Meridian Museum of Art has a new look — inside and out.

The downtown Meridian museum has undergone a major transformation — its first in more than three decades. New paint and floor coverings for the main galleries, a matching paint color for the exterior, as well as cleaning, repairing and/or reframing of the museum’s permanent collection are among the visible renovations. Additional makeovers include relocating the display of artworks and downsizing the number of annual exhibits.

In addition to a long overdue makeover aesthetically, the recent transformation is a strategy to reposition Meridian Museum of Art as a “destination location,” according to MMA Executive Director Kate Cherry.

“One of the keys to organizational success is to be aware of changes and trends without our operating environment and adapt our vision and program when necessary,” Cherry said. “Being ‘adaptive’ is one of the most crucial characteristics of leadership.”

With the recent opening of the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience (MAX), more than 100,000 visitors are anticipated in the community annually. While the MAX will undoubtedly become a destination for tourism, part of the MAX’s vision is to steer visitors to other museums within the state.

“Our initial meetings with MAX staff have confirmed that they are willing to refer visitors to Meridian Museum of Art if we can help them understand our product,” Cherry said.

Additionally, future plans for a children’s museum is expected to bring visitors from a five-county area to Meridian, thus providing another source of future visitors to MMA.

Cherry also notes that traditional sources of grant funding for MMA have been cut drastically as organizations such as the Mississippi Arts Commission deal with reduced budgets for the arts

“Within the last year, we have lost approximately $18,000 in grant funding for this fiscal year,” she said. “Under the current state and national administrations, additional funding for the arts seems unlikely.”

Cherry also cited a decline in households capable of supporting the arts in the community.

“Economic growth, growth in homes and household incomes in our local community is flat, to declining,” she said. “Meridian has an exceptional number of art organizations being supported by many of the same households.”

“We have board members who have been part of this organization and could have kept doing what we were doing; we were successful,” MMA Board Past President David Barr said. “We thought this was our opportunity, if we could seize, to actually create economic value for our community by becoming the reason people spend the rest of the day in Meridian, and have dinner and visit other venues in Meridian. We especially felt that burden as an arts organization because we’re open just about every day.”

As a result, MMA’s board of directors has become program/exhibit driven in an effort to be “all things” to the visual arts community. Their strategy: Eliminate much of the current “churn” of short-term exhibits and relying more on the exhibition of prestigious regional art, initially using pieces from MMA’s prestigious permanent collection.

With a $42,000 grant from the Riley Foundation which was matched in funding by Meridian philanthropist the late Emma McCain, the physical renovations were possible. MMA Board member Tim Allred of Heritage Building Corporation also donated his services as general contractor for the project.

Painting the walls a lighter shade, adding LED lights and replacing the carpet with light-colored vinyl tiles provides an openness to the museum — which is housed in the historic Old Carnegie Library constructed in 1912-13, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and as a Mississippi Landmark.

One of Meridian Museum of Art’s core values is artist support. As a result, the museum’s downstairs Weidmann Gallery is now dedicated to local artist support and has been covered to a member’s gallery and museum store offering works from member artists throughout the year. Rotating exhibits will be showcased in upstairs galleries.

The museum also has downsized its number of annual exhibits from eight to four. the Bi- State Art Competition, the Bi-State Invitational Exhibit, the Members People’s Choice Art Competition and MMA Members Show.

With their newly incorporated strategy, the MMA Board hopes to establish longevity for the museum.

“We’ve seen so many opportunities to thrive and what we hope to have five years from now is a community that says, ‘We can’t lose our museum of art,’” Barr said. “A community that knows we are part of its diverse economic engine.”

The museum is now open to the public and is currently showcasing its first exhibit since closing for renovations, 2017 44th Annual Bi-State “Best of Show” winner Whitson Ramsey. Meridian Museum of Art is located at 628 25th Ave. Museum hours are Tuesday-Saturday, from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, visit the website www.meridianmuseum.or or call 601-693-1501.