Exhbition: Call Home: 2025 Mississippi Invitational

Overview

Curated by guest curator TK Smith, the 2025 Mississippi Invitational brings together twelve Mississippi-based artists whose works explore connection—across time, distance, and difference. This year’s theme, “call home,” evokes longing and connection, dwelling in the in-between space of memory, desire, and voice.

Selected artists represent a range of careers, mediums, and communities across the state:

• Rylee Brabham (Hattiesburg)
• Allen Chen (Hattiesburg)
• Sue Carrie Drummond (Jackson)
• Connor Frew (Jackson)
• Ashley Gates (Jackson)
• Jason Kimes (Laurel)
• Emma Lorenz (Jackson)
• Christina McField (Jackson)
• Alexis McGrigg (Jackson)
• Jerrod Partridge (Ocean Springs)
• Betty Press (Hattiesburg)
• Kaleena Stasiak (Oxford)

(*Asterisk denotes returning Invitational artists)

Presented every two years, the Mississippi Invitational showcases the state’s vibrant contemporary art scene. Participating artists are eligible for the prestigious Jane Crater Hiatt Artist Fellowship, a two-year, $20,000 grant for study and travel.