Senate Resolution 16

A RESOLUTION EXTENDING THE RECOGNITION OF THE MISSISSIPPI SENATE TO THE ROBERT M. HEARIN SUPPORT FOUNDATION AND THE ANNIE LAURIE SWAIM HEARIN MEMORIAL EXHIBITION SERIES AT THE MISSISSIPPI MUSEUM OF ART AS THE RECIPIENT OF THE 2023 GOVERNOR'S ARTS AWARD FOR PATRON OF THE ARTS.

WHEREAS, the Governor's Arts Awards Program has announced its 2023 recipients, which include the Robert M. Hearin Support Foundation as the 2023 recipient of the Stephen C. Edds Patron of the Arts Award; and

WHEREAS, established in 1988, Governor's Arts Awards are given to individuals and organizations to recognize outstanding work in the artistic disciplines, as well as arts-based community development and arts patronage in Mississippi. The awards are presented in partnership with the Governor's Office and signify the important relationship between government and the arts; and

WHEREAS, the Robert M. Hearin Support Foundation's mission is to fund four-year colleges and universities in Mississippi and the Mississippi Museum of Art, Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, and the Mississippi Opera. 2022 marked the 30th anniversary of its best-known project: the establishment of the Annie Laurie Swaim Hearin Memorial Exhibition Series at the Mississippi Museum of Art; and

WHEREAS, through this series, the foundation has helped bring blockbuster exhibits that have attracted more than 700,000 visitors to the Jackson museum. Forty percent of those visitors come from outside the city; and

WHEREAS, the list of exhibits supported by the foundation includes Old Masters to Monet: French Paintings from the Wadsworth Atheneum (2013); When Modern Was Contemporary: The Neuberger Collection of Modern Art (2016); Van Gogh, Monet, and Degas: The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (2020), and the latest, A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration (2022); and

WHEREAS, these exhibits have not only brought visitors to the museum and money to the local economy, but they have also resulted in positive national media coverage of the museum and the arts in Mississippi. The Great Migration exhibit was recently featured in The New York Times; and

WHEREAS, the Annie Laurie Swaim Hearin Memorial Exhibition series has featured exhibitions by some of the world's greatest artists. Museum visitors have been able to experience the emotion and beauty of Van Gogh, O'Keefe, Monet, and others; and

WHEREAS, the Hearin Foundation's support of the series has afforded Mississippians and visitors the opportunity to view world-renowned art works and experience the emotional impact that fine art evokes; and

WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we pay tribute and express appreciation for the energy of a Mississippi foundation whose support of the arts has made Mississippi a better place and exemplifies the charitable and artistic/literary traditions of our great state:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we hereby extend the recognition of the Mississippi Senate to the Robert M. Hearin Support Foundation and the Annie Laurie Swaim Hearin Memorial Exhibition Series at the Mississippi Museum of Art as the recipient of the 2023 Governor's Arts Award for patron of the arts and extend our congratulations to this outstanding arts support leader on this auspicious occasion.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the administrative staff of the Hearin Foundation and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.