The parlors of the old convent at the Southern Cultural Heritage Center have been transformed into an art gallery.

The area where the Sisters of Mercy once gathered or met visitors is decorated with the art of Fayette native Hobbs Freeman — part of a series of events for the Hobbs Freeman Arts and Nature Celebration and Festival that runs through November.

The exhibit opens with a March 5 reception and runs through the month. Tours are free and by appointment only after the reception, said exhibit co-chairman Gordon Cotton.

Cotton, chairwoman Charlie Gholson and exhibit committee members Lane Berg and Jim Biedenbach were at the parlors Sunday preparing the exhibits.

Cotton said Freeman, who died in 2009 at 65, was a multitalented man with many interests who served on the Vicksburg and Warren County Historical Society and Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation boards, and was a member of the Vicksburg Art Association.

“He did a lot of everything,” Cotton said. “He landscaped the Fire House Gallery with Sarah Johnson and landscaped the grounds of the Old Court House. At one time, the court house grounds were just grass and a few trees. He started adding gardens. One garden on the grounds is dedicated to him. It was done after his death.”