For The Artists
The University of Mississippi lies in the state that is a fertile ground for creativity that has produced a dizzying list of famous artists, vocalists, actors, musicians, and other performers across many artforms, styles and genres.
Building upon Mississippi’s impressive legacy of creative feats, there are plans for an on-campus recording studio and a record label, a scene shop and a rehearsal hall to embolden the next generation of artists.
The Mississippi Institute for the Arts serves and advocates for the departments of Art and Art History, Music, Theater and Film. It encourages collaborative creativity without barriers and promotes cultural, social, and economic impact by connecting the arts with other disciplines.
The institute also awards the Medal for the Arts. The award is the highest artistic honor bestowed to anyone connected to the university.
A new scene shop for the Department of Theatre and Film will give students more opportunities to plan and build sets for more shows in the Gertrude Ford Center for Performing Arts. An average of 150 events are held at the Ford Center each year, including traveling shows, academic gatherings and community events.
Currently, students are limited to a musical every other year because scene construction takes the Ford Center offline for several weeks.
A second new Department of Theatre and Film space would house a rehearsal studio. Currently, students practice in a space with large columns, which limits their room to rehearse.
The scene shop and rehearsal studio buildings will be connected and constructed at the same time. Once the architects are selected, the site will be determined.
Talented student solo performers and musical groups study and perform on campus. To launch successful careers, they must produce recordings and share their talent far beyond Mississippi.
Plans for the first-ever recording studio on campus call for it to be attached to the Department of Music’s building along University Avenue. The new space will feature the latest technology and work for single artists or choirs. A professional sound engineer must be hired since the university currently does not employ one.
A record label will be located at the studio. The studio, as well as its rooms, could be named for a donor. Bringing in well-known musicians to lay down tracks on campus would create new revenue, visibility and opportunities for projects we once could have only dreamed about.