Mississippi Arts And Entertainment Experience Announced 18 Artists For Hall Of Fame

Actors, artist, and authors, either dead or alive, who are from Mississippi or have lived in the state for a significant portion of their career are being recognized and honored in the Meridian Museum's Hall of Fame. Personalities like William Faulkner, Morgan Freeman, and Oprah Winfrey are three of the 18 artists chosen for the inaugural Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience Hall of Fame class.

According to US News, the news was announced on Thursday morning in the Capitol Rotunda by Governor Phil Bryant. Gov. Bryant said that the museum and its inductees would let the world know that Mississippi's best exports are our entertainers.

Other inductees are B.B. King, Jimmie Rodgers, Elvis Presley, Walter Anderson, John Grisham, Jim Henson, Robert Johnson, James Earl Jones, George Ohr, Leontyne Price, Sela Ward, Muddy Waters, Tennessee Williams, Eudora Welty and Richard Wright. The candidates are will represent five fields in the arts including acting, literature, music, visual art and miscellaneous, which includes comedians, chefs, entrepreneurs and arts executives.

The 58,000 square foot hall of fame will be located in downtown Meridian that will open next spring according to Mississippi Today. The museum was originally proposed in 2001, but the funding and the planning were stalled several times. They came up with a solution by adding two percent tax on beverage and food tax, all the revenue from that will be going to the museum.

Gov. Bryant hoped that the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience will be not just a tourism draw but also to enhance its reputation with the outside world. The museum will showcase how much the state of Mississippi has had an impact, not only on the nation but the world in the areas of arts, literature, and entertainment said the Speaker of the House Philip Gunn, R-Clinton.

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves urged the state residents to quit apologizing and start bragging about Mississippi but Bland noted that when thinking about what makes Mississippi artists so special, it's hard to ignore the state's complex and often tumultuous history.

Tags18 Artists For Hall Of Fame, Mississippi Arts, Entertainment Express, Meridian Museum's Hall Of Fame, William Faulkner, Morgan Freeman, Oprah Winfrey