Special to the Item
The Picayune Item
JACKSON, Miss. —
On January 11, 2013, the Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) will bid farewell to Executive Director, Malcolm White, as he becomes Director of the Tourism Division at Mississippi Development Authority for the State of Mississippi.
“After seven years with the Arts Commission, I have enthusiastically accepted the challenge of leading Mississippi’s tourism efforts, where I will become even more engaged and instrumental in telling the Mississippi story,” stated White. “My time with MAC has been rewarding and filled with joy and genuine, collective progress. I reluctantly leave an amazing Board of Commissioners and a gifted and dedicated staff in this transition. Many of the projects in my new position include work already paired and partnered with MAC, as well as some new and exciting arenas.”
White was instrumental in assisting artists from the lower six counties rebuild their lives after Hurricane Katrina devastated his beloved Mississippi Gulf Coast two months prior to his acceptance of the position with MAC. His tenacity and drive helped create new national models for other states to follow in the aftermath of such devastation. He also worked diligently to provide a study of the state’s “creative economy,” showing how the creative sector drives economic development across Mississippi. The result was an innovative partnership between MAC and the Mississippi Development Authority featuring a creative economy summit to show communities across the state the benefit of focusing on their creative assets.
Acting as Interim Executive Director is MAC Special Initiatives Director, Sallye Killebrew.
The Mississippi Arts Commission is a state agency, funded by the Mississippi Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Phil Hardin Foundation, the Riley Foundation, the Mississippi Endowment for the Arts at the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson and other private sources. MAC is the official grants-making and service agency for the arts in Mississippi. The agency serves as an active supporter and promoter of arts in community life and in arts education.
