to be on typical
coastal scenery pieces rather than on avant-garde fare. “If you really want to sell, your best bet is coastal sorts of things
because that is what people want to buy,” local artist Susie
Arnnager said. “People want to come back and take with them
something that reminds them of the coast.”
That being said, there are artists dabbling in non-traditional
ware, who use their coast location as a way to draw inspiration
even if they don’t necessarily feel the need to show a sunset in
every drawing. “It’s the light that draws artists here,” Petty-Johnson speculated. “There is an amazing unusual light. When you are in Taos
there is a different light or in Provence there is a different light.
The same is true in Ocean Springs.”
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City of Ocean Springs, MS
“Artists don’t always understand the business side of the
equation. Five of our young artists with a great following
opened galleries but they didn’t last long. They didn’t like
the business part of it.”
There are community efforts to help artists become more
connected to one another and perhaps use the increased
networking as a way to improve their ability to sell their
products. The new Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center of
Arts and Education in downtown Ocean Springs features a
wide array of studio space, rooms for artists, classes, and
gallery space that give local artists a place to convene with
their colleagues, create new pieces and show their work to
the wider community. The 26,000 square foot converted
school will serve as a centerpiece as the town continues to
promote itself as not only an artistic destination for tourists
but as a center of creative activity for permanent residents.
Need to highlight the success of Arts Means Business and
its origins in the Gulf Coast.
Together They Stand
Another challenge facing Ocean Springs is making sure that all
business leaders understand the importance of the arts to the
future of the community. Miller says that although she has great
cooperation from elected officials, “there is the process of educating people about the importance of the arts. I am not sure those
involved in economic development are aware of the connection
between the arts and the economy. I want them to understand.”
But it’s not enough for economic development professionals to
understand the connection between art and business. Artists
themselves need assistance with the business aspects of creativity. “It is a tough road for artists financially,” Miller pointed out. One common thread between the towns on either end
of the coast is that bringing artists together is at the core
of their redevelopment. Both Ocean Springs and Bay
St. Louis have relied, and will continue to depend, on the
community-focused arts economy to rebuild after the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina. “Everybody understands that for the Bay to recover completely we have to work together,” said Ruth Thompson.
“No one organization can do it alone. It has to come from
artists themselves. An arts organization doesn’t make this
community, artists do.”
17
University of Southern Mississippi
the Arts University of Mississippi
Univeristy of Southern Mississippi
19
On the football field, Brett Favre calls the plays. But did he ever
play a part in a play in a theatre production during his time at
the University of Southern Mississippi? He holds numerous
National Football League records, but has he ever recorded an
album? Favre might be the most notable alumni of the school
in recent decades, but he is not the only talent to pass through
its gates. At Southern Miss, high-quality arts programs are cultivating the next generation of the state’s artistic talent.
Southern Miss is one of only 24 schools in the country to be
accredited in all four areas of higher education in the arts:
dance, music, theatre, and visual arts. Accreditation speaks to
the rigorous quality of arts education at the university but also
hints at the comprehensiveness of the arts education that the
school offers. The list of degrees and specializations available
to students is exhaustive. Through the departments of arts and
design, music, and theatre and dance, Southern Miss offers
more than a dozen bachelor degrees and two dozen master
degrees, as well as doctoral degrees in music. This diverse offering includes nationally distinguished programs and courses of
study available at very few universities in the state and country.
Examples, include the undergraduate curricula in sculpture and
design, the master of fine arts degrees in theatre, bachelor of
science degrees in the entertainment industry, and the doctoral
degrees in music education and music performance. Southern Miss dance program
A Jaw Dropping Experience
Perhaps the most important element of preparation for a career
in the arts is performance. For students in the theatre department at Southern Miss, the personalized classroom training
they receive is enhanced by the performance opportunities
afforded by the eclectic season of productions that the Department of Theatre and Dance puts on every year. For 2009-2010,
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the playbill spanned from Shakespeare to contemporary regional
humor and edgy contemporary drama, with stops along the way
for musical theater. Added to this variety in productions is the
chance for students to work as paid actors for the university’s
Southern Arena Theatre, a summer repertory program that puts
on three performances each summer and just completed its 33rd
season.
The icing on the cake? A state-of-the-art facility dedicated in
2000 that includes three performance spaces ranging from 70275 seats, rehearsal spaces, design studios (including a computer-assisted design lab), and faculty offices. Lou Rackoff, Director
of the Theatre and Dance Department, spent most of his career
as a professional actor and director and still remembers his first
encounter with the department’s facility when he arrived as a
visiting guest artist.
“When I walked in, my jaw dropped to the floor,” he said. “It’s
an unpretentious but well-designed building…a facility that most
regional theatres would be jealous of.” The advantage to this
facility, said Rackoff, is that “students have the chance to work at
a very high level”—and this pays off for them when they graduate. Most students leave the state to pursue graduate studies
or internships and employment as working actors in cities across
the country, from Atlanta to Los Angeles.
Like theatre students, the university’s music students, who
number more than 500, are able to hone their professional skills
before they graduate. The School of Music puts on approximately 400 concerts and ensemble performances a year and all
students in the program are required to perform. Outside the
university’s gates, many students find paid performance opportunities --at churches and events throughout the Hattiesburg
community, as well as in the Mississippi, Tupelo and Pensacola
orchestras, all of which are within a reasonable drive from Hattiesburg. The School of Music’s symphony orchestra, comprised
of between 70 and 90 students and now in its 89th season,
performs between six and eight concerts a year to audiences of
around 1,000 people. Over the years, symphony members have
had the chance to interact with the impressive list of world-class
talent that has visited the school--from classical stars like Placido
Domingo and Yo-Yo Ma, to Ray Charles and Patti LaBelle. For this
reason, the School of Music has adopted the motto “Bringing the
World to Mississippi,” which was originally coined by one of the
school’s many international students.
20
Making Records
Operating out of another corner of the School of Music is the
Entertainment Industry program, the university’s fastest-growing major. The program started approximately five years ago as
an emphasis option within the music major. Today, the program
has more than 150 majors in its two tracks, entertainment management or production, and the curriculum includes courses in
everything from accounting to live music production. Darko Velichkovski, the former director of the Mississippi Orchestra, was
brought to Southern Miss to create the entertainment industry
curriculum. To him, one of the most significant elements of the
program is that it attracts students who might not have otherwise gone to college, and provides them with a college education that goes beyond the vocational skills they could receive at
the private technical institutes that offer specialized training in
elements of music production.
Another draw of the program is what Velichkovski describes as
the chance to “put your hands on something for real:” South
City Records. About three years ago a group of students and
two professors came together to create this company as a
means of providing students with hands-on experience in all
facets of the music production process: pre-production, production, mixing, and advertising. Today, South City Records is
registered with the state as a tax-paying corporation and serves
as an umbrella company for five different student-run record
labels. The initial financing came from the small group of students and professors who launched the label three years ago. The company now has become self-sustaining: proceeds from
the sales of initial production runs are put back into the company to pay for production of new albums and more additional
production runs.
The labels, which cover the hip hop/R&B, country/bluegrass,
rock, singer/songwriter and blues genres, each have their own
talent, business and marketing functions and are continually
identifying and signing local and regional talent.
So far, South City Records has released several eclectic compilation albums that showcase musical talent from throughout Mississippi, and several more are in the works. The label is creating
opportunities for new and established local and international
artists: from former Nashville artist Jacky Jack White, who
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The Entertainment Industry Program,
Univeristy of Southern Mississippi
signed with the label upon retiring to a town outside of Meridian,
to Omar, a recent gradate of Southern Miss who sings traditional
Latin American bohemian ballads and is the first artist signed to
the new Latin music label that the company is developing.
The diverse talent that South City Records showcases is not
a happy coincidence. Rather, it is the logical embodiment of
Mississippi’s rich musical heritage and the continuing influence
of this tradition. As Velichkovski says, even the alternative
rock music scene in Mississippi is “all mixed up with the sticky,
humid, blues thing” and this diversity is also the key to the
record label’s future success. “We do feel that we are uniquely
positioned. We are in the cradle of American musical heritage...
We are here at the source, surrounded by talent. I want the
students to understand how important it is for them to position
themselves uniquely [in the marketplace].”
Many of the Entertainment Industry program’s graduates go
out of state to find employment in New York , Los Angeles and
Nashville, the country’s major recording centers, but the ones
who do stay in Mississippi find a place for the skills they learn
in the program--not only in regional music venues and casinos,
but also in the broadcasting, public relations and advertising
industries. However, Velichkovski has a vision of South City
Records growing beyond being a student entity to being the first
professional step for graduates of the program—a place where
they can “earn and learn” for a year or two. Looking Beyond and Ahead
Student talent alone, of course, does not sustain the vibrant
performing arts scene at Southern Miss. The audience is a crucial ingredient, and by all accounts the Hattiesburg community
is exceptionally supportive of the arts. In fact, Bill Baggett, pro21
fessor and chair of the Department of Art and Design, describes
Hattiesburg as a “hospitable and inviting place to be an artist,” a factor that has played no small part in anchoring him to
Southern Miss, where he has taught since 1983. “The interaction between the community and university has kept me here,”
he says. In turn, his influence on both the community and the
university is visible in the form of two large scale murals he has
designed and executed—one at the university’s student union
building and the other at the Hattiesburg Public Library, which is
recognized as the world’s largest stainless steel mural.
