JACKSON — In the Gertrude C. Ford Galleries for The Permanent Collection at the Mississippi Museum of Art, the reinstallation of the museum’s Mississippi galleries recently premiered with the new exhibition, New Symphony of Time.

New Symphony of Time expands and illuminates the boundaries of Mississippi’s narrative, as described on the museum’s website.

“Mississippi, as a real place and also as a metaphor for the basic struggles of our country, has inspired artworks that express the need to understand our concrete realities of living with each other in this moment, as well as our deep connection to those gone before us and our legacies to those who follow.” 

Exploring the themes of ancestry and memory; migration, movement, and home; shared humanity; the natural environment; and liberty for all, the exhibition is inspired by Margaret Walker’s epic poem, “This Is My Century: Black Synthesis of Time.” Phrases from Walker’s poem are used throughout the exhibition to frame thematic areas that evoke ancestral wisdom, the strength of sheer survival, and the power of imagination to create a more just, empathetic world.

While each section follows a particular narrative thread, certain ideas resonate throughout, such as personal and collective memory, history and the connection to place, and the roles artists play in pursuit of civil rights and racial equity.

The exhibition features approximately 170 works by such prominent artists as Benny Andrews, Radcliffe Bailey, Romare Bearden, Albert Bierstadt, Elizabeth Catlett, Jeffrey Gibson, Titus Kaphar, Glenn Ligon, Deborah Luster, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Hank Willis Thomas. Mississippi artists include the state’s first native-born professional artist, James Tooley, Jr., and Richmond Barthé, McArthur Binion, Dusti Bongé, Marie Hull, Sam Gilliam, Gwendolyn A. Magee, George Ohr, and Eudora Welty.

According to museum officials, this ongoing exhibition serves to lay the groundwork for an ever-evolving visitor experience that includes transparency of the exhibition process, allowing the curatorial team and our community the unique opportunity to explore new creative strategies, identify new artists, and continue to expand on themes as time goes on.

Mississippi Museum of Art is located at 380 South Lamar St. in Jackson. Museum and The Museum Store hours are: Tuesday-Thursday, from 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Sunday, from noon-5 p.m.

Free Student Admission Tuesdays are sponsored by the Feild Co-operative Association, Inc. Free Student Admission Thursdays are sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield of Mississippi.

For more information, call 601-960-1515 or toll-free: 866-VIEW-ART. You can also visit the museum’s website at msmuseum.org

• New Symphony of Time and its programs have been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Additional support is provided by the State of Mississippi, Mississippi Department of Archives & History, Trustmark Bank, The Chisholm Foundation, Brunini, and Visit Mississippi.