Each year, one lucky artist is chosen to create the official artwork and event poster for Midnight on Front Street, Hattiesburg’s annual New Year’s Eve celebration that takes place December 31 at the intersection of Main and Front streets in downtown.
This year, the honor goes to Hattiesburg native Louisa Shows and her work “Looking Up to Hattiesburg,” which depicts a 1912 view of the city’s iconic Hub Sign from the perspective of a child looking up at that fixture. That announcement was made during a December 12 news conference by Mayor Toby Barker, along with officials from the Hattiesburg Alliance for Public Art and the Downtown Hattiesburg Association.
“One of the traditions that we look forward to each year is the design of the Midnight on Front Street poster,” Barker said. “Each year, we hold a ‘call for artists’ to see who will design the poster that captures the magic of New Year’s night in Hattiesburg.
“This (piece) is the result of Louisa imagining what it would have been like in 1912, for children in the crowd looking up to see the Hub Sign for the first time. I think about my kids and when they go to the (Hattiesburg) Pocket Museum, or they go to see one of the murals (in the city), the wonder in their eyes that I hope will be part of their upbringing that they will always remember as they grow up.”
Shows’ artwork depicts a crowd of people looking up at the Hub Sign, which features the words “Hattiesburg: The Hub” in the middle. From that centerpiece, six arrows point to Jackson, Meridian, Mobile, Gulfport, New Orleans and Natchez, signifying Hattiesburg’s position as the hub of the Gulf South.
“I’m so honored to have been chosen for this,” Shows said. “I’m so grateful to have a wonderful city and people who organize things like this and give me this opportunity.”
Copies of Shows’ poster design will be on sale on the HAPA website at www.hburgart.com. Unsigned copies will be sold for $10 each, while HAPA will have a limited number of signed and numbered copies for $20 each.
“It’s a beautiful design,” said Kristen Brock, director of programs and development for Visit Hattiesburg, which oversees the Hattiesburg Alliance for Public Art. “At HAPA, it has been a pleasure to work with dozens of artists, both national artists and local artists.
“But it’s always special when we can work with a new artist on a project like this.”
The Hub Sign dates back to Thanksgiving Day 1912, when a large crowd assembled at the Commercial Club meeting room for the unveiling and illumination of the “Slogan Sign.” The sign, manufactured and donated to the Commercial Club for the benefit of the city by the Henry L. Doherty Company, measured 42 feet in diameter, and featured 1,142 lights.
It was erected 50 feet above the Ross Building – now the America Building – on Front Street, 140 feet from the sidewalk. For several years, the sign stayed lit from 6 p.m.-1 a.m. each night, but during World War II, it was sold off in the scrap metal drives to support the war effort.
The agenda for this year’s Midnight on Front Street event, which will be held December 31, is as follows:
- 4 p.m.: Downtown Hattiesburg roads close
- 6:30 p.m.: Confetti Countdown event in the Hattiesburg Pocket Museum Alley opens
- 8 p.m.: Balloon Pop with Confetti Countdown event; first entertainment act goes on stage
- 9 p.m.: DJ Kujho performs
- 10:15 p.m.: Second entertainment act goes on stage
- 11:15: DJ Kujho performs
- Midnight: Hub Sign drop and fireworks
- 1 a.m.: Event ends
- 2 a.m.: DJ Kujho
During the “ball drop,” a replica of the Hub Sign – three sides of stamped steel weighing 375 pounds and lit by hundreds of LED lights – is lowered at the intersection of Main and Front streets.
“We hope you have a very safe and happy holiday season, and it’s going to be really exciting this year,” Barker said. “This event is for families and people, regardless of what station of life you’re in.
“We hope that people from the youngest of children, all the way through our seniors and young professionals, will come out and just enjoy a really great night in our community.”
