ACES receives Mississippi Arts Commission grant

Published 11:05 am Monday, July 28, 2025

The Arts & Community Events Society of Meridian has been awarded a $3,500 Arts-Based Community Development grant from the Mississippi Arts Commission as part of the more than $1.7 million in grants MAC awarded in Fiscal Year 2026.

The funds will be used to create a one-day Plein Air and Urban Sketchers painting festival in Downtown Meridian. The event will be held on Oct. 4, from 8am – 6pm. Regional artists and urban sketchers are invited to create outdoors “en plein air” paintings of the downtown area streetscape for competition and purchase by attendees.

This new event will be introducing Meridian to another activity that has an extensive well-loved tradition; watching artists painting outdoors “en plein air” and buying original art. Plein air painting is the practice of painting outdoors to capture the essence of a subject in its natural state.

This weekend also coincides with Threefoot Brewery’s Oktoberfest on Saturday, Oct. 4, and the second in the ACES 2025 Fall series of Full Moon on Fifth, to be held Friday, Oct 3.

ACES’ mission is to improve the quality of life in Meridian through creating innovative family-friendly arts and cultural events. Each of the six yearly “Full Moon on 5th” signature street festival/block parties has featured a local band and a featured artist/s show in the ACES Art Gallery, where local artists are able to showcase their work and expand their visibility to art collectors. This year, the organization will also celebrate the fourth annual FEASTival, a ticketed street-fair event where guests can sample bite-sized portions of local restaurants’ cuisine representing different cultures.

“Mississippi is a vibrant hub of artistic talent that enriches lives and fuels local economies throughout our state,” said David Lewis, executive director for the Mississippi Arts Commission. “With the generous support from the Mississippi Legislature, we can leverage our citizens’ creativity to invest in our communities.”

MAC’s annual grant funds come from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Mississippi State Legislature. Awards were made in 94 Mississippi House of Representatives districts and 49 state Senate districts.

The Mississippi Arts Commission is a state agency serving more than two million people through grants and special initiatives that assist artists and arts organizations, promote arts education and celebrate Mississippi’s cultural heritage. MAC is funded by the Mississippi Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Mississippi Endowment for the Arts at the Community Foundation for Mississippi, and other private sources. For more information, visit www.arts.ms.gov.