A great way to stay connected with the local arts community is to attend events around the Jackson metro area. Photo by Anna Kolosyuk on unsplash.com
JACKSON — Lately, many arts events have popped up in the Jackson metro area. Here are some of the ones happening in the next few weeks.
WellsFest Art Night and WellsFest
Wells United Methodist Church in Jackson will host WellsFest Art Night on Tuesday, Sept. 25, from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Duling Hall (622 Duling Ave.). The free event will include an art sale with a preview party and buy-now section starting at 5:30 p.m., and a live auction starting at 7 p.m. The event will also feature live music and live painting sessions from Mississippi artists Wyatt Waters and Ellen Langford. Proceeds from the art show will benefit Growing Up Knowing, a statewide campaign to prevent teen pregnancy.
On Saturday, Sept. 29, the church will host its annual WellsFest event from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Jamie Folwer Boyll Park (1398 Lakeland Drive) in Jackson. The event will include live music on two stages, a 5K run and walk, and kids’ fun run at 8 a.m., a pet parade at 9:30 a.m., food and drinks, children’s activities, arts and craft vendors, a silent auction and more. Proceeds from WellsFest will also benefit Growing Up Knowing.
For more information, call 601-353-0658, visit wellschurch.org/wellsfest or email [email protected].
City of Clinton Paint Workshop
The City of Clinton will host free painting workshops for artists of all levels at the Wood Activity Center (111 Clinton Blvd.) on Friday, Sept. 28, and Friday, Oct. 26. The workshops begin at 10 a.m. and will feature step-by-step instruction. The events will have paint and brushes, but participants must bring their own canvas. For more information, call 601-924-5474 or visit clintonms.org.
"Very Eric Carle" Members Only Night
The Mississippi Children’s Museum (2145 Museum Blvd.) will host a special late night event for museum members from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 28, to celebrate the opening of its new traveling play-and-learn exhibit, "Very Eric Carle: A Very Hungry, Quiet, Lonely, Clumsy, Busy Exhibit." The exhibit is based on the works of children’s book author Eric Carle, who is best known for his 1969 book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.” For more information, call Susan Branson at the Mississippi Children's Museum at 601-981-5469 or email [email protected]. The event is free for members.
STFU & Paint—The Silent Paint Party
DJ Unpredictable 601 Events & Promotions will host “STFU & Paint—The Silent Paint Party” on Saturday, Sept. 29, at ISH Grill & Bar (5105 Interstate 55 N.). The event will feature paint palettes from Glenneth Louisville and a “silent rave” with music from DJ Unpredictable, DJ Energizer and KP da DJ, along with food, cocktails and cigars. Tickets are on sale at stfuandpaintjxn.eventbrite.com. For more information, call 769-257-5204.
"Central to Their Lives" and "Material Pulses" Exhibit Openings
On Saturday, Oct. 6, the Mississippi Museum of Art will debut two new exhibits in the Gertrude C. Ford Galleries for the Permanent Collection. The first, "Central to Their Lives: Southern Women Artists in the Johnson Collection," features works from the 1890s to the early 1960s by women artists such as Dusti Bongé, Anne Goldthwaite and Marie Hull. The second, "Material Pulses: Seven Viewpoints," features contemporary quilts and other fiber artwork from artists Mary Lou Alexander, Claire Benn and Christine Mauersberger. “Material Pulses” will remain on display until Jan. 13, 2019, and “Central to Their Lives” will remain on display until Jan. 20, 2019. For more information, call 601-960-1515 or visit msmuseumart.org.
State Arts Conference
The Mississippi Arts Commission will host its State Arts Conference on Thursday, Oct. 18, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Mississippi State Capitol (400 High St.). The event includes guest speakers, workshops, peer-to-peer sessions and more. For information or to register for the event, visit arts.ms.gov or eventbrite.com.
VergeJXN 2.0
Community art event VergeJXN 2.0 will be at The Hatch (126 Keener Ave.) in midtown on Saturday, Oct. 20, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will feature interactive art projects, food trucks, beer, live music, a kids' zone with bounce houses and face painting, and more. For more information, find the event on Facebook.
HeARTworks
The 10th-annual HeARTworks art show is Thursday, Oct. 18, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at The Cedars (4145 Old Canton Road). The event will showcase art from clients at Stewpot Community Services. For more information, find the event on Facebook.
“Creatures Among Us”
The Mississippi Library Commission and Mississippi Arts Commission will host the “Creatures Among Us” reception on Thursday, Sept. 27, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at MLC (3881 Eastwood Drive). The event will feature art from Visual Artist Fellowship grantees sculpture artist Anne Campbell and printmaker Sean StarWars. The exhibit is currently on display at the library commission and will be up until Nov. 2. For more information, find the event on Facebook.
Museum After Hours | Inktober
The October Museum After Hours is at the Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.) from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The event, which is on Thursday, Oct. 18, will feature sketchbooks and drawings from artists in the “31 Days, 31 Drawings” challenge. The exhibit will begin at 5:30 p.m. From 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., MMA will have a pumpkin painting and drawing with ink activity in The Art Garden. From 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Miz Tiffany will perform on the C Spire stage. At 7:30 p.m., Bill Kennedy will host a 15-minute art talk, and at 8 p.m., guests can watch “Frankenweenie” on the BankPlus Green. For more information on the event, find it on Facebook. For information on the Inktober challenge, visit msmuseumart.org.
Lowstyle Expo
Lowstyle Expo is at North Midtown Arts Center (121 Millsaps Ave.) on Saturday, Oct. 6, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The event, a “half car show, half art exhibit,” will have cars, graphic art, a sticker swap, vinyl art displays and more. For more information, find the event on Facebook.
Aging Artists Exhibition
Earlier this summer, creative consulting agency Significant Developments partnered with the Mississippi Department of Transportation, the City of Jackson and the Jackson Medical Mall Foundation for three-day painting and storytelling events at community senior centers such as Sykes Park and Tougaloo centers. On Tuesday, Sept. 25, 100 paintings from the project will be in the Aging Artists Exhibition at the Jackson Medical Mall Thad Cochran Center (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.). The event is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, find the event on Facebook.
This is not a complete list. Comment below with more.
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