Jackson Free Press

I had real ramen for the first time last year at one of the Mississippi Museum of Art's Museum After Hours events. And I don't mean the instant kind. I was so excited that I took a photo of it and then quickly devoured it.

A few months after that, I was playing around on Photoshop and decided to use the image of the ramen as my base for a graphic-art piece. The end product turned out pretty cool, in my opinion. It's colorful and bold, and it was the starting point for my current art projects.

I've taken that same method of creating art and applied it to many images since then, from a four-leaf clover that almost made it onto the cover of this year's St. Paddy's Day issue to a piece I've recently completed that features the King Edward Hotel.

I'm not your typical artist. I'm not naturally gifted at painting or drawing. But I know photography and have a base knowledge of Photoshop. I know how to combine and mix colors. I know how to just stop thinking and create.

But it wasn't just the ramen that inspired me to get back into art. It was the Jackson art community. As a features editor, part of my job is to assign, edit and write stories about local artists. I've been doing it for the last couple of years, and before last year, every time I'd read a story about an artist, I'd think to myself, "I want to be a part of the community. I want to contribute something."

For everything that we lack—decent infrastructure, funding, etc.—the city has an amazing arts community.

Just look around you. Art is everywhere. It's in Fondren, Belhaven, midtown, downtown, south Jackson, west Jackson. Murals and public art are in almost every area of the city. Artists populate studios and private homes. New Stage Theatre puts on plays for most of the year. Thalia Mara Hall has everything from bands such as Band of Horses to major events USA International Ballet Competition (the next one is in 2018).

You can find artists and craftspeople at every Fondren's First Thursday, and you can even buy Mississippi artisans' work at places such as the Mississippi Crafts Center in Ridgeland. (if you haven't been, go now. You really won't be sorry) and the Mississippi Museum of Art's Museum Shop.

But things are about to get a lot harder for the arts scene, or at least one of the organizations that has helped make it so prolific—the Greater Jackson Arts Council. On Sept. 21, GJAC announced in a press release that the City administration had defunded the organization.

"This move is devastating," GJAC Executive Director Janet Scott said in the release. "And it strikes right at the heart of underserved communities, artists of color and low-income students. I understand the City's budget challenges and expected some sort of funding reduction. But to be zeroed out without any discussion? It's a slap in the face to the citizens we've served for the last 35 years."

Over the last year, the organization has distributed more than $136,000 in grants to 187 recipients, which include artists, festivals and organizations such as Midtown Partners. The City's usual contribution is $125,000, which is about a quarter of GJAC's budget for the year. The money left comes from corporate sponsorships and fundraising.

In a story in this week's issue (see page 7), GJAC Assistant Director Jon Salem says that the organization was founded to bridge a racial and economic divide in Jackson. But now, the City just made it harder for GJAC to support our diverse art community.

Ward 2 Councilman Melvin Priester Jr. said in the story that the city council would keep looking for a way to save GJAC and other areas that got cut, which is a little bit of a silver lining in all this crazy. But as of now, the damage has been done.

During last week's city council meeting, artists stepped forward to advocate for giving funding back to the organization.

Scott Crawford, disability-rights advocate and the creator of LEGO Jackson, said, "[L]ook, I don't have any idea what is being thought of, but the Greater Jackson Arts Council is an investment in Jackson. It is money very, very well spent that pays dividends back to the city orders of magnitude more than we spend on it."

Other members of the community talked about how organizations such as Very Special Arts depend on GJAC for funding and other aspects.

Demetrius Williams, who has been a member of VSA for the last five years said at the meeting: "This should not be happening because the first thing I learned in art is when you're trying to paint a picture, you got to put all your different colors all together. Red, blue, black, white, and what I see in this room, we have the makings of a picture right here. We've got everybody coming together ... some (for) different reasons, some for the support of the Jackson arts council.

"When you put those colors (together), it makes other different colors to hopefully create a masterpiece. We can't do that without you all. It's up to you to decide."

And GJAC affects more than just artists in Jackson. In a Facebook post, WJMI radio personality Maranda Joiner said that since its start 35 years ago, GJAC has issued almost $5 million in grants to Jackson and Hinds County's arts community, which includes everything from helping with art supplies for teachers, art projects, murals, our painted traffic-signal boxes, to cultural events such as Food Truck Friday and High Note Jam.

GJAC also provides funding to events such as the USA International Ballet Competition. We are its host city in the U.S.—the only one—so by taking funding away from GJAC, the city administration is hurting Jackson and making us look bad.

No one knows what will happen now, but one thing is for sure. As Williams said at city council, this shouldn't be happening. The City must continue supporting the arts.

Assistant Editor Amber Helsel likes to cook, eat, make art and pet cats. Her patronus charm is a St. Bernard dog. Email her story ideas at [email protected].