Program

Public Programs: Exhibitions: Implementation

Period of Performance

4/1/2018 - 5/31/2021

Funding Totals (outright + matching)

$460,000.00 (approved)
$408,050.00 (awarded)


Delta Blues Museum: The Story of America's Music

FAIN: GI-259310-18

Delta Blues Museum (Clarksdale, MS 38614-4336)
Shelley Ritter (Project Director: August 2017 to present)

Implementation of a 9,000-square-foot exhibition, public programs, and curriculum materials exploring the history and influence of American Blues music and its connection to the Mississippi Delta.

The Delta Blues Museum will complete final design documents the fall of 2017 and is seeking implementation funding to build new permanent exhibits based on these designs. We also seek to update our website and create a position in the public humanities to develop a curriculum guide that correspond with and enrich the new permanent exhibits. The Blues has inspired Jazz, Rock n’ Roll, R&B, Soul, Funk, Bluegrass, and beyond. Many of the most revered artists came from the isolated Mississippi Delta, making this place a unique convergence of blues history, culture, and music. Clarksdale, Mississippi is home to the men and women who helped define Delta Blues as we know it today, and the Delta Blues Museum explores the story of their music and its role as a seminal American art form. This remarkable story will be communicated through a dynamic new visitor experience to connect with the artists who made their mark on the world through music.





Associated Products

the story of America's music (Exhibition)
Title: the story of America's music
Curator: shelley ritter
Abstract: phase 1 installation includes imagery, text, and exhibit walls telling the history of Muddy Waters' discovery by Alan Lomax in Coahoma County, MS.
Year: 2019