This spirit of support is embodied in the Partners for the Arts, a
civic membership organization whose sole mission is to support
the arts departments at Southern Miss. Founded in 1997 by
a group of friends interested in promoting arts programming
at the university, the group now has more than 300 members
who raised $87,000 in the most recent year. This money is all
awarded to the arts departments at the university through a
grantmaking process. Barbara Carter, the current president of
Partners for the Arts, describes the “enormous energy” generated by the university’s arts activities and attributes it to interactions between friends—in their homes, at their churches, at
social events and soccer games. Now, the organization is trying
to expand its membership to include people from the greater
Hattiesburg region.
Future of the Arts in Hattiesburg
So what does the future hold for Hattiesburg in terms of the
arts? Some see increased collaboration between the town and
the university, others see Hattiesburg’s emergence as a regional
hub for the arts, and still others see efforts in Hattiesburg as a
means of drawing attention to the work of Mississippi artists at
the national level.
Susan Fitzsimmons thinks these goals are not mutually exclusive. In fact, she is contributing to several of them. A professor
of art and a member of the board of directors of the Hattiesburg
Arts Council, Fitzsimmons has spearheaded efforts to display
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tion.” On the other side of the coin, Fitzsimmons is working
with Bill Baggett and a New York artist to put together a traveling show of the work of Mississippi artists. This is an effort
toward reversing the trend that she sees of importing art from
other parts of the country rather than exporting it.
Also in the works is the rehabilitation of the Old High School in
Hattiesburg, a building designated as a Mississippi Landmark
and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The plan
is to restore the building’s structural and historical integrity so
that it can be put to good use. The renovated building is to include gallery space, and Southern Miss’s College of Arts and Letters plans to be a tenant, using the building for classroom and
performance space. Though it suffered a setback in the form of
a fire and faces significant financial hurdles, this project could
come to embody the vision of greater collaboration between
the university and the town in the arts arena.
Lou Rackoff, of the theater and dance department, thinks that the
population growth that Hattiesburg experienced after Hurricane
Katrina in 2005 and other regional amenities—such as two hospitals and the nearby Camp Shelby military base—provide a great
opportunity for the university’s arts programs. “We are trying
to be a part of that [growth]….We think that our department, in
combination with the School of Music and the Department of Art
and Design, could comprise an arts magnet [for the region].”
But in the meantime, the University of Southern Mississippi will
continue to produce graduates with the skills and experience to
compete in the statewide and national arts industries. In many
cases, Southern Miss graduates will be at an advantage for the
professional opportunities they have already experienced by
the time graduation comes, and the enthusiasm with which
students embrace these opportunities is telling. Velichkovski
says this best: “[Our students] wake up eager. We are not here
for academic exercise. You are building your life here.”
student artwork at galleries and arts spaces around town. This
is, in part, an effort to give students professional experience
as exhibitors and artistic entrepreneurs because, as she says,
“[there is] beginning to be more awareness on the part of the
students that arts education needs to be entrepreneurial educa22
Preserving the Past,
Preparing for the Future
Natchez Looks Forward
Dunleith Mansion, Natchez, MS
23
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In 2008, the National Geographic Society’s Center for Sustainable Communities ranked the top 109 Historic Places around
the world that met the criteria of “populated communities
possessing a historic character, district or dominant place.” In
this formidable competition, which included Aix-en-Provence
and Dijon in France, Edinburgh in Scotland, York in England, San
Gimignano in Tuscany, and Munich in Germany—Natchez, Mississippi ranked number 40. The Society chose Natchez because
it “has fantastic architectural heritage and the stories, of all
cultures, to back it up”- quite a tribute to Natchez’s historical
and architectural assets.
The opulence of the cotton planters’ lifestyles can still be seen
in Natchez today, and the area has one of the best preserved
concentrations of architecturally distinctive antebellum estates in the United States. Many of these palatial estates are
preserved, thanks to the support of civic groups and private
foundations, and serve as important representations of Greekrevival architecture in the Southern style.
Many people and organizations have gone to great lengths to
districts include several hundred historic homes, the real
number is closer to 1,300. These include 13 National Historic
Landmarks, the highest historic designation given by the federal
government.
preserve these treasures, both for cultural and for economic
reasons. But, before the assets and economic impact are outlined, a look at the history is an important first step.
The History
Human habitation of the Natchez area dates back to early Native American tribes, although it was the later Natchez tribe that
lived in the region of southwest Mississippi for 800 years prior
to the first European contact. Originally a territory of France,
Natchez was traded among European powers as New World
land became a precious commodity. In 1798, Natchez, and the
entire state of Mississippi, were taken by the United States in an
effort to expand the country’s western borders.
Natchez became the first capital of the new territory and in
1817 was established as the first capital of the new State of Mississippi. Although the capital was moved to Jackson a few years
later, Natchez remained a center of economic activity for Mississippi throughout the 19th century and was a major agricultural
and shipping hub for a young nation.
Historical Assets
The scale of Natchez‘s historical and cultural assets, for a city
of less than 20,000 people, is impressive. Nearly 80 sites are
on the National Register of Historic Places, but because some
The Natchez National Historic Park has 102,000 objects in its
collection, with approximately 81,000 archeological artifacts
and documents found in the Melrose Estate, William Johnson
House, and Fort Rosalie. Melrose Estate, one of the grandest
of the Greek Revival mansions from Natchez’s plantation past,
is complete with historic furnishings and original outbuildings
throughout the nearly 80-acre site. Since construction in 1845,
the mansion has been owned by only three families prior to
National Park Service (NPS) acquisition, which helped preserve
the property over the past 150 years. William Johnson House, a
small Greek Revival townhouse in urban Natchez, was home to
a slave freed by a white planter thought to be his father. Johnson’s 2,000- page personal and business diary provides important glimpses of antebellum southern life and relations between
whites and freed blacks. His home is presently maintained
by the NPS as an important center for interpreting Natchez’s
African-American history to modern-day visitors.
The naturally fertile soil around Natchez gave birth to a booming cotton production industry. With its strategically important
location on bluffs high above the Mississippi River, Natchez
also became an important port for shipping the cotton crop to
mills in the north, and its plantation owners accumulated great
wealth. Prior to the Civil War, Natchez had more millionaires
per capita than any other city in the United States.
Monmouth, Natchez, MS
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The Natchez Museum of African American Culture, located in
the city’s old post office, is another important historical and cultural asset. It contains photographs and artifacts that chronicle
and interpret the history of slaves and African-Americans in
the region, with a current exhibit of art from West Africa from
where large numbers of slaves came. Prior to the Museum’s
founding in 1990, some of the mainstream historical record
projected the image of contented slaves and overlooked the
cruelty of the slave trade and the museum helped set the
record straight. The first Africans were brought to Natchez by
early French settlers as labor for the growing settlement. That
would eventually become the state of Mississippi. Just east of
the downtown Natchez area is the site of Forks of the Road, the
development of the Natchez Historic Collection, and its tireless
work to identify and catalogue current and endangered properties, the Foundation has been at the forefront. In many ways,
the Foundation is the conscience of historic preservation in the
area, as well as one of its saviors.
second largest slave market in the U.S. in the nineteenth century. The site became a refugee for freed slaves once the Union
Army took the city in 1863.
The Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH)
has been critically important to the preservation of Natchez’s
historic and architectural assets, with projects such as the restoration of Jefferson College and the Grand Village of the Natchez
Indians and its contributions to Natchez’s efforts to get all of
the historic properties and sites on the National Register of
Historic Places. MDAH also provided grants to building owners
for façade improvements, and it helped Natchez obtain Certified
Local Government status, an important designation for historic
preservation funds. Staff from MDAH also worked extensively
with the Historic Natchez Foundation in its early efforts to
reclaim some of the neglected historic buildings in the late
1960s and 1970s. As one interviewee noted, “MDAH has been
a lifeline to our preservation efforts. They’ve been there every
time we’ve needed them.”
Key Players
In spite of an early commitment to preserve and protect the
historical and architectural assets of Natchez, the city lost its
way in the 1960s and 1970s when the economy declined and industry began to move out. The downtown suffered from serious
neglect, and many of the stunning architectural and historical
gems deteriorated. If it hadn’t been for the work of several key
players, the city could have declined even further.
Local policymakers in Natchez have long understood the importance of historic preservation. In 1954, the city adopted the
first preservation ordinance to maintain its historic/architectural
assets. Thanks to this ordinance, the town now has five historic
districts, most in the downtown area. Former city planners, the
Historical Commission, and elected officials continue to generate and enforce historic preservation regulations.
Among the organizations and institutions committed to preserving Natchez’s past, a few stand out as key players in preservation efforts. The Historic Natchez Foundation was founded
in 1974 to preserve and enhance the buildings and neighborhoods, an important part of Natchez’s history. As a time when
the city was perhaps not as focused on protecting it historical
assets, the Foundation mustered the will, leadership and resources to stop the decline. Through its efforts around National
Historic Register designation, its support to home owners
and building owners who need tax credits and incentives, its
Since its founding in 1988, the Natchez National Historical Park
has helped to preserve Natchez’s historic significance. The Park
has a multi-million dollar visitor’s and interpretative center, as
well as several architecturally and historically significant collections, houses and sites. The opening of the center marked
one of the first attempts by preservationists to tell the full and
accurate story about slavery in Natchez.
