Past Exhibits

The Museum of the Mississippi Delta is proud to offer a wide range of exhibits within the area of regional art and history. Check our website often to see educational opportunities available through our exhibits, events and tours and sign up to receive our free newsletter through the signup box on the home page.

The Museum of the Mississippi Delta has six galleries of permanent exhibits showing the history of the Mississippi Delta. In addition, there are two galleries where changing exhibitions are showcased four times year.

Check our Events page for additional dates and our Calendar for the full schedule.

Past Exhibits

Here is a look back at some of the wonderful exhibits that have been on display at the Museum of the Mississippi Delta.

(Please check our Past Events page for additional dates.)

July 12- August 27, 2010 - Wild Art: Ducks and the Outdoors
An exhibition of paintings by Charles Chapin =This exhibition of landscapes, waterfowl, and working dogs were from local artist Charles Chapin. It corresponded with the Mississippi Ducks Unlimited State Convention that was held in Greenwood. Waterfowl hunting and preservation has become a rich tradition and was celebrated in this exhibit.

September 6- November 18, 2010 - A View of Life
An exhibition of paintings by Helen Harris Smith - Helen Harris Smith is a naturalist painter from Jackson, MS. Her work on exhibition included still-life paintings, landscapes, and portraits.

December 1- January 9, 2011 - Christmas & Holiday Traditions
In coordination with Greenwood Community Organizations and the Astra Girls Club - This exhibition covers the historical and fanciful development of Christmas and other holidays like Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Las Posadas. Greenwood community clubs and organizations are featured in this exhibit with Christmas trees that have been uniquely decorated by each club. Another segment of the exhibit is the time line of people and events that have shaped the holidays including the first lighting of a menorah in the White House, the publication of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and the first written mention of a Christmas tree in the United States.

"In Your Hands" Exhibit

2011

January 22- March 26, 2011 - In Your Hands: The Making of African American History in the Delta

A history exhibition funded by a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council and the Greenwood Convention and Visitors Bureau - The exhibition explored the history of the African American in the Mississippi Delta, with emphasis on Greenwood and Leflore County. Areas of interest discussed include African American participation in and contribution to education, religion, politics, the arts, and athletics. A call was made to the community for documents, photographs and oral histories as a way of increasing our collection of local African Americans with influence on our community.

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4th Biennial Youth Art Competition

April 2- April 21, 2011 - 4^th Biennial Youth Art Competition

An exhibition in coordination with Junior High and High Schools from a nine county area with prizes funded by Jess Pinkston. Students in grades 6^th-12^th may enter their most successful piece of art upon the recommendation of an art teacher within the theme of Family and Community Interactions.

Cash prizes are awarded for 1^st-3^rd place. Open to all young artists in Junior High, High School or the Home School equivalent who reside in Bolivar, Carroll, Grenada, Holmes, Humphreys, Leflore, Montgomery, Sunflower, and Tallahatchie counties.

Contact Jennifer Whites ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) for more information.

Opening Reception and Awards Program - Saturday, April 2 - 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Image detail from Marie Hull's painting from the permanent collection.

Robert Johnson Exposed

May 5- September 10, 2011 (One-time) - Robert Johnson Exposed: The Mystery Brought to Light
An exhibition from the collection of Steve LaVere in coordination with the Greenwood Convention and Visitors Bureau.

This exhibition, commemorating Robert Johnson’s 100^th birthday, consists of art and artifacts from the collection of a Robert Johnson authority, Steve LaVere. This exhibit will feature never-before-seen photographs of his friends, family and structures that all play a part in his short and mysterious life. The collection includes pictures of the man who taught him to play the guitar, a handwritten note of his death bed conversion, and pictures which show the breadth of his influence over the world.

Perspectives: The Art of Betty Van Meek and Whit Meek

Two native Greenwoodians, a mother and son, share their perspective of cultures outside their own.

Betty Van photographs the people she interacted with through her rental business and has met all over Greenwood. Whit has traveled to other cities and countries and seen the beauty in the ordinary.

Betty Van Meek and her son, Whit Meek, possess a passionate view of the world. Neither have formal training in the field of the art, however both have an understanding of the world around them. From this view, they project a sense of realism in the human and built environment.

Betty Van Meek worked in downtown Greenwood and saw the faces of African Americans in their daily lives. From the lens of her camera, she discovered the roots of their African heritage through their dress and customs. Even though she does not claim to be a professional photographer, there is no question she captures a moment in the lives of those she photographs. She visited Baptist Town, the oldest African American neighborhood in Greenwood to document people. She believes there is a keen sense of place that exists here, a phenomenon that is gradually disappearing and needs to be documented.

