Jackson Free Press

Mississippi State University Libraries is partnering with Tuskegee University in Alabama and the Southern Literary Trail to host "Unframed Images," an art exhibition honoring the work of African American photographer P.H. Polk.

Tuskegee University archivist Dana Chandler will open the exhibition with a lecture on Polk's work on Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 4 p.m. in the John Grisham Room in MSU's Mitchell Memorial Library.

"Unframed Images" will feature 14 images that have been digitally enlarged and reproduced from Polk's original works. Polk's photographs depict early to mid-20th century African Americans such as Martin Luther King, Jr., George Washington Carver and farm workers in rural Alabama. The exhibit will be on display in MSU's Old Main Academic Center March 4-29.

The exhibit is free and open to the public. Visitors can view the exhibit Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. and Friday from 7 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. For more information, visit lib.msstate.edu or the Southern Literary Trail Facebook page.

Millsaps College Players Performing at the Arts Center

Millsaps College's theater troupe, the Millsaps College Players, will celebrate the launch of Millsaps College Theatre's position as the theater company in residence at the Arts Center of Mississippi (201 E. Pascagoula St.) in downtown Jackson with a series of short plays this weekend.

The Greater Jackson Arts Council, which operates the Arts Center, named Millsaps as the company in residence in November 2018. The group will use space inside the building for theater classes, rehearsals and productions. The college also received a $250,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Mississippi to make renovations to the Arts Center as part of the program, including the installation of a permanent art collection gallery and a community room.

Millsaps College Theatre will host its fifth-annual production of "Major Havoc 360º" as the first production at the Arts Center. "Major Havoc" is a series of up to 30 short plays performed in under an hour.

Audience members receive a menu of plays numbered one to 30 and call out the play they would like to see performed at the start of the show. When a cast member hears a particular number, they grab a numbered Frisbee from the wall of the theater and throw it onto the stage. The first Frisbee thrown determines the first play performed. The College Players perform the plays as fast as possible and repeat this process for each play until the hour is over, at which point the show ends.

Performances will take place tonight, Feb. 22, at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Saturday, Feb. 23, at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at the door. The price of each individual ticket is $1 times the roll of a six-sided die. For more information, call 601-974-1422 or visit the Millsaps College Theatre Department Facebook page.

USM Hosting Edible Book Festival

The University of Southern Mississippi's University Libraries and the USM Food Research Group will host the fifth-annual USM Edible Book Festival in the Cook Library Learning Commons Gallery on Monday, April 1.

USM will hold its event in conjunction with the annual International Edible Book Festival, which launched in 1999. The event takes place on April 1, the birthday of French author Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. Brillat-Savarin's book, "Physiology of Taste," is one of the earliest books on the subject of gastronomy, or the study of the relationship between food and culture, and the art or science of good eating.

Edible books are art pieces made of food and inspired by literary titles, characters or authors. In a release, USM lists examples such as baking cookies shaped like books or using cupcakes to create a representation of the titular character from Eric Carle's "Very Hungry Caterpillar." The event is open to Hattiesburg residents and USM students, staff and faculty. Award categories will include Best in Show, Most Nutritious and Most Creative.

To submit an entry, participants must register online by March 27 or email University Libraries curator Jennifer Brannock at [email protected]. For more information about the festival and examples of edible books, visit libguides.lib.usm.edu or pinterest.com.