The Garden Clubs of the 1930s were another of the early advocates for historic preservation and the first to bring in outside
visitors to Natchez. Some of the revenue generated by the
tours over the years has gone directly to homeowners, and the
income helped their efforts to renovate and maintain the structural and architectural integrity of their homes.
The Office of Tourism and Natchez Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) have been instrumental in making Natchez a national
destination for visitors, conventions, and meetings. The CVB
works with all the historic, cultural and events organizations to
coordinate promotion and to enhance the quality of the visitor
experience, and the revenue generated adds to the historic
preservation income stream.
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City and county leaders also have recently initiated a plan
for restructuring and streamlining economic development
in the region. This effort could enhance, among other
things, the relationship between historic preservation and
economic development.
Economic Impact of Historic Preservation
Natchez has arts, music, garden tours, conventions and
great views that attract a lot of tourists, but as a local business owner said, “It’s the history, the culture and the architecture that is the core. Everything else would still go on,
but without the historical assets, it wouldn’t be the same.”
The Natchez Mayor’s Office estimates that roughly 700,000
people visit the city each year, many coming for the Spring
and Fall Pilgrimages, Garden Tours, Natchez Festival of
Music, Balloon Fair, conventions and meetings—but also
for the sheer pleasure of walking the streets of Natchez
and taking in the view from the bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. Again, the historical and cultural assets are
what make this attraction of tourists possible.
The impact of that many visitors is substantial for Natchez
and for Adams County. In 2008, about 2000 people were
employed in tourism-related jobs in Adams County, 15 percent of total employment for the county, and tourism-related tax revenues from rooms and restaurants in Natchez
alone was over $1 million.
The Natchez Historical Park makes a significant contribution to the local Natchez economy. In 2008, the park saw
232,470 visitors who spent $11,863,000, which contributed
to creating 222 jobs and generating $4,416,000 in wages
and adding $6,835,000 of value to the Natchez economy.
The renovation and repair of historic properties and homes
also has an economic impact with 1,170 people in Adams
County employed in construction and specialty traderelated work by 62 firms. A former city planner for Natchez
estimates 200-300 applications a year for permits to
renovate and/or repair historically significant homes, much
of this done by a group of highly-skilled mill working firms
and professionals. They, in turn, sub-contract to complete
work on homes and historic buildings including to a small
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but highly-skilled group of African-Americans. Several talented
craftsmen from these families have passed those skills on to
their children.
The economic benefit of the Historic Natchez Collection is also
notable. The wealthy barons of the cotton industry furnished
their homes with a distinct style of furniture and decorative
arts that were quite elegant. The Historic Natchez Foundation
secured the license for what became known as the Historic Natchez Collection. The Foundation sold the design rights to major
furniture manufacturers in North Carolina and other companies
throughout the country, which pay the Historic Natchez Foundation a royalty for using the design. Mimi Miller said that “at its
peak, the licensing brought in $400,000 a year to the Foundation, which helped support our preservation work.” In recent
years, revenue from the Collection has declined but it still brings
in roughly $30,000 a year.
The Future
In addition to the work of all of the key organizations noted
above, there are also several projects in the planning stages that
will continue to strengthen the historical and cultural assets of
Natchez. The Community Alliance, the city and others have been
working on the Natchez Trails Project, a $3 million project funded
by the Federal Highway Administration, the Mississippi Department of Transportation, and private contributors. Once completed, the trails will become a virtual “Museum of the Streets.”
The National Park Service will also oversee a new project. NPS
purchased seven acres of land near the Fort Rosalie site and
plans to tear down deteriorated buildings, constructions, parking and walking areas, and develop a new set of interpretative
exhibits on Natchez’s colonial history. Furthermore, several
structures on Canal Street will be renovated and used for extended visitor information and contact sites.
26
Fashionably Fondren!
A Jackson Neighborhood Takes Off
Fondren Place, Fondren, Jackson, MS
Photo courtesy of Frank Ezelle
27
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He feels the district has a “richness that is not seen in other
parts of Jackson. What makes the community really unique is
the concentration of artists. The artists provide an energy foundation that is not felt in any other community in the city.”
A Break from the Past
Fondren Art Gallery, Fondren, Jackson, MS
“Fondren is a brand,” says Alison Hopton Davis,“Fashionably
Fondren!”
When Davis took over as executive director of the Fondren Renaissance Foundation, the community had become something
completely different from the town she lived in years before.
The neighborhoods of Fondren now exhibit art deco architecture, specialty boutiques and a medley of restaurants. The community is now an experience rather than just a place to live and
work. Even real estate in the Fondren area has become easier
to sell. Davis, also a real estate agent and architectural historian,
remembers when you couldn’t put the word Fondren in a house
listing. “The neighborhood used to have a stigma,” says Davis. “Now I can put Fondren on any listing and it is snapped up!”
What makes the Fondren district stand out from other areas of
Jackson is not only the architecture and unique shops, but the
people. Fondren has become home to a large number of artists,
painters, musicians and a host of other creative individuals. Local artists’ works are exhibited at the art galleries and many of
the restaurants double as venues that showcase area musicians.
Some residents believe the demographic and economic diversity in Fondren is a reason for the community’s vibrancy. Ron Mills, better known to those in the Fondren District as Captain
Ron of the Fondren Express Trolley, feels the community is very
diverse even in terms of the types of occupations people hold in
the area. “You have artists, lawyers, glass blowers, and doctors all
living in the same neighborhoods in Fondren,” says Mills.
One of the oldest communities in Jackson, Fondren started as
a large plantation owned by the Garland Family. Sometime
during Reconstruction the land transferred ownership, and in
the mid-1800s the 5,000 acres of land became home to a state
hospital. By the end of the century the area was a fully functioning, self-sufficient community with a general store—namesake
David Fondren’s General Merchandise and Fancy Grocery and a
post office.
Over the years, the community developed into a regional medical
mecca. The community is anchored by large economic drivers
the University of Mississippi Medical Center, a VA hospital and St.
Dominic Hospital and is home to a host of medical practices and
rehabilitation centers. Unfortunately, the community began to
suffer as newer homes were built in neighboring communities. Over time, Fondren was left with a much older population and
deteriorated housing stock. Crime became more of a problem
and much of the commercial space was left vacant and abandoned. According to Barry Plunkett, president of the Fondren
Renaissance Foundation, “the area was hemorrhaging businesses and suffering from decreasing property taxes.”
There was also the belief that the local businesses were suffering from the ills of the local community because of the lack
of foot traffic and deteriorated infrastructure. People were no
longer coming to the community for their entertainment and
shopping needs. “Fondren was not a place where people walked on the street
after 5 or 6 pm, ” says Davis.
Mike Peters of Peters Real Estate feels that the Fondren of yesteryear was not serving the needs of the medical community, a
dominant force in the Fondren District. Healthcare workers and
patients had to find other places to eat. The loss of businesses
began to affect the surrounding infrastructure. 28
According to Mike Peters, the leadership at St. Dominic Hospital was a driving force behind Fondren’s revitalization when
the hospital decided to invest in the community. About eight
years ago St. Dominic made a $1 million dollar commitment
to the Fondren area by funding one of the predecessors of the
Fondren Renaissance Foundation, a community organization
charged with preserving and revitalizing the Fondren community. Then the community started with baby steps. Residents
of Fondren began starting neighborhood clean-ups. Businesses
started to reopen. Traffic calming was installed and attention
was paid to neighborhood lighting. Abandoned buildings were
purchased and converted into mixed-use property.
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Fondren Corner was one of the first mixed-use properties
in the area, combining retail, office and residential housing. When the abandoned Fish Commission State Office building
fell into foreclosure several years ago, Peters and his partner
decided to bid on the property. Once their bid was accepted,
the partners scoured the southeastern region of the United
States to look for inspiration for how to renovate the historic
building in ways that could ultimately help to reshape the
entire community. Fondren Corner now houses retail shops,
offices, studio space and 16 apartments leased to an eclectic
group of individuals.
Peters comments, “There’s no typical tenant. One of my ten-
Lifestyle Development
As a way to draw in new residents and money to the district, the
former executive director of the Fondren Renaissance Foundation focused on the inherent strengths of the Fondren community such as the architecture and the prominence of long-time
business residents, like Brown’s Fine Art Gallery. He believed a
strong emphasis on creative arts and design in Fondren could
help to bring the community back from hardship and improve
the quality of life of the existing residents.
“Lifestyle development,” or economic development that also
strongly focuses on the social and recreational aspects of a community, is about attracting a younger and more diverse population to a community by offering a quality of life that fosters a
more social and creative feel to a locale. This focus on lifestyle
development helped to create the diverse culture that Fondren
is known for today. Lifestyle development projects often involve
mixed-use properties that encourage individuals to live, work,
and play in the same area.
ants is 80 years old and lives next door to a couple of artists.
We also have tenants who work at the hospital.”
