PORT GIBSON — A series of art exhibitions, celebrating Mississippi’s bicentennial year, honoring cultural and artistic icons from Mississippi will have its next stop in Port Gibson beginning Tuesday.

The Mississippi Museum of Art has partnered with the Mississippi Cultural Crossroads, located on Market Street in Port Gibson, to showcase the exhibit entitled ‘Eudora Welty’s Women,’ beginning Tuesday and continuing through September 9.

The exhibition series, which includes 12 exhibitions curated by the Museum, and includes stops in 12 different communities throughout the state, is called ‘Art Across Mississippi: Twelve Exhibitions, Twelve Communities.’

“We were looking for an opportunity to host an exhibit from the museum as it relates to the bicentennial, so when we saw their bicentennial project we thought ‘let’s throw our name in the hat,’” said Felicia Harried, president of the board for the Mississippi Cultural Crossroads. “We have a beautiful gallery space that we usually display our quilts, so we are excited about hosting this exhibit.”

Mississippi Cultural Crossroads is an affiliate of the Mississippi Museum of Art.

The photographs that were made by Welty, who died in 2001, over 80 years ago.

According to a statement from the Museum of Art, the photographs included in the exhibit “are a testament to the endurance of people during the Great Depression and to Welty’s abilities as a photographer.

“One of Welty’s strengths as a photographer was being able to capture real moments in life, and many of her photographs featured women, men, and children sympathetically and unerringly.”

Harried said it was Welty’s past and “contribution to the national arts scene as a Mississippian,” that made this exhibit so interesting to the Mississippi Cultural Crossroads.

“Out of the 12 exhibits the Museum of Art curated, there were several that captured our imaginations, but thought Eudora Welty’s past and the things that she did, we thought this would be a good mix for us in terms of celebrating women and then also the academics and history of her as a well-known Mississippian,” Harried said.

Public viewing of the exhibit will kick off Tuesday evening with opening reception Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

“Tuesday evening will be simple,” Harried said. “We will have a little refreshment, live music and also have music from the period that covers her photographs she took during the Great Depression and that era that made her famous in the first place.”

Beyond the opening reception, those wanting to view the exhibit can see it Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and other times by appointments.

Harried said the exhibit is perfect for school or student groups from college to middle school and for civic groups looking for an “enriching and intellectual outing.”

In addition to Welty’s photographs, Art Across Mississippi: Twelve Exhibitions, Twelve Communities features artwork by artists — past and present — including Walter Anderson, William Dunlap, Eudora Welty, William Ferris, Ke Francis, Marie Hull, Hystercine Rankin, and Sulton Rogers and others.

The Mississippi Cultural Crossroads is located at 507 Market Place in Port Gibson. For more information on the exhibit call 601-437-8905.