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Arts & Culture

Art and culture are thriving on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  The Mississippi Gulf Coast has provided artistic inspiration for many nationally recognized artists.  Richmond Barthe, Dusti Bonge, Walter Anderson, and George Ohr are just a few of the artists who have called the Mississippi Gulf Coast home.  From Bay St Louis to Pascagoula you will find many shops and galleries exhibiting and selling works by local and regional artists.

The Walter Anderson Museum of Art (WAMA)  is dedidcated to the works of Walter Inglis Anderson (1903-1965), American master, whose depictions of the plants, animals, and people of the Gulf Coast have placed him among the forefront of American painters of the Twentieth Century; and to his brothers, Peter Anderson (1901-1984), master potter and founder of Shearwater Pottery; and James McConnell Anderson (1907-1998), noted painter and ceramist.  Current exhibits feature rotating exhibits by regional and national artists.  WAMA is accredited by the American Association of Museums.

The Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art (OOMA) features Ohr-iginal art by George E Ohr (1857-1918), the self proclaimed "Mad Potter" of Biloxi as well as contemporary and historical work by a variety of artists. TIME Magazine selected Biloxi's Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art, designed by Frank Gehry, as one of the tip five architectural designs in the world for 2008 Style & Design 100 Issue.  The Frank Gehry designed Ohr Campus opened three of the five Gehry designed buildings in November 2010.  Three of the five Gehry designed buildings on campus are now complete with the fourth to be completed by July 2012 (the City of Biloxi Center for Ceramics). OOMA is the only Smithsonian Affiliate in Mississippi.

The Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum, temporarily operating at Edgewater Mall, tells the history of the Mississippi Gulf Coast as a seafood port.  The new museum, to be built at Point Cadet Plaza, will include just over 20,000 sq ft of exhibit space and will host permanent hurricane exhibits and an exhibit that will feature the Nydia, a 30-foot gaff-rigged cabin sloop. The new museum is expected to open in 2013.

Beauvoir, The Jefferson Davis Home completed a nearly $4 million restoration in 2008 and the Library and Hayes Pavilions have been replicated to the Davis period.  Construction on the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library is continuing with completion expected in 2012.

INFINITY at NASA Stennis Space Center will be opening to the public on April 12, 2012.  The center features a 72,000-square-foot science center where visitors will have an opportunity to experience the thrill of exploration and discovery around every corner.

The Lynn Meadows Discovery Center in Gulfport allows children to explore and expand their world through interactive exhibits and art activities.

Ocean Expo Aquarium & Learning Center will be a $30 million, 175,000-square-foot facility located on 8.5 acres at the intersection of I-10 and I-110.  It will be a family destination with a dolphin and sea lion show, reef tank and aquariums, rain forest exhibit, touch pools, auditorium and theater, and kids cove play area.  Opening is expected in 2014.