Public/Private Partnerships
Part of the success of Fondren’s revitalization has been the
active participation of both public and private groups in the
area. Collaboration between private entities and the public
sector has proven to be fruitful for Fondren while providing
the financial resources necessary to help preserve the history
and culture of the community. In keeping with the community’s focus on the arts, most of these partnerships have revolved around rehabilitating historic places into creative arts
venues that attract a diverse audience and provide a steady
stream of property tax revenue to the district. When an old, deteriorated antebellum home on Old Canton
Road known as The Cedars was in danger of being demolished, the Fondren community, through the leadership of the
Fondren Renaissance Foundation and the Mississippi Arts
Commission (MAC), came to the rescue. The Cedars, now a
events venue and art gallery, was acquired through a grant
from MAC and privately raised funds of $300,000 raised in
less than 10 days.
More recently, the Duling School, an old, abandoned elemen-
Outdoor concert at the Cedars, Fondren, Jackson, MS
tary school in Fondren, was converted to commercial space
that includes shops and a restaurant in the old auditorium. Built in 1927, the Duling School was a large expense to the
school board due to high maintenance costs and did not
benefit the city by being on the tax rolls. The Jackson School
Board donated the property to the developer, thus elimi29
nating the high maintenance costs, and became a 20 percent
partner in the project, which entitles the school board to a
percentage of future profits. The Duling School now houses
several shops including a hair salon, an antique shop, and The
Auditorium, a restaurant that also serves as a live music and
film venue.
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The Future of Fondren
Fondren is also not without its growing pains. Part of the revitalization and preservation of the community involves the need to
maintain the Fondren brand while continuing to provide affordable housing, especially to the artists. Peters says, “the community needs to be very diligent that
[Fondren] doesn’t choke the creative class out and become
more vanilla”.
Peters’ main concern is the increase in property values and
rents could potentially force some of the people who helped
shape the community culture out of Fondren in the next 10
years. Parking has also become scarce with the increase in traffic coming into the community for entertainment and shopping.
Alison Hopton Davis, of the Fondren Renaissance Foundation
worries about running out of the financial resources that have
allowed the foundation to continue to provide support for
the community, as well as the free events. Many of the same
resources have been tapped over and over again and could
potentially dry up.
More importantly, while community participation has been instrumental in reshaping Fondren, maintaining that momentum is
one of the biggest challenges the community faces going forward.
Fondren Corner Building, Fondren, Jackson MS
30
Luxury and Revitalization in the Delta
Viking Range Leads the Charge
in Greenwood
Viking Range Corporation, Greenwood, MS
31
The scene. A large estate in East Hampton, New York. A couple
sits in the living room just after Christmas.
Trevor: So darling, where should we vacation this year?
Celeste: Paris again?
Trevor: No, no, the crowds at the Pompidou were dreadful.
Rome?
Celeste: Ugh, not Rome, the food at Alberto Ciarla is so overrated. Let’s stay stateside this year—some place where we can
stay in luxury, eat a world-class meal, and definitely get those
spa treatments you are so fond of.
Trevor: Well, you know I do love my Pine Sea Scrub. Hmm, let’s
see, great food, great hotel, well there also need to be lots of
culture—you know a place to browse those book stores you
love, take a cooking class at a culinary academy, maybe even
the chance to go to a museum or two nearby.
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The Art of Cooking—Viking Range Style
Exactly what is Viking? If you ever marveled at the ability of
a restaurant to get your meal cooked just right along with the
orders of 40 other patrons dining at the same time, it often depends on a commercial quality oven range. Fred Carl, a former
building contractor, believed that there was market for such
commercial quality ranges in homes. And indeed there was. After opening its first plant in 1990 in a 35,000-square-foot
facility, Viking’s Greenwood production facility is now more
than 240,000 square feet. It not only manufactures ranges
but other appliances both large and small, bringing a sense of
commercial restaurant quality to people’s homes.
A reason for Viking’s success has been its ability to move
beyond mass production and focus on more intricately crafted
items. Whereas many companies in Mississippi and other
southern states tried to enter the market solely on price,
Viking competes on quality and design. Viking ranges routinely
sell for upwards of $8,000.
Celeste: Trevor, are you thinking what I’m thinking?
Trevor: Celeste, my darling, there can be only one choice.
Both together: Greenwood, here we come!
So maybe Celeste and Trevor are figments of an overactive
imagination. But certainly the attractions of Greenwood,
Mississippi are real and are drawing visitors from around the
globe. While other tourist attractions are based on proximity
to some historical attraction or some grand geologic formation,
Greenwood’s draw comes from its commitment to the creative
economy and, more precisely, because its largest employer,
Viking Range, is one the most creative companies in the state of
Mississippi. The dream of Viking’s founder and CEO Fred Carl,
to build a dynamic, creative product in his Delta hometown has
come to fruition and has served as a catalyst to create a dynamic place to visit and to live. In doing so, Greenwood shows just
how critical creative enterprises and people can be to building
the economic future of a community.
The most serious economic times since the Great Depression, however, have taken a toll on Viking’s competitiveness
model. Since the spring of 2009, Viking has been forced to lay
off nearly 300 of its 1,500 workers. Downturns in the housing market have meant fewer people installing Viking Ranges
as part of their new dream houses. But, like most successful
companies, Viking is adjusting to new economic realities by
introducing a lower-priced but still commercial-quality, highdesign appliance line called the Designer Series. Viking Range Corporation, Greenwood, MS
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This more affordable line still depends on high-end craftsmanship
but is priced with people in mind who may have experienced a
change in discretionary income but still have designer tastes. It is
a strategy that leads industry experts excited about the prospects for companies like Viking. The Washington Post recently
reported: “While boomers and seniors are winding down their
appliance purchases, millennials are just getting started, and their
tastes are higher-end. As a generation that grew up watching the
Food Network, today’s newly minted adults don’t see features
such as stainless-steel finishes as frivolous.”
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or the temptingly titled “Pies and Tarts Workshop.” For the more
adventurous, the cooking school offers culinary weekends that
are packages combining classes and the nights at the Alluvian.
Doing Business in the Delta
Viking’s success and prospects for continued success have been
critical to the growth of Greenwood, not just for the amenities
that Carl and his company have attracted, but for showing that
the Mississippi Delta is a great place to do business.
“When we are recruiting businesses, we use Viking as a recruitment tool,” Angela Curry, executive director of the GreenwoodLeflore Industrial Board, said. “Companies say, ‘If Viking can
manufacture those appliances in Greenwood, then we can make
our product there too.’”
Curry refers to the negative attitude that many still have of the
Delta, and the fact that Viking Range and its ancillary businesses’
presence in the Delta goes a long away to alleviating those
concerns.
“One of our challenges is changing the perception others have
of the Mississippi Delta and showing that we are progressive
and that we have progressed,” Curry said.
Eating, Sleeping, Cooking and Shopping in Style
Walking in downtown Greenwood, it would be hard to find
anything but a progressive image. Viking opened the Alluvian
Hotel, in part as a place to put up customers who traveled to
check out their product in person. Now people come back on
vacation to stay in the luxurious rooms, eat at the world-class
Viking Range Cooking School, Greenwood, MS
So sits Viking’s Empire in Greenwood. But while the offerings of
Viking are impressive, something else is happening in Greenwood that is equally important. Other creative businesses are
coming to town and opening up shop.
Turnrow’s Books is one such example. Jamie Kornegay was
working at the venerated Square Books in Oxford and dreaming
of owning a similarly outstanding independent bookstore when
he visited Greenwood. He hooked up with Carl, who helped
him nurturing his business, and Kornegay opened a new bookstore in a refurbished building just steps away from the Alluvian. While the bookstore is comprehensive, it features Southern
and Mississippi literature and an outstanding food section that
attracts the foodies that are drawn to the cooking school and
the Viking experience. It also benefits from relative proximity to Square Books and Lemuria Books, another independent
bookstore based in Jackson. This triangle of strong bookstores
restaurant Giardina’s, or perhaps try their hand on an actual
Viking Range at the Viking Cooking School.
means that national authors can travel to multiple locations in
the state while on a book tour. Carl himself likes having a place
like Turnrow in his hometown.
The Cooking School, in fact, has become one of the area’s biggest attractions. It allows students to take short courses that
feature “French Country Classics” a “Mardi Gras” themed meal
“We used to go to Oxford for a good bookstore and now we stay
home,” he said.
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The bookstore isn’t the only addition to the cultural life in
Greenwood in recent years. Several new gourmet restaurants
such as the Delta Bistro have opened that not only celebrate
the culinary arts but make it a point to utilize local farms, as
mouth-watering menu staples such as “house-made mustard
and honey-rubbed grilled pork tenderloin, served with a loaded
baked potato cake and charred onion compote” would attest. It is all part of what Carl envisioned when he made it a point to
base his business in Greenwood.
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“We are selling the Greenwood Experience,” Carl said. “We are
an epicenter for Delta Culture.”
The expansion of downtown has another purpose beyond attracting visitors to Greenwood- the increase in amenities means
it is easier for Carl to attract workers, especially at the executive
level, to Viking.
“It is a recruiting tool for many of our employees,” Carl said. So
many highly-skilled people who may have bought into a preconceived notion about the Delta may have a different notion after
spending a few days roaming Greenwood.
People like Curry who are charged with promoting Greenwood
to new businesses have fully embraced Carl’s vision. “When we
bring businesses, we can take a tour downtown, and they can
see a boutique hotel, a fabulous bookstore, and walk out and
say, “Wow, I am in Greenwood, Mississippi!”
