The MAX: Our Next Chapter
2026-2036

The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience (The MAX) is a thriving arts and cultural center with a vision to build stronger communities and a better Mississippi through the arts.

Opened in 2018, The MAX serves Mississippians of all ages through more than 50,000 square feet of facilities, including an interactive museum celebrating Mississippi’s creative legacy, a two-story hall of fame showcasing the state’s ground breaking artists, and dynamic studio and performance spaces where people of all ages explore their creative passions.

There’s no place like The MAX, because there’s no place like Mississippi. Here, the magic and mojo of Mississippi’s cultural legacy come to life. Past, present, and future come together at The MAX, where we honor Mississippi’s creative icons, showcase working artists, and nurture the next generation.

A Living & Breathing Legacy

2008

Opening of The MAX

2008

2024

New Vision + Leadership

2024

2026

Strategic Framework for Statewide Impact

2026

2028

10-Year Anniversary

Two-track Sustainability: Annual Fund + Endowment

  • Continued public partnership
  • Expanded private support
2028

The Mission

Celebrate Mississippi’s creative legacy, elevate Mississippi artists, and inspire all to explore their creative passions.

The Vision

Build stronger communities and a better Mississippi through the arts.

Our Values

  • The arts are essential, and everyone is creative.
  • Transparency and accountability in all we do.
  • Stewardship of the assets entrusted to us and the relationships we develop.
  • Curiosity about the arts, artists, and the world.
  • Collaboration as the mode of operation.
  • Radical hospitality for all.
  • Nimble and responsive to new opportunities.

2026-2036 Strategic Initiatives

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Education + Arts Integration

  • Create customized field trip experiences
  • Build lesson plan library
  • Lead teaching artist professional training
  • Support in-school artist residencies
  • Develop curriculum for Mississippi Studies
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Youth Engagement

  • Add youth-led programming + exhibitions
  • Assemble youth council + host “takeovers”
  • Add after-school + summer youth camps + workshops
  • Expand internship program
  • Activate recording studio year-round
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Workforce Development

  • Expand audio engineer camps + workshops
  • Leverage recording studio with high-profile artists
  • Launch media arts internships
  • Serve as a creative laboratory for educational partners
  • Increase hospitality training and job placement
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Healthier Communities

  • Initiate art therapy and social prescribing pilots with partners, such as MSU-Meridian Health Sciences
  • Present cultural programs that foster open dialogue, greater empathy, and reduced divisiveness
  • Explore wellness series as part of programming that incorporates movement, nutrition, and mental health
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Artist Services

  • Establish a teach-create studio model for artists
  • Conduct artist exchanges about shared facilities use
  • Showcase Mississippi art & craft at The MAX Store
  • Make gallery spaces accessible to Mississippi artists
  • Provide artist commissions and work for hire opportunities across all MAX initiatives
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Foundational Infastructure

  • Create new visitor guide and tour experience
  • Remove accessibility barriers for students and families
  • Launch Friends of The MAX program
  • Update and enhance exhibits, lobby, and store
  • Implement adaptive reuse of historic bus station property

Creativity Lives Here

Our mission is to celebrate Mississippi’s creative legacy, elevate Mississippi artists, and inspire all to explore their creative passions.

We embrace our role not only as a repository of artifacts and a tourist attraction, but as a hub that connects families and communities to the creative traditions and homegrown industries that make Mississippi so globally significant.

Mississippi’s story is big. So, too, are the challenges and opportunities that face its people.

Mississippi creators, entrepreneurs, and leaders have helped change the world. It is the work of The MAX to keep that spark of innovation alive and accessible, so that the inexhaustible wellspring of Mississippi creativity will continue to guide future generations toward success, purpose, and prosperity.

The MAX is where the world meets Mississippi culture, and where Mississippians find themselves reflected in the eyes of their heroes.

We fuse scholarly wisdom and crowd-pleasing entertainment. We believe that learning happens holistically, when people see and hear and touch and taste and experiment and play.

We stand at the crossroads of the state’s artistic past and its future possibilities.

Now is the time for growth and long-term vision, so that we can creatively improve Mississippi communities across dimensions of education and lifelong learning, economic prosperity, health and wellness, and civic engagement.

We’re thrilled to have you on the journey with us.

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Penny Kemp
President + CEO, The MAX

"Mississippi is the center of the . . . universe.. If Mississippi can't come up with a solution to the problem of the day, it can't be done."
- James Meredith

Statue of James Meredith by Mississippi sculptor Bill Beckwith
Photo credit: Wesley Hitt—Getty Images

Be Part of What Comes Next

The next chapter of The MAX will be shaped by the people who believe in Mississippi’s creativity and its power to inspire, connect, and transform communities.

Join us in carrying Mississippi’s creative legacy forward. Become a member or make a gift today—and help ensure that the stories, talents, and possibilities of Mississippi continue to inspire generations to come.

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Become a Friend of The MAX

Experience more of The MAX while supporting our mission and becoming part of a community that celebrates Mississippi creativity.

Get Started
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Make a Donation

Your support helps The MAX preserve Mississippi’s creative legacy, elevate its artists, and inspire the next generation.

Donate Now

Due to the threat of severe weather, The MAX will be closed Saturday, March 15. Stay safe.

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