Union County Heritage Museum Receives Mississippi Arts Commission Grant for Faulkner Literary Fest -

The Mississippi Arts Commission has awarded a project grant to the Union County Heritage Museum for $4,700, for the 2026 Faulkner Literary Fest that features programming in the arts and literary of our community.

This grant was one of 322 grants to individuals and organizations throughout Mississippi. With funding from the Mississippi Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts. MAC supports outstanding arts, arts organizations and arts programming across Mississippi, said David Lewis, Executive director of MAC.

“We are grateful to Governor Reeves and the Mississippi Legislature for continuing to support the arts in Mississippi. With the crucial funding MAC receives from the Mississippi Legislature and support through the National Endowment for the Arts, we consistently witness how our grantees energize their communities through dynamic programming and enhance the lives of Mississippians,” Lewis said.

The Union County Heritage Museum has programming throughout the year, and July through October, focuses more on the literary arts and the annual William Faulkner Literary Competition which brings international interest to our community.

“We are very grateful for the support of MAC in helping us offer more,” said Museum Director Jill Smith.

This year’s grants:

General Operating Support for 62 arts organizations.
Project support for 81 arts and community-based organizations to foster the continuation of the state’s folk and traditional art forms, support performances and arts programming, and strengthen education in and through the arts
Project support for 17 artists or arts programs to support innovation, propel artists’ careers, and encourage collaboration between artists and communities
Artist Fellowship awards to 38 individual artists across artistic disciplines who demonstrate the ability to create exemplary work in their chosen field.
Mini-Grants to 101 individual artists to support their professional development and 19 arts and community-based organizations to support arts programming and institutional strategic development.

Also included is Mississippi Whole Schools, a MAC program that provides Pre-K-12 educators with intensive professional development to integrate the arts as a vehicle for promoting high-quality instruction and learning across all disciplines. This year, Mississippi Whole Schools accepted four new schools into its Arts in the Classroom program, with a total of 24 schools participating.

In addition, MAC approved 24 artists and performing groups for inclusion in its Artist Roster and three to the Teaching Artist Roster, which features many of the best artists and arts educators in the state. The Artist Roster and Teaching Artist Roster feature artists who create and work at a professional level within their art disciplines and are available for hire. Organizations that receive Mini-Grants are encouraged, but not required, to hire artists from the Artist Roster.

MAC also received funding for the Building Fund for the Arts grant. These funds are allocated separately, and the announcement will be made at a later date.

To view a list of recipients, visit https://arts.ms.gov/grant-recipients/.

Jill N. Smith, Director
Union County Heritage Museum & Faulkner Garden
114 Cleveland St.
New Albany, MS 38652
662-538-0014

“The past is never dead. It isn’t even past.” William Faulkner, “Requieum for a Nun”