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The Word from Oxford
How the Literary Arts Continue
to Shape a Community
The Literary Arts Tradition, Oxford, MS
35
Though revered author William Faulkner has long since passed
away, the literary arts are alive and well in Oxford, Mississippi,
the town he made famous. While Faulkner looms large in the
consciousness of residents and visitors alike, there is no shortage of literary talent in town today. Rather, the combination of
literary heritage, a first-rate creative writing program at the University of Mississippi, and a number of unique institutions, has
continued to draw established and aspiring writers to the town.
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The result is a place where the literary arts are alive and well. In
fact, Ann Abadie, associate director of the University of Mississippi’s Center for the Study of Southern Culture, puts Oxford in
the same category as Paris and New York, saying “There are few
places in the world that are so rich for new and aspiring writers
and book lovers.” The Bookstore at the Center of Town
In 1979, Oxford native Richard Howorth and his wife Lisa
returned to Oxford with the intention of opening a bookstore
after having both worked at a well-known independent bookstore in Washington, D.C. This seemed like a risky plan to some,
including a loan officer who told the couple that the town’s
residents didn’t enjoy reading, and representatives from the
American Booksellers Association, who thought the market was
too small to support an independent retailer. Nevertheless,
with an initial investment of approximately $20,000 or less, they
opened Square Books on the second floor of a building that
Richard’s family owned on the town square.
Thirty years later, the Howorths own three stores: the original
Square Books, now in a different location than when it first
opened; Off Square Books, specializing in used and rare editions; and Square Books Jr., which sells children’s books. Square
Books is recognized as one of the nation’s preeminent independent booksellers, and Richard Howorth has served as a leader of
the American Booksellers Association.
While the Square Books family of stores seems the epitome
of the local independent bookstore, with its location on the
town square and its rotating staff recommendations section,
the stores’ loyal customers are international. For about ten
years, the store has sold books through its website. But even
before the advent of ecommerce, Square Books did a significant
amount of its business through mail order.
“I have customers all over the world,” says General Manager Lyn
Roberts. “Some of them are long-term relationships. They order books, and we chat, and I recommend books based on what
they’ve read in the past. A lot of this conversation takes place
virtually now, but in the old days it used to be through letters.” In this way, Square Books is not really competing with the giant,
Internet-based booksellers like Amazon, but offering a very different and much more personal service.
No Longer a One Author Town
Perhaps more important, though, is the transformative role that
Square Books has played in the life of the town and its literati. “It made all the difference,” says Ann Abadie. “Faulkner used to
be the one writer in town. There were a few others…but really
we were William Faulkner’s town.” Furthermore, the town had
few resources to offer writers: a small library, and a less-thanimpressive campus bookstore that, according to Abadie, sold
“textbooks, a lot of bibles, a little Faulkner.”
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But times have changed according to Abadie. For one thing, its
many individual arts institutions and their collaborative efforts
ensure that there is no shortage of literary programming for people of all ages. For example, the Center for the Study of Southern
Culture has been working with the Junior Auxiliary of Oxford to
bring young adult authors to local and county schools and raise
enough money to give a book to each fifth and ninth grader. Square Books hosts approximately 150 authors a year, and
sometimes as many as three writers a week. Framed photos
of hundreds of visiting authors line the walls of the store, and
the ever-growing roster of one-time and repeat visitors includes
notables like Toni Morrison, Allen Ginsberg and William Styron.
These days, with Square Books’ reputation firmly established in
the consciousness of publishers, many of the visitors are established authors on tour to publicize new work. But the full roster
of visiting writers runs the gamut, including local writers and
authors who are visiting the University of Mississippi for one
reason or another. Also on the roster are many repeat visitors
because, since the store’s earliest days, according to Roberts,
Richard Howorth has cultivated friendships with authors. Many
of these visitors stay with the Howorths rather than check into
a hotel. In this vein, Roberts acknowledges the role that Square Books
has played in recognizing and championing emerging literary
talent, though she makes it clear that she would never attribute
any author’s success to Square Books. Nevertheless, she does
note that Square Books was one of only a few stores to carry
the books of John Grisham, a graduate of University of Mississippi, at the start of his literary career; George Saunders and
Charles Frazier, author of Cold Mountain, are two other authors
who Square Books championed in the days before they had
achieved a national following.
The store can do this because “we actually read the books [we
sell],” noted Roberts, laughing. In fact, the love of books and
reading is the common thread amongst the stores employees
throughout the years. “That’s the number one attraction of
working here,” she says, though also notes that the store has
employed its “fair share of English or M.F.A. students, people
writing on the side and with various other literary aspirations,
[including] people who’ve gone on to work in publishing.”
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Town and Gown, Growing Up Together
Around the same time that Square Books opened, the University of Mississippi launched its creative writing program, offering
bachelor and master’s degrees. Since then, the M.F.A. program
in creative writing has grown to be one of the nation’s finest,
and a place for both established writers and students to cultivate their skills. The program was started under the guidance of
Willie Morris, previously the editor of Harper’s Magazine. With
his extensive contacts in the literary world, Morris was able to
attract fine authors to come visit Oxford and Square Books—
and, undoubtedly, Square Books has been one factor that has
helped anchor writers in Oxford in the decades since.
Since that time, Oxford has become a hub for what Wayne
Andrews describes as “new South writers.” Barry Hannah, a
prominent member of this group, was the director of the creative writing program and was its writer-in-residence from 1983
until his recent death. Other members of this group who made
their homes in Oxford or studied under Hannah include Larry
Brown, John T. Edge, Jack Pendarvis and Donna Tartt.
Once a month, two writers from the University of Mississippi’s
M.F.A. in creative writing program give an evening reading at
Square Books. In addition to providing an opportunity to have
an audience, writers also find entrée into a supportive community of other writers.
The University of Mississippi’s English and creative writing
departments also have hosted any number of visiting writers. John Grisham and his wife Renée bought and donated to the
university a house across the street from William Faulkner’s
home Rowan Oaks. The house now serves as a residence for
the Renée and John Grisham Writer-in-Residence, a year-long
opportunity for emerging authors to live, write and teach in
Oxford.
Some of these writers have even stayed after their tenure,
putting down more permanent roots in the town—no doubt in
part because of the supportive environment they find there.
“Oxford is a town that recognizes the value of the written word.
People understand what writers do—the workflow, holing up
to write…This town celebrates writers. Writers matter as much
as musicians…they are like rock stars, “ says John T. Edge. Edge
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is a James Beard Award-winning food writer, and the executive
director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, an Oxford-based
organization dedicated to documenting, studying and celebrating the culinary cultures of the American South.
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promote their work…and their work is being supported through
several avenues, including businesses like Square Books, Thacker
Mountain Radio, and some of the town’s restaurants.”
Literature as a Tourist Attraction
Broadcasting Live from Oxford
Fortunately for literary enthusiasts across the state and country,
you don’t have to live in Oxford to enjoy the roster of talent that
Square Books attracts. In 1997 Richard Howorth and two partners launched Thacker Mountain Radio, a live and unrehearsed
radio show broadcast each Thursday evening throughout the
fall and spring. Thirteen years later, the show is an independent nonprofit organization with three staff, and a house band,
though it is still hosted at the Off Square Books location.
Each episode features a handful of authors and musicians, as
well as some crossover talent: musicians who have written
books, or writers who moonlight as musicians. Guests read
from their work, perform their music, talk about their work, or
tell stories in front of a standing-room-only audience of about
200 people. In nice weather, audience members spill out onto
the sidewalk, forming a crowd three or four people deep.
The live broadcast on the University of Mississippi’s Rebel Radio
station is recorded and edited for rebroadcast on Mississippi
Public Broadcasting in a primetime spot. In keeping with the
times, the program can be streamed over the Internet, making
it accessible to a broader national audience.
As with the visiting authors at Square Books, Thacker Mountain
Radio guests have included well-known talent, touring musicians, and local authors. For a guest who is well prepared and
knows what to expect, the experience is great because, according to Roberts, it is totally different from the radio interview format that authors are used to. Perhaps the best part for them,
she suggests, is the audience: “It’s a great audience—they are
attentive, forgiving, they send out good vibrations.”
While less frequent than readings at Square Books and Thacker
Mountain Radio performances, the town of Oxford hosts two
annual events focused on the literary arts. These events draw
visitors from throughout the country and the world, making
literature a tourist attraction in Oxford.
The Faulkner and Yoknatapawpha Conference is an academic
conference held every July since 1974 and sponsored by the
Center for the Study of Southern Culture, an interdisciplinary
center at the University of Mississippi. The event draws scholars from around the world to take part in plenary sessions and
panel discussions on a subject related to Faulkner; for example,
the theme for the 2010 conference is “Faulkner and Film.”
The Oxford Conference on the Book is another literary festival,
borne out of collaboration between the Center for the Study of
Southern Culture and Square Books. Richard Howorth initially
approached Ann Abadie with the idea of creating something
less academic and less focused on the South than the Faulkner
conference, but that would offer people the experience of hearing about literature in the town Faulkner made famous.
