Well, it seems that things just get more revealing every step of the way. I received an e-mail from someone at the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi, MS (it seems our blog is far reaching) and I was informed that their facility, damaged during Hurricane Katrina (Aug. 2005), has still not re-opened and isn’t scheduled to be open by Nov. 2010. That is their main facility – they have a transitional facility set up in Biloxi. But they won’t be hosting this exhibit, Tradition/Innovation: American Masterpieces of Southern Craft and Traditional Art – as stated in the press release we received from the Sumter County Gallery of Art. You would think that someone at the Southern Arts Federation would have been keeping up with the folks in MS on their rebuilding schedule or maybe this is another PR problem.
This is no fault of the Sumter folks – they’re using the info they were provided – by either the SC Arts Commission or the Southern Arts Federation. After searching the SAF’s website I found that the location in Mississippi was changed to the Hattiesburg Historic Train Depot in Hattiesburg, MS (Nov. 1 – Dec. 23, 2010) – another prime location, I’m sure. I would have offered a link to the Depot, but I couldn’t find any direct link to it – even on the Hattiesburg, MS, site.
I would think that the Southern Arts Federation would have more pull, but the Hattiesburg Historic Train Depot? Hattiesburg is also home to the University of Southern Mississippi – which has an art museum. Come on, this time slot is more than a year away – is that the best place they could find to show this exhibition? Is this the best the National Endowment for the Arts can do for its American Masterpieces program? It’s a good thing the Sumter County Gallery of Art could be so flexible with their schedule – who knows where the SC Arts Commission would have ended up putting this exhibit – after three years of planning.
And, remember, Harriett Green is the Director of Visual Arts at the SC Arts Commission.