College's Arts & Letters Series, Miller Art Gallery usher in new season
Art and entertainment combine for this season's Arts & Letter Series, Miller Art Gallery
presentations.
Blending the visual and performing arts and words crafted by authors, Meridian Community College's Arts & Letters Series and the Miller Art Gallery are joining forces to bring this year's season's offerings to the campus and community.
MCC's Arts & Letters Series is an open door between the college and the community, offering a diverse array of performances, lectures, and dialogue that celebrates all art forms. Susie Johnson is director of the Arts & Letters Series.
On Thursday, Sep. 8, the Miller Art Gallery will showcase Contemporary Mixed Media Ceramic Works Juried Competition. The exhibit will feature clay works from Mississippi and other Southern states artists incorporating the theme, What Happened After. The pieces are to express an after-effect of something drastic that happened to the artist, said Terrell Taylor, MCC art instructor and curator of the Miller Art Gallery.
The show is a prelude to the Mississippi Clay Works Inaugural Conference reception, and the announcement of the winning works is set for Saturday, Oct. 8, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Additional information about the conference can be found by going to www.msclayworks.com.
Arts & Letters Series patrons are invited to Mississippi Clay Works Conference to see the artist potters Danny Meisinger, Sam Clark, and Susan Thomas at work on Saturday, Oct. 8, from 3-5 p.m. on the McCain Theater stage. Admissions is $10.
The talents of MCC Graphics Technology Program Coordinator and Instructor Daniel Ethridge will be displayed in the Miller Art Gallery with the show, Interactives: Recent Discoveries. Visitors to the gallery will need a cell phone to view the interactive elements of this mixed media show. The exhibit is set for Oct. 27-Dec. 1.
For a seasonal treat, the MCC's Music Departments Christmas Concert will be presented on Thursday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m. The concert features the Instrumental Ensemble, Dimensions Vocal Ensemble, and Concert Choir. Admission is free.
When the new year comes around, selected works from the MCC community will be showcased in the exhibit, Our Family Has Talent. The show is curated from a call for entries from the campus and community and will be on display Jan. 26-Feb. 16, 2023. A reception is planned for Thursday, Jan. 26, from 4-5:30 p.m.
For fans of fairy tales, Shrek the Musical Jr., will be presented in the McCain Theater Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 4 and 5. Part romance and part twisted fairy tale, Shrek Jr. is an irreverently fun show with a powerful message. Tickets are $10 for adults; $5 for children.
Incredible acrobatics, energizing African drumming, singing, and dancing will be displayed when the Zuzu African Acrobats perform on Thursday, Feb. 16. Hailing from Tanzania, the Zuzu African Acrobats celebrate the 2,000-year-old culture of East Africa. Tickets are $10 for adults; $5 for children.
Later in the month, from Feb. 23-March 30, artist Wanrudee Buranakorn, a professor of art at the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire, will display her photographs in the show, Between My Soul and Its Shadow. A reception is planned for Thursday, Feb. 23, from 4-5:30 p.m.
Arts & Letters Series patrons are in for a surprise musical show on March 3 and 4 that is based on a beloved animated series. Quirky characters and their neighbors face catastrophe in their undersea world until a hero surfaces. The musical is presented in partnership with Lauderdale County Schools. Tickets are $10 for adults; $5 for children.
Mississippi writers Rick Cleveland, Jeff Roberson, and Neil White will share the McCain Theater stage as they explore the world of sports in the talk, For the Love of the Game. Behind-the-scenes stories and anecdotes, along with a question-and-answer session, will be a part of this Sunday, Mar. 3, talk. Admission is free.
In marking its 20th anniversary, the College's Dimensions musical group will perform for a Thursday, March 30, 7 p.m. concert bringing back songs they performed in the past, including hits from classic rock, Motown, and more. Admission is free of charge.
Students' works will also take the Miller Gallery spotlight for the Annual Graphics & Fine Arts Student Show from April 13-May 5. The reception for this juried exhibition and competition is Thursday, Apr. 13.
And to round out the season, the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will be presented by the College's Stage 2 on June 23-25. Songs by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Any Dream Will Do and Close Every Door, will enthrall audiences. Tickets are $10 for adults; $5 for children.
To purchase tickets online, visit meridiancc.edu/artsandletters. Tickets are available at the Eagle's Nest Bookstore inside Ivy-Scaggs Hall.
For more information, call 601.484.8640 or 601.616.2051 or email jfreema8@meridiancc.edu.