NEWS RELEASE
February, 21 2025

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mississippi Department of Archives and History
Candace Mckenzie
601-576-6083
cmckenzie@mdah.ms.gov

Hurricane Katrina: Mississippi Remembers Opens March 8
at the Two Mississippi Museums
The exhibit, featuring photographs by Melody Golding and state-held artifacts, comes ahead of the 20th anniversary of the deadly storm

A new exhibit – Hurricane Katrina: Mississippi Remembers, Photographs by Melody Golding – opens at the Two Mississippi Museums on March 8. The exhibit opening is the first in a slate of programming marking the 20th anniversary of the devastating storm.

The exhibit tells the story of Mississippians’ resilience in the aftermath of the catastrophic storm through photographs by Golding, a photographer, author, and artist from Vicksburg. The exhibit also features Hurricane Katrina-related artifacts from the MDAH collection. The free exhibit will be on display March 8 through Nov. 7. HORNE, a Ridgeland-based professional services firm, is the title sponsor of the exhibit.

"At least 238 Mississippians died as Hurricane Katrina made its way through Mississippi 20 years ago, and it caused more than $125 billion in damage to the state," said Michael Morris, director of the Two Mississippi Museums. "This exhibit explores Hurricane Katrina through the lens of Mississippians. It allows us to reflect on the immediate and long-term effects of the storm, which is the most devastating natural disaster in Mississippi history."

Hurricane Katrina was one of the most catastrophic natural disasters in American history after making landfall on the Mississippi-Louisiana coastal border Aug. 29, 2005. The storm’s 125-mph winds and 30-foot storm surge left a swath of devastation – lives lost, families displaced, homes and businesses submerged or destroyed

Although the world was captivated by stories emerging from New Orleans and the Louisiana coastline, Mississippi’s plight was barely mentioned by national and international media. Golding, who initially traveled to the Gulf Coast as a Red Cross volunteer to deliver water and MREs to storm victims, soon recognized the urgent need to document