Now in its 17th year, the Oxford Conference on the Book offers
three days full of speakers, panel discussions, writing workshops, book signings and readings, and a literary tour of the
Wayne Andrews of the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council suggests
that Thacker Mountain Radio is one of the things that makes
Oxford’s entire arts scene unique—including its literary arts
universe. “[The arts scene here] is multilayered…it’s not in the
traditional silos. People are using technology to cultivate and
Thacker Mountain Radio Performance, Oxford, MS
38
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Delta. Attendees include people from every imaginable part of
the broadly defined literary world: fiction and non-fiction writers, poets, editors, agents and publicists, illustrators, songwriters, playwrights, and of course, readers. This year a small grant
raised by the Center for the Study of Southern Culture will bring
a group of school children and teachers from the Delta to the
conference to hear five authors of young adult and children’s
literature read.
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Abadie believes that the conference has been a “great success
from the beginning.” While some might see this as a biased
view given her close involvement in its genesis, one testament
to the event’s success is its ability to attract enough grant funding each year (with the exception of one) to make the event free
and open to the public.
And when the public leaves they have a better sense of how the
literary arts are not just limited to the page; they can have a real
impact on the quality of life of a community.
Rowanoke, Home of William Faulkner, Oxford, MS
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e
C
The Hot Tamale Trail
Taste Treat of the Delta
Hot Tamales served up from the Mississippi Delta
41
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If you want to know why all the fuss about hot tamales, here’s
what you do. Take a trip to the Mississippi Delta – Leland,
Cleveland, Clarksdale, Greenville, Greenwood, or all the way
down to Vicksburg- and mosey in to Solly’s Hot Tamales,
or Doe’s Eat Place, or Joe’s Hot Tamale Place (The
White Front Café), sit down and order the Hot Tamales. They are served in bundles of three, but most of the Tamale
business is take-out by the dozen, packaged in a tin can. When
the Tamales arrive, you have a little work to do. Don’t eat the
Corn Husks in which they are served, but carefully untie the
bottom of the husks, spread them out, and you face some
spicy beef or pork topped with delicious corn dough. Dig in! Aren’t they wonderful? You will be eating spicy shredded meat
ed. “I know why daddy and them basically did it; it was just
another way for them to make money, and pretty cheaply.
And then hot tamales just evolved around here. I mean, you
know, its just weird; it’s like barbecue in Memphis. I think
people like hot tamales in the Delta – it seems like anyhow.” Doe’s Eat Place sells 250 dozen tamales a week. John Williams, Jr., owns John’s Homestyle Hot Tamales in Cleveland,
Mississippi. He ships his tamales to other restaurants in the
Delta and reports that he makes “thirty-five to forty dozen an
hour.” These thriving restaurants represent an opportunity
for entrepreneurs to earn a living, even in areas where jobs
are scarce.
flavored with chili powder, paprika, ground cayenne pepper,
onion, garlic, and cumin—plus several secret spices. Chase it
down with a cold beer and you will experience the taste sensation of the Delta – hot tamales.
The “Art” of Making Tamales
How Did Hot Tamales Find Their Way
To Mississippi?
Tamales came to be a Delta favorite sometime in the early years
of the twentieth century when Hispanic laborers came from to
the area to work the fields. The Mississippi laborers discovered
that the cornhusks kept the meat warm until lunchtime, and
soon everyone was eating “hot tamales.” After the harvest,
the laborers went back home, and African Americans started
making and then selling tamales because of the inexpensive
ingredients—some shredded meat, cornhusks, corn dough, and
a few spices. Next came the Chicago connection. After WWII,
many African Americans from Mississippi migrated to Chicago in
search of jobs. The food culture of Chicago included pushcarts
and street vendors, and some of the transplants began selling
tamales on the street, out of shacks, and out of storefronts. Every chef is more or less an artist- in working with his or
her hands and adding a little of this, that, and the other, in
what is a very creative process. This is certainly true for hot
tamales. Amy Streeter Evans’ 2005 oral histories describe
the creative processes of Signa of Doe’s, owner in Greenville,
Barbara Pope, who runs Joe’s Hot Tamale Place in Rosedale,
and Williams, of John’s Homestyle Hot Tamales in Cleveland.
Signa’s grandfather emigrated from Italy in 1903 and opened
an Italian Corner Grocery in Greenville. Signa’s father
acquired a recipe for hot tamales from a co-worker at the
Greenville Air Base in 1941 and began selling hot tamales to
the neighborhood. Today, Signa carries on the tradition his
father started many decades ago, ensuring Doe’s Eat Place is
Robert Stewart, owner of Stewart’s Quick Mart in Cleveland,
Mississippi, told Amy Evans, oral historian for the Southern
Foodways Alliance, “We were in Chicago about twelve years. I
sold tamales all over Chicago. I couldn’t keep them.”
The Popularizing of Tamales in the Delta
Dominick Signa, Jr., (Doe) owner of Doe’s Eat Place in Greenville,
Mississippi, continues the tamale tradition that his father start-
Doe’s Eat Place, Greenville, MS
Photo courtesy of Hello Delta Photography
42
a cultural and culinary icon of the Mississippi Delta. When
asked where the recipe came from, Signa responded: “somebody gave it to them… And they kind of modified it and took
away and added a little bit and this, that and the other and
that’s how they kind of got it like that.”
When asked about the recipe, Signa first explained that he
switched to parchment paper from the cornhusks because
“it holds the tamales a lot firmer, and “they won’t boil out.” When Evans asked Signa if he would share the recipe, he
responded “No. But I will tell you a funny story. When I
went to daddy and told him I wanted to get married, he said
‘Now look, it’s fine you’re getting married and everything,
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dozen shuck-wrapped tamales an hour. He credits his volume
to his production process experience in manufacturing. He
hopes to eventually standardize his recipe to manufacture and
sell John’s Hot Tamales across the country. John is proud of
the flavor in his tamales. “There’s flavor throughout. It starts
with the shuck. I spice up my meat and then when I get ready
to cook it, it’s already spiced up. You have to cook the dough
after you wrap it. Williams stresses a “well-balanced flavor
where you don’t have one ingredient overriding another one. Your taste buds tell you if it’s just right. And it needs to have a
kick to it, because you’re calling it a hot tamale.”
These three chef-artists are typical of the dozens of hot tamale
but don’t tell your wife the hot tamale recipe because if she
gets mad she may marry somebody else and they may go
make hot tamales.’”
places in the Delta. The idiosyncratic character of each of these
family-run restaurants contributes to the mystique and fun of
eating hot tamales in Mississippi.
Joe Pope, the eldest of ten children, began selling hot tamales in Rosedale in the 1970s after a friend shared a recipe
with him. When he retired, he opened Joe’s Hot Tamale
Place, also known as The White Front Café. His youngest
sister, Barbara Pope, who worked at his side for seven years
filling and rolling tamales by hand, took over the business after Joe died in 2004. Barbara, her sisters, and their 97-yearold mother can still be found at The White Front, cooking
and selling the same hot tamales that Joe made famous. It
was just a week before Joe died that he shared the recipe
with Barbara and her sister. In the winter, they make 160
dozen per week, but in the summer they make as many as
400 dozen. Barbara explained “most of the time I cook on
Tuesdays and Thursdays—the meat and in between those
day we roll the tamales. We cook, we buy the meat, we cut
it ourselves, we ground our own meat.” Barbara is proud
that they have stayed with the shucks, not parchment paper,
because, with the paper, “there’s too much grease inside.” The recipe remains a sentimentally and economically valued
family secret, remaining tightly held in families. Barbara has
turned down several offers to sell the recipe.
Promoting the Culinary Arts and
Foodway Traditions
John Williams, Jr., cousin to the late Joe Pope of Rosedale,
grew up eating hot tamales at Joe’s Hot Tamale Place. He
opened John’s Homestyle Hot Tamales in Cleveland, Mississippi, in 1999 after losing his manufacturing job. With his son
and daughter at his side, Williams fills and rolls about forty
This unique characteristic of Mississippi lends itself to be
promoted as something for tourists to experience. In 1990
Frank Carlton organized the first World Championship Hot
Tamale Contest, now held each July in Greenville as part of
the Washington County Convention Center’s Food Festival. Each entrant’s hot tamales are judged on flavor, appearance, texture, and overall impression. The winners receive
trophies, cash prizes, and the right to brag.
In 2006, The Southern Foodways Alliance, part of the Center
for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, in partnership with Viking Range Corporation, established The Hot Tamale Trail. It features more than 15 Tamale
Eateries on its website and offers a guided tour of The Hot
Tamale Trail for $75. Amy Evans Streeter, the Oral Historian
for the Southern Foodways Alliance, produced 15 awardwinning Oral Histories by interviewing the proprietors of the
tamale restaurants. The Southern Foodways Alliance, founded in 1999, promotes
the culinary arts and, in addition to the Mississippi Delta
Hot Tamale Trail, also developed the Southern BBQ Trail,
the Southern Boudin Trail, and the Southern Gumbo Trail. Streeter explains that the Southern Foodways Alliance aims
to “to document, celebrate, and teach about the foodways of
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the south.” They publish southern recipes and a newsletter,
host a website, and have published four cookbooks. Streeter
says “We highlight culinary events to celebrate, and in some
cases, help to develop new events.” Streeter believes that
culinary tourism is a very important part of the tourism
industry. “We help people plan a driving trip through Mississippi, which is so valuable to our economy.”
