Jackson Free Press

The Mississippi Museum of Art will host Samantha Crain, a Choctaw folk singer, songwriter and poet from Oklahoma, for a concert to mark the closing of the exhibition "Jeffrey Gibson: Like A Hammer," which ran from September 2018 and ends on Sunday, Jan. 27.

Gibson is a resident of New York City's Brooklyn neighborhood with both Mississippi Choctaw and Cherokee roots. He studied art at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Royal College of Art in London. In 2011, he decided to combine his abstract art with his Native American heritage and began producing pieces now on display in "Like A Hammer."

The exhibit features 65 items made from materials such as rawhide, tipi poles, wool blankets, beads and sinew, including hand-sewn quilts, text-based wall hangings, paintings on mirrors, punching bags decorated with metal trimmings and tassels, and more.

"Samantha Crain in Concert" will begin at noon on Saturday, Jan. 26, in The Art Garden at the museum. The concert is free and open to the public. Reserved parking, VIP seating and a guided pre-concert tour of "Like a Hammer" are available for museum members. Members must register by noon on Friday, Jan. 25. For more information, visit msmuseumart.org.

Airbnb Launches Program to Help Furloughed Workers

Airbnb, a San Francisco-based online platform that allows users to offer lodging to others in their own home or arrange for lodging themselves, recently announced a program called "A Night on Us" to help federal employees furloughed in the ongoing government shutdown.

Any federal executive branch employee affected by the shutdown who acts or has already acted as a host for three nights from Dec. 18, 2018, to March 18, 2019, will receive a $110 direct deposit from Airbnb. Users who provide "experiences," which refers to acting as a tour guide for visitors to their city, are also eligible for the program. Airbnb facilitates payments from guests to hosts through direct deposit.

"We're aware that plenty of government workers are hosting through Airbnb on the side for supplemental income," Ben Breit, public affairs manager for Airbnb, told the Jackson Free Press. "In recent weeks, when it became clear that this wouldn't be a short shutdown, we realized we had a role to play in supporting our hosts and helping people feed their families. We came up with the $110 figure because that's the average price for an Airbnb listing."

A recent WalletHub study shows that Mississippi ranks eighth among the states hit hardest by the shutdown due to a large volume of federal workers and the state's dependence on federal programs. At 18 percent, a higher percentage of families in the state receive SNAP, or food stamp, benefits than any other state in the nation. The national average is 13 percent. More than 75 percent of SNAP beneficiaries in the state are in families with children, and 33 percent are in families with elderly or disabled people.

For more information about the "A Night On Us" program, visit press.airbnb.com/anightonus.

Modern American Miss Pageant Debuting in Jackson

Modern American Miss Mississippi, a part of the inaugural Modern American Miss Pageant that Long Island native Dominique Dickerson created, will make its debut on Sunday, March 17, in the grand ballroom of the King Edward Hotel in Jackson.

Kristy Johnson, state director for Modern American Miss, told the Jackson Free Press that MAM is different from other pageants in that it has no talent competition and is open to single mothers. Participants can also choose between entering either a fitness of swimwear portion. Other parts of the pageant include community service, evening gowns, and interviews on a model's inspiration and role models in their community.

"We want this pageant to be more about the experience rather than winning a competition," Johnson says. "We want our participants to learn about empowerment and the importance of the skills they possess that they can impart to other girls in their communities."

The pageant is divided into six age divisions. Winners will receive $5,000 cash prizes and will advance to the MAM national pageant in August 2019. Currently, only the junior preteen, for ages 7-9, and the junior teen, for ages 13-15, divisions are still open for new applications.

Tickets to the Jackson pageant are $50, which includes a brunch buffet. Tickets for children age 5-13 are $25, and VIP tickets are $75, which includes special seating, velvet parking and a MAM souvenir. Table rentals for groups of 10 are available for $750. Tickets are available on Eventbrite through March 1.

For more information about the pageant or entry applications, call 601-664-8520 or visit modernamericanmiss.com.