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Grammy Museum® Mississippi to receive Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area grant

CLEVELAND, Miss.—The Delta Center for Culture and Learning named GRAMMY Museum® Mississippi a 2021 Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area Grant recipient.

The Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area Grant will help fund the GRAMMY Museum Mississippi “Delta Sessions: The Next Step Project,” which will identify, engage and nurture the next generation of Mississippi Delta musicians, providing them with the creative skills to tell their stories through music and songwriting.

“With MDNHA’s support, the Museum will be able to further our education mission by providing opportunities for students in Mound Bayou, Mississippi to learn how to play instruments, write songs, and participate in a final performance. We are thrilled to partner with MDNHA and RE>Direct After School Program in Mound Bayou to make these types of opportunities available for students in this area,” said Emily Havens, executive director of GRAMMY Museum Mississippi.

RE>Direct After School Program is a program that falls under C2k Ministries Inc. It is a holistic after-school program that provides the necessary tools and resources for students to become successful future leaders.

“C2k Ministries Inc. is excited to be partnering on this project with the GRAMMY Museum Mississippi!” stated Phil Schank, executive director of C2k Ministries Inc.

“Since its inception GRAMMY Museum Mississippi has had as its core mission a desire to provide hands-on education to the youth of our region,” said Will Jacks, Program Manager for the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area. “The MDNHA is proud to support the Museum’s efforts as they help build a deeper understanding of the rich musical culture and history of the Delta, provide insight into unique career opportunities, and reinforce that creativity and expression are necessary and important qualities in building the Delta communities of our future.”

The primary purpose of the “Delta Sessions: The Next Step Project” is to identify, engage, and nurture the next generation of Mississippi Delta musicians through a series of workshops that teach the basics of instrument playing and a separate workshop for songwriting, providing them with the means to pursue careers in music and songwriting.

Developed by the Cleveland Music Foundation—a nonprofit organization founded in 2011—the 28,000-square-foot GRAMMY Museum Mississippi is housed near the campus of Delta State University, home of the Delta Music Institute’s Entertainment Industry Studies program, which features the most unique audio recording facilities in the South.

Affiliated with the GRAMMY Museum Foundation™, GRAMMY Museum Mississippi is dedicated to exploring the past, present, and future of music, and the cultural context from which it emerges, while casting a focused spotlight on the deep musical roots of Mississippi.

The Museum features a dynamic combination of public events, educational programming, engaging multimedia presentations, and interactive permanent and traveling exhibits, including a Mississippi-centric area that introduces visitors to the impact of Mississippi’s songwriters, producers, and musicians on the traditional and modern music landscape.

For more information, visit grammymuseumms.org, “like” GRAMMY Museum Mississippi on Facebook, and follow @grammymuseumms on Twitter and Instagram.

The mission of The Delta Center for Culture and Learning is to promote greater understanding of Mississippi Delta culture and history and its significance to the world through education, partnerships and community engagement.

The Delta Center serves as the management entity of the MDNHA and is the home of the International Delta Blues Project and the National Endowment for the Humanities “Most Southern Place on Earth” workshops.

For more information, visit deltacenterdsu.com.