Most of us, if you’re like me, can’t afford to tour the world on vacation so the possibility of world of art coming to Vicksburg intrigues me.

Jack Kyle, executive director of the Mississippi Commission for International Culture Exchange, announced his intent to build the Mississippi International Arts Pavilion on land adjacent to the Vicksburg Convention Center.

The total cost would be in the $40 to $50 million range and include 20,000 square feet of gallery space, a 10,000 square foot international exhibition hall, another wing that will house 10 galleries, a grand rotunda for receptions and 300-seat auditorium.

The period rooms include reproductions of two rooms from Russia, one from Germany and two from Spain including the Porcelain Room from the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, which Kyle describes as the museum’s Mona Lisa.

The planned museum will also include a European gallery, an Asian gallery and one featuring Boehm Porcelain of which the museum has already been promised 105 pieces, Kyle said. The final two galleries would be state specific and feature Civil War art and artwork created by Mississippi artists.

This isn’t some pipe dream. MSIAP and Kyle have a history and track record of bringing international works of art to Mississippi. They previously organized four international exhibitions in Jackson that attracted more than 1.3 million visitors and had an estimated $200 million economic impact for the state.

MSIAP also owns approximately $15 million of artwork from those exhibitions.

I’m not into international art, but I do know what a museum on this scale can do for our community. Can you imagine the positive economic impact such an international museum would have on Vicksburg? People from all over the United States and world would make it a point to visit our community and business and tourism would certainly benefit.

I hope our local and state leaders can get on board with this idea and we can make it a reality.

Rob Sigler is editor of The Vicksburg Post. Readers are invited to submit their opinions for publication.