Whit Meek found his creative outlet through metal sculpture. His artistry began at an early age through a natural ability of seeing forms which create shadows. As you will see in this exhibition, he pulls from images found in symbols and faces. From his travels to Central America, Mexico and Baja California, he began to incorporate photography. He created images derived not only from the fixed environment, but began to explore the natural environment. He lives with his family in Sedona, Arizona.

This event opens September 22 at 5:00 pm. and will run through November 19.

Christmas & Holiday Traditions

December 1, 2011 - Jan. 9, 2012

Opening Reception: December 13, From 5 to 7 p.m.

Christmas & Holiday Traditions

An exhibition in coordination with a variety of organizations in Greenwood

This exhibition will cover the historical and fanciful development of Christmas and other holidays including Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Las Posadas. Greenwood community clubs and organizations will be featured in this exhibit with Christmas trees that will be uniquely decorated by each club. Another segment of the exhibit will be the time line of people and events that have shaped the holidays, including the first lighting of a menorah in the White House, the publication of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and the first written mention of a Christmas tree in the United States.

Close to Home: Photographs by Eudora Welty

June 2 - October 31, 2012 - Close to Home: Photographs by Eudora Welty

People at work, at worship, at the Mississippi State Fair, and at home are captured in Eudora Welty's photographs in the exhibition, Close to Home: Photographs by Eudora Welty. Organized by the Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, this exhibition features subjects taken by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author in Hinds County and surrounding counties in the 1930s and is on view at the Museum of the Mississippi Delta from June 2 until October 31.

A lifelong resident of Jackson except during her university years, Eudora Welty (1909-2001) went to work for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) as a junior publicity agent at age twenty-six. Her primary job with the work relief program was to write about WPA-funded projects. While traveling Mississippi for the WPA, she also photographed the people she met and the towns she visited. Some of the photographs, taken in the rural counties surrounding the capital city, as well as in Jackson, are included in this exhibition.

Although Welty is most celebrated for her literary achievements, her career began with a desire to be a photographer as much as a writer. Some of the photographs on view predate her first published story in 1936. That same year, her photographs were exhibited in New York City at the Photographic Galleries of Lugene Opticians.

"Eudora Welty quietly observed with her camera as well as with her pen, and the photographs show that she interacted with the people she photographed," said Beth Batton, MMA Curator of the Collection. "This gives us a view into 1930s Mississippi and helps us feel that we are there, entering a church, talking to a mother and her child, or on the midway at the State Fair."

Close to Home: Photographs by Eudora Welty is organized by the Mississippi Museum of Art and supported with funds provided by the Museum's statewide Traveling Exhibition Endowment, a fund made possible through significant private contributions matched by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, with additional funding provided by the Mississippi Arts Commission’s Arts Reinvestment Initiative.
ABOVE PHOTO: Eudora Welty, Child on the porch,
1935-1936 negative. gelatin silver print
Collection of Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson.
Purchase, with funds from Mary Mhoon Endowment.
© Eudora Welty, LLC; Eudora Welty Collection –
Mississippi Department of Archives and History

The Artistic Journey of a Material Girl: Diane Williams

Exhibit Dates: January 20, 2012 - May 26, 2012

The Museum of the Mississipi Delta invites you to visit an exhibit by Diane Williams, 'The Artistic Journey of a Material Girl'.

Diane Williams has been called a storyweaver, a keeper of treasured tales, and a collector of phrases. Williams weaves her tales from books, history, myths, legends, and folktales, and many of her stories are original. She has traveled across America telling stories in her unique and creative way.

Williams stated: "I now see the world as a landscape that can be recreated in dimensional and territorial layers of fabrics. Fabrics that have been manipulated are my favorite – whether they are hand dyed, painted, or treated with coloring from other creative avenues. The world seems to be at my fingertips and yet I have no creative authorization regarding the finished product. My work directs me; I do not direct the work’s progress. Every intimate progression of stone, fabric, straw, silk yarn and bead, guides me by telling me what to do next. One thing complements the other. I want to call it

folk art, only because the work materials come from the folks that I know. Mine is a sharing community."

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Christmas & Holiday Traditions Exhibition

November 12, 2012 - January 5, 2013

An exhibition in coordination with a variety of organizations in Greenwood

This exhibition will cover the historical and fanciful development of Christmas and other holidays including Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Las Posadas. Greenwood community clubs and organizations will be featured in this exhibit with Christmas trees that will be uniquely decorated by each club. Another segment of the exhibit will be the time line of people and events that have shaped the holidays, including the first lighting of a menorah in the White House, the publication of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and the first written mention of a Christmas tree in the United States.

Admission Charge

Adults: $5.00
Seniors ages 65 and over: $3.50
College students (valid ID required): $3.00
Children ages 3-18: $2.00
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