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Gastro-tourism
As the Baby Boomers reach retirement age, it is now these
retirees who have the leisure time and the financial resources to travel and become tourists. And these tourists don’t
want to go to Disneyland or another amusement park; they
want to experience something unique. They are looking for
an “experience,” not a breathless adventure. So culinary
tourism becomes more attractive and more important. Those over 60 who go to New Orleans may never set foot
on Bourbon Street, but they will chase down some of the
dozens of amazing restaurants. If a tourist comes to Mississippi to listen to the blues and visit antebellum homes, they
want to eat well and sample regional fare like the hot tamale
celebrated by Mississippi bluesman, Robert Johnson.
Hot tamales and they’re red hot,
yes she got’em for sale
yes she got’em for sale
She got two for a nickel, got four for a dime
Would sell you more, but they ain’t none of mine
yes she got’em for sale, I mean
Yes, she got’em for sale, yes, yeah
44
Peavey Electronics
Taking Rock N’ Roll Global
Peavey Electronics, Meridian, MS
45
Few people have influenced the music industry like Hartley Peavey. His company, Peavey Electronics, is a leading
manufacturer of electronic instruments and amplifications
systems. The Peavey guitar client list reads like a major
record label, with top artists like Shania Twain and Duran
Duran. Peavey systems can be heard at the Sydney Opera
House, the Grand Ole Opry, and many other international
cultural institutions.
You might expect a music industry giant like Peavey to come
from a big music city like Los Angeles, Nashville, or New York. But for this global leader, home is Meridian, Mississippi, the
city that actually gave birth to Peavey’s rock and roll dreams.
It was a 1957 concert that altered his life. Only 15 years old
at the time, Hartley Peavey drove to the nearby town of Laurel to hear the great Bo Diddley. Then and there something
changed in young Peavey, and he believed he was destined
for rock and roll greatness.
The sound of Bo Diddley’s legendary guitar awoke this new
passion, and Peavey felt his calling was to play the electric
guitar as well as the man who inspired him. As it turns out,
the aspiring musician was partly right.
At the time Peavey’s father owned a small music store in
Meridian and was wary of his son’s rock and roll dreams. It
wasn’t so much that the elder Peavey disliked rock and roll
music as it was that he had seen too many electric guitars
returned to his store by parents whose children had quickly
abandoned their rock and roll dreams. The elder Peavey
Hartley Peavey, Founder of Peavey Electronics
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tried to make a deal with his son. He could get an electric
guitar as soon as he actually learned how to play the guitar.
Hartley gave it his best, but his talents fell far short of his
father’s hopes.
Since his father would not be of assistance, Peavey knew the
only option was to make his own electric guitar, and he set
about crafting one with steel strings, a spare acoustic guitar,
and some electrical wiring. Once the guitar was assembled,
Peavey had to find a way to amplify the sound and get the
same volume and quality that Bo Diddley was able to get.
Using the same ingenuity that he used to make the guitar,
Peavey went about the task of designing and making an amplifier. After weeks of experimentation, Peavey’s homemade
amplifier became a reality.
Although he did not realize it at the time, this was the beginning of Peavey Electronics’ success in the music industry. In
spite of giving up his dream of performing, Peavey would
help revolutionize the guitar industry and the sound of amplified and electric music. Peavey Electronics began in 1965
as one man’s attempt to create the highest quality product
at an affordable price. In the basement of his family home,
Peavey focused most intensively on the amplifiers. He
“would build one amplifier a week, go out and sell it, come
back and start on another one.”
Peavey Electronics has continued to grow since its early days
through an ongoing commitment to innovation, to creating
new, cost effective systems that serve the needs of an evolving recording industry.
In addition to the music industry, Peavey identified new
industries where technology would be relevant. He realized
that despite strong competition for music amplifiers, there
were only a few high-priced products for public address
systems that were growing in popularity. Peavey decided
that his music amplifiers could be altered into a more affordable public address system. This decision marked a major
development in Peavey Electronics, and it built upon its
core competencies in making music amplifiers to meet the
growing need for audio services in entertainment and other
industries.
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Peavey’s Impact
Today Peavey Electronics is an indisputable giant in the
industry. The company continues to produce some of the
most popular electric guitars, amplifiers, speakers, electronic
keyboards, and other electronic audio-enhancement equipment. The company’s product lines include several series of
bass guitars, a number of different electric guitars, as well as
microphones, mixers, public address systems, and amplifiers. It also produces accessories, such as cables, bags, straps,
tubers, and speaker stands.
The company’s impact and influence on the music and sound
system industry is extraordinary. Peavey Electronics was
the first to produce guitars using a Computer Numerically
Controlled (CNC) machine. Other people thought he was
crazy, that he couldn’t “machine” a guitar and get the right
precision and tolerances. At that time the main competitors,
Gibson and Fender, were making guitars strictly by hand.
Nonetheless, using CNC equipment cut down on the costs of
making the guitars while maintaining the precision needed
to make a good quality product. Now, electric guitars are essentially made this way. Peavey set the industry standard.
The company’s MediaMatrix system was the first computeraided designed and controlled audio system, and it has set
the world standard for audio sound. The system is in use
in more than 5,000 transportation facilities, theme parks,
sports stadiums, and casinos. Peavey sound systems have
been incorporated into the new Shanghai airport and were
the primary system used in the Beijing Olympics. Peavey
also has a new product line of software and others are in
the pipeline. One program allows the consumer to imitate a
range of different sounds that creates a virtual band.
More than 2000 Peavey products now are distributed in 136
countries. And, in order to more effectively compete in the
global market, Peavey Electronics has established an international production and distribution system in 33 facilities
across the United States, Canada, England, and Netherlands.
Throughout this period of explosive international growth,
Peavey Electronics continues to maintain its international
headquarters in Meridian. Peavey Electronics is the tenth
largest manufacturer in Mississippi, with more than a million
square feet of warehouse and manufacturing space. mCe
Peavey’s Creative Approach
Peavey has more than 180 patents for the design of musical
instruments, audio systems and enabling technologies that
give these systems such a unique sound. This level of innovation is a result of the process he uses to conceive of and
design his products and the way the company approaches
the market.
As Peavey said, “We listen to our customers and what they
want and need, and then we find creative ways to meet
those needs in a timely fashion and at a price that they can
afford. In order to survive in this industry, this is what you
have to do. You have to build a solid foundation that gives
you flexibility and an ability to be creative. If you don’t have
that, nothing else matters.”
Hartley surrounds himself with the best people he can find. He provides the spark and serves as the inspiration. He then
brings in industrial engineers, product designers, software
people, programmers, as well as mechanical and electrical
engineers into the discussion. “They all argue about the designs, the electronics, the systems for building a product, and
at some point, it all becomes clear. Basically, we come up
with the products by talking it through, pushing the envelope
and by trying to be as creative as we can.”
An example of how this creative process comes together
involves the dobro. Most dobros are acoustic, but Hartley
thought that, like the guitar, the dobro could be an electronic
instrument. He initially started on the idea of designing an
electric dobro on his own, sketching out his design concepts
Hartley Peavey showcases his products
47
and principles and trying to figure out how the straps could
be configured so that the player could wear it over his neck
(the way dobros are played). At a certain juncture, the process was turned over to his designers and engineers. They
took the initial work and transformed it by adding a few key
designs and structural improvements. The result was yet another product line in the long list of Peavey musical products.
Another important business strategy for Peavey is vertical
integration. The company designs and makes all it needs to
manufacture and sell products in-house. Hartley said that
he could have outsourced the production of some of the
component parts of his amplifiers, but chose to develop the
skills within the company. As a result, “we had to learn how
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Given the origins of Peavey Electronics, Hartley Peavey
knows the power that an early love of art and music can
have in shaping a child’s future. And he believes in Mississippi. “People ask me why Mississippi and I say, where do
you think rock and roll was born?”
to design and make our own chassis, our own circuit boards,
and eventually everything else in-house. And, while we
thought it was a tremendous disadvantage… we discovered
that it was the best that could have happened.”
The Future
In recent years Peavey has talked of challenges he faces running a design and technology-driven business in the heart of
Mississippi.
While Peavey would like to keep the company headquarters
and manufacturing in Meridian, he is often forced to look
outside of Mississippi to find qualified and motivated engineers, product designers, and computer programmers. Just
as he demonstrated industriousness in the face of previous
business challenges, Peavey has applied his own creative
solutions to help build relevant skills among Meridian’s residents. In order to have enough skilled employees, Peavey
helped establish a job training program at Meridian
Community College.
Despite his unwavering commitment to improving economic
conditions in Mississippi and Meridian, Peavey feels that others in this industry will have to help the state create more of
a culture of educational investment. He points in particular
to state policy makers whom Peavey suggests must aggressively invest in high-level job training programs and skill
development.
48
Helping Mississippians Reach
Their Creative Potential
Pearl River Community College Campus, Poplarville, MS
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The number of people calling themselves artists of performers more than doubled between the 1990 and 2000 census. Pearl River Community College is beginning to position itself
for such a transition.
The Fine Arts program at Pearl River Community College
The school has developed a statewide reputation in athletics, especially football, where a number of graduates
have gone on to play professionally. Yet within the state,
with its emphasis and success in both athletic prowess and
industrial development, the college has also developed an
artistic side—through its fine arts, applied arts in design, and
nascent film program.
