Mississippi’s colorful history in the arts, as well as the artists featured in the Hattiesburg Arts Council’s permanent collection, will be front and center when the Hattiesburg Arts Council hosts “Coffee Talk” from 9-11 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 8, at the Hattiesburg Cultural Center.
Dr. Mark Malone, curriculum designer for Mississippi Arts Commission's “Mississippi History through the Arts: A Bicentennial Journey,” will share stories of Mississippi artists who have contributed richly to the 200-year history and development of the Magnolia State. These artists have created works of art to express experiences and traditions prior to statehood through the 21st century.
HAC will also explore this educational curriculum in-depth with preregistered K-12 teachers and continuing study participants during a one day professional development workshop. Malone and Limeul Eubanks will facilitate the workshop.
“We are excited to present this curriculum as a high quality arts education tool for Mississippi teachers to incorporate into their classrooms,” said HAC director, Rebekah Stark Johnson. "This Mississippi Arts Commission curriculum was created to commemorate Mississippi’s 200th year of statehood, and will serve as an enduring story of the arts in Mississippi for many years to come.”
The curriculum is available for free download through MAC’s website at arts.ms.gov and is appropriate for elementary, intermediate and advanced grade levels. Collaborating with the Mississippi Department of Education, MAC’s bicentennial curriculum aligns with the state’s social studies, arts and language arts standards and focuses on the grade levels in which Mississippi history is taught.
In twenty lessons, the curriculum takes students through the history of the state starting with Native American artifacts and Choctaw baskets. Early statehood is explored through hand-drawn maps depicting early settlements, portraits of Native American leaders and landscapes of Natchez and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The curriculum introduces students to the antebellum period and Civil War though engravings and early photography. The Great Flood of 1927, the Great Depression and the Civil Rights Movement are presented through the advent of the Blues and mixed-media artwork. Mississippi’s modern period is represented through the lens of artists like Walter Anderson, Dusti Bongé and Joe Overstreet as well as through artwork created in response to disasters like Hurricane Katrina. The last lesson of the curriculum invites students to reflect on the history of the state and envision its future.
“Mississippi’s history is rooted in its creative contributions to the world, and it is fitting that we tell our state’s story in an artistic way,” said Malcolm White, executive director of MAC. “Many creative Mississippians have shared their visions and talent with an international audience, casting our state in a positive light. It is our sincere hope that the next generation of Mississippians will carry on these traditions of creative excellence and contribute to a new, vibrant chapter in Mississippi history.”
