VICKSBURG, Miss. (AP) - A Mississippi board working to build an arts pavilion is hoping to raise awareness for the plan by selling a princess - or at least a replica of one.
The board of directors of the proposed Mississippi International Arts Pavilion in Vicksburg is selling reproductions of the Porcelain Princess, a statue featured in the Porcelain Room of the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, Spain. The limited number of statues is being sold for $2,000 each to raise money and awareness for the art pavilion, board member Kendra Reed told the Port City Kiwanis Club on Thursday, according to The Vicksburg Post.
“Jackson has the catfish, Hattiesburg has swans and Meridian has the carousel horse,” Reed said. “Our ambassador will be the Porcelain Princess. There are only 30 of them (available), and we’re going to have them placed around town so that people will see what we are trying to do and create conversation.”
Plans for the museum and exhibition hall were announced in January 2018, and the city of Vicksburg has donated land near the convention center for the building. But the arts pavilion is far from the funding needed for construction.
Since the announcement, $200,000 in pledges and cash has been raised for a $30 million project.
Jack Kyle, executive director of the pavilion, said board members will be approaching state officials and the state’s congressional delegation seeking funds. Ground won’t be broken until the board has $20 million, he said. Among ideas to raise money from larger donors is to sell naming rights to exhibit rooms.
The proposed Mississippi International Arts Pavilion would include an exhibition hall with two planned international exhibitions each year, 10 galleries with five period room replicas, a section dedicated to Mississippi artists, an auditorium and a library.
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