Investing in Fine Arts
Pearl River Community College (PRCC), which can trace its
roots back to 1909 when it was a county agricultural school,
is itself part of the state’s cultural heritage and history. The
college maintains a museum in the 62-year-old Hancock Hall
that houses, among other things, Native American artifacts, a
timeline of the college’s history, a dorm room as it was in the
1940s, and a room dedicated to the college’s music tradition. Even Hurricane Katrina, which decimated the campus, damaging most of its buildings, could not take away its heritage. In 1921, the college became Mississippi’s first publicly funded
two-year college, and, a shortly after; it became part of the
nation’s first system of “junior” colleges. The college’s main
campus is in Poplarville, which has a population of about
2,600 and is only 18 miles from the Louisiana state line.
Over the years PRCC, along with Mississippi’s other community colleges, has been a major force in the state’s transition
from an agricultural state to one that is today home to numerous advanced manufacturing businesses. By the 1980s,
the college was supporting the technology and skill needs
for the state’s modernizing manufacturing base. But with
accelerating automation and global competition, the region’s
dependence on traditional manufacturing has diminished
some, and many of the replacement jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities depend on creativity, either as a marketable
product or an amenity to attract talented people. The college’s Fine Arts program, chaired by Archie Rawls,
offers an Associate of Arts degree intended primarily for students intending to go on to a baccalaureate degree. About
100 students are enrolled in the degree program, which
includes visual arts, musical ensembles, and theater.
The college expects to break ground on the new Ethel Holden-Brownstone Center for the Arts in the first half of 2011. This new center, supported mainly by the will of former
graduate Ethel Holden-Brownstone but also by the Mississippi Arts Commission should open sometime in 2012.
The visual arts curriculum includes courses in drawing, painting and water colors, two dimension design in color and
composition, and a special studios program that includes
stone cutting, jewelry, and metal work. Once the new
center is built, the college will add ceramics and graphic
arts courses. Enrollments are way up in the arts. Instructor
Charleen Null has seen enrollments leap from 67 students,
when she arrived about 15 years ago, to almost 200 today. Poplarville has a large number of artists and galleries for
a city of its size, but its proximity to the Gulf Coast (a half
hour away) and New Orleans (little more than an hour away)
provides students exposure to a large base of working artists
and art markets. Null’s students range from high school dual enrollments to
students in their 50s and 60s. Some have not completed
high school and up to 10 percent already have a baccalaure50
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Television and Film Production An Opportunity Waiting in the Wings
Students perform at Pearl River Community College
ate degree. Most transfer into four-year fine arts programs
at Delta State University, Mississippi State University, and the
University of Mississippi, and some leave the state. Those that don’t transfer to fine arts move into computer
graphics, photography, or the ever-popular teaching career. The musical ensemble programs are also quite popular. But
with an open enrollment policy, attrition in music is high over
the course of the program and only about half complete their
baccalaureate—generally because their expectations were unrealistic. Applicants may have sung in a church choir or school
chorus and been told to enroll because they had a nice voice
but can’t read music and didn’t realize the level of academic
requirements and hours of practice they’d face. Students have many opportunities to perform in the region,
though students take part in three vocal ensembles, three
concert ensembles (concert, march, and jazz), a theater group,
and various other vocal, brass, woodwind, and percussion
groups. These groups perform regularly at the school and in
the community. The college lost its auditorium—located in
Moody Hall, the oldest building on any two-year college campus in the state—during Katrina’s 135 mile per hour winds. Since then, performers have been forced to find alternative
venues wherever they could, including chapels and cafes. The vast majority of those in music or theater who do complete their education go into teaching in Mississippi in their
field, not into performance careers, although some continue
to perform and supplement their incomes.
The fine arts are also an elective in most other programs, and
about 1,000 students from other programs—many in technical
and commercial fields—do enroll in the fine arts, as appreciation courses to fulfill their humanities requirement. This
broader exposure can help build demand for the arts.
Pearl River is the state’s first and only community college to
teach film and TV production despite the new incentives to
attract film companies to the state. The catalyst for this program, in fact, was not market demand but a program called
“Healthy People Now.” The college’s nursing program and
Ron Hague in the college’s public relations office partnered
to develop videos for K-12 students on wellness. With a
grant from a foundation, the college was able to upgrade its
video equipment to produce 12 videos a year.
Based on the enthusiasm and competence of the students
working on the videos and the success of Louisiana’s film
industry, Hague saw an opportunity to expand the program. If successful, Mississippi might be better positioned to work
from across the Louisiana border and further develop its
own film industry. Hague was quick to point out that this is not a program or
even a course, both of which require state approval, and
Mississippi does not have a two-year program on film, even
as the secondary system is starting approved programs. This,
in fact, is only the second year of this one-hour, nontransferable credit course. The ages of the twelve students in the
program range from 18 to 29, including one student who
previously had studied at the New York Film Academy. Most students interested in continuing their studies in film,
however, will look out of state, to, for example, the University of New Orleans (UNO) or to other states. This year, two
or three students will most likely transfer to UNO. The University of Southern Mississippi is the only four-year school
in the state with film programs, but the community college
course credits won’t transfer there. Some of the students are also likely to take positions in the
state’s television industry. The program has working relationships with two nearby TV stations and is seeking support
to cover living expenses that would allow students to intern
at Mississippi Public Broadcasting, headquartered in Jackson.
51
Students will have only four credits when they complete the
two-year program, but they’ll have about 24 professional
shoots, a 10-30 minute thesis film, and summer work—generally in Louisiana—to put together a starter portfolio that can
give them a foothold in the industry. PRCC also organizes a film
festival in Hattiesburg, which takes place in April. Creating opportunities for students to build their resumes and meet others
in the industry is critically important. According to Hague, success depends on connections and on “what’s in your resume.” Julian Benson is a typical student in the program. A native
of Hattiesburg, he was drawn to the program after a home
schooled education despite its lack of transferability because,
as he said, “I’m a film major through and through” and “I want
to make movies.” PRCC is helping him fulfill his dream by giving
him needed skills and helping him develop his portfolio. The
first year, he said, is learning what it takes to work on a crew,
the need for teamwork and the realization that you can’t do
everything by yourself. In year two they get into production,
including a filmed thesis.
Benson, at age 19, has a realistic sense of what it will take to
make film a career, and right now he doubts that this can happen in Mississippi. He plans to transfer to the University of New
Orleans and then go where the work takes him, hopefully in the
South. He also has high hopes that the state will begin to draw
more production companies because he would like to come back.
Mississippi is beginning to realize that to get the most from its
efforts to attract film production, the state needs a workforce
with the skills, knowledge, and experiences to fill the many positions needed to make a movie—the grips, gaffers, best boys,
stylists, and other crew members. The Mississippi Film Commission is currently working with the
state’s workforce development program to develop programs
that it hopes to pilot at community colleges in the fall. These
short programs of a week or two would help prepare Mississippians for as many of the “trade” positions associated with
the film industry as possible, such as the production assistants
and grips that can be trained in anywhere from two days to
two weeks. The effort is still in the early stages, as they look
mCe
for consultants and develop the curriculum. These jobs, of
course, are short term and often free lance, so individuals who
work in these areas would require a stream of movies made in
state or they would need to be willing to travel to surrounding
states to make a livable wage. A structured program that provided more technical skills, such
as editing, and greater depth in how the industry works might
provide steadier employment, but such programs are not yet
available in the state’s colleges or universities. University of
Southern Mississippi has the strongest film program, but it’s
aimed more at filmmaking than the related technologies. PRCC’s President Dr. William Lewis believes “there’s potential
to turn this into a full-blown” program….once the budget crisis
is over.” Graduates can easily reach the burgeoning film industry across the Louisiana border as well as build Mississippi’s
own capacity in the industry, but current budget constraints
make it difficult to develop new programs. Expanding the programs to, for example, match those offered
at Piedmont Community College in North Carolina, Howard
Community College in Maryland, or Valencia Community College in Florida would give the state a leg up in building the film
and media sectors of its creative economy. Hague is hoping
for resources from private sources to be able to improve their
equipment, possibly adding a better editing bay, which could
take the program to the next level. Students perform
at Pearl River
Community College
52
Embedding Arts and Design in the Curricula
Although the college has no occupational programs aimed
at preparing students for creative occupations, many programs have courses that give students a chance to explore
their creativity. The Business, Marketing, and Management
degree program, for example, includes a four-hour course on
“visual merchandising.” Students learn both one- and threedimensional design and, through the program’s two display
windows, they create themed designs for various products. By
the end, students have a portfolio of their designs that can be
shown to potential employers or customers. Unfortunately,
the program’s occupational courses are not accepted for credit
mCe
in the Interior Design program at the nearby University of
Southern Mississippi, a result of a state policy that prohibits
transfer of occupational courses to any specialized four-year
degree program. Students in the Drafting and Design degree program courses
also have a chance to be “creative” in their architecture course
when asked to design a physical structure and in a “special
projects” course. But for the most part, design is aimed at
working in industry on prescribed designs.
Finally, the college also offers the more traditional programs
in fine art and communications and newer programs in web
design and graphic design.
Overall, the administration recognizes and values the contribution of art and culture to its communities and supports it with
education—mainly as a pathway into something that requires
more education.
53

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