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JACKSON, MS – The Mississippi Arts Commission has announced the recipients of the 2025 Governor’s Arts Awards. This year, MAC is thrilled to honor two incredible storytellers, two musical acts, a landscape architect, and an exceptional arts supporter.

The 2025 recipients and awards are as follows:

Walt Grayson, Lifetime Achievement
Tate Taylor, Excellence in Motion Picture
Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band, Excellence in Traditional Arts
Robert Poore, Excellence in Visual Arts and Landscape Architecture
Eddie Cotton Jr., Excellence in Music
Jane C. Hiatt, Stephen C. Edds Patron of the Arts

“Mississippians are known worldwide for their creativity,” said MAC Executive Director David Lewis. “It is an honor to celebrate these six outstanding recipients who have made an impact on the arts on a state, regional, national, and international level.”

For 37 years, the Mississippi Arts Commission has partnered with the Governor’s Office to host the Governor’s Arts Awards, the state’s most prestigious award for living artists. Governor’s Arts Awards are given to individuals and organizations to recognize outstanding work in the artistic disciplines, arts-based community development, and/or arts patronage in Mississippi. MAC is pleased to partner with Governor Reeves’ office again to honor those who have shown excellence in the arts.

The 2025 recipients will be recognized at the 37th Governor’s Arts Awards ceremony at the Two Mississippi Museums in downtown Jackson on Thursday, February 6, 2025, at 6 p.m. A public reception at 4:30 p.m. will precede the ceremony. MAC and Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB) partner to record and broadcast the award ceremony. The program will air on MPB Television and MPB Think Radio later in February 2025.

About the Recipients

Walt Grayson (Brandon) grew up in Greenville, where he started his broadcasting career at Greenville radio station WJPR while he was in high school. Walt next came to Jackson to WRBC and worked there and for several other Jackson radio stations until he moved to television in 1984. Walt has worked for WLBT, WJTV, and Mississippi Public Broadcasting. As the host of MPB’s “Mississippi Roads,” he has told countless Mississippi stories. Walt won two Emmy awards for his work on WJTV’s “A Mississippi Carol” Christmas special. He is a member of the AP Mississippi Broadcasters Hall of Fame, the Emmy Golden Circle, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Mississippi Broadcasters Association.

Tate Taylor (Church Hill) is a Mississippi-born and bred filmmaker whose body of work demonstrates his true ability to bring stories to life. Taylor has used his Southern upbringing to inspire art for the big screen. He has worked in front of and behind the camera, but his rise to fame began with the feature film The Help, a film which gained three Oscar nominations, including Best Motion Picture of the Year. He has continued to follow his passion for creating films within his home state with his production company Wyolah Films, directing films Get on Up and Breaking News in Yuba County in Natchez, MS.

The Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band (Coldwater) keeps the tradition of fife and drum musical expression alive and well in Mississippi, where the art form has its roots, and across the globe. Fife and drum are mostly associated with northern Mississippi and were popular during slavery and through the Civil War. The father of Fife and Drum, Otha Turner, carried on the tradition through the 20th century, and today, his legacy lives on through the band led by his granddaughter, Sharde Thomas Mallory. Sharde has led fife and drum bands since her grandad was alive and leading his own band, of which she was a part. In 2003, Sharde started her own band, Rising Stars, to continue her grandfather’s legacy. Chris Mallory and Sharde Thomas Mallory from Coldwater, MS, are the dynamic duo behind the Rising Stars Fife and Drum. In recent years, the band has grown into a worldwide brand and monumental blues history sensation, playing at some of the best venues in the country, including the Lincoln Center and the Ryman Auditorium, as well as countless festivals around the globe.

Robert Poore (Flora) has become Mississippi’s premier landscape architect, and his excellence was recognized in 2023 by the American Society of Landscape Architects, with his inclusion in their Council of Fellows. He is one of two Mississippians to receive this honor. Robert is an artist with a 36-year career devoted to art and design through landscape architecture and creative collaborations with other artists and cultural institutions. His designs work in harmony with nature’s processes and patterns, enhancing, promoting, and protecting special places, plants, culture, and history across Mississippi and the South. His original landscape designs are on display across the state and include the Mississippi Art Garden, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, The Mississippi Children’s Museum Literacy Garden, and the Crosby Arboretum.

Eddie Cotton, Jr. (Clinton) is an electric blues guitarist who had an affinity for the blues at an early age. Born in Clinton, Mississippi, Cotton grew up singing and playing gospel music in his father’s church. He began listening to the blues as a youth; it would not be long before that foot-stomping down-home music would stir in his soul, inspiring him to pick up the electric guitar and cleverly interpret the blues with an original modern flare. Cotton has represented Mississippi on the global stage and has been featured in several films about the blues. Among his awards and accolades, he has a Mississippi Blues Trail marker in his hometown of Clinton.

Jane Crater Hiatt (Jackson) currently resides in Alpharetta, GA) served as a leader in the Mississippi arts community for decades. She was the executive director of The Arts Alliance of Jackson & Hinds County (1985-1989) and the Mississippi Arts Commission (1989-1995). She also served as interim director of the Mississippi Museum of Art in 2001. In each of her roles, Hiatt prioritized professional artists and mentoring those around her. Now retired, she laid the groundwork for those who came after her and continues to be involved in the arts on a philanthropic level. Her influence is still felt today within the arts community in Mississippi.

Recipient Tate Taylor may add an award to his shelf before the February 2025 Governor’s Arts Awards. He is nominated for a prime-time Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series for his role as executive producer for the Apple TV+ series Palm Royale. The 76th Emmys are set to air live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 15, from 7-10 p.m. CT on ABC.

Robert Poore provided the imagery for the ceremony this year. He is a landscape architect and has won multiple awards for his artwork. The piece is called “Armageddon 3030 A.D.”, Robert Poore, 1978. It was photographed by Mark Geil.

“I was standing in Robert’s office while we were discussing the awards and spotted one of his pieces on the wall. I asked him if he would be open to allowing us to use it for our sought-after poster this year, and he agreed,” said Lewis.

The poster will also feature the incredible sponsors of the awards. MAC could not honor these artists without the support of the businesses, couples, and individuals who contribute each year. If you are interested in sponsoring the awards this year to help honor these incredible recipients, please contact communications@arts.ms.gov or visit arts.ms.gov/gaa.

Award recipients are nominated by members of the public and selected by a committee of community arts leaders and industry peers. Recipients are not required to be Mississippi residents but must have significant ties to the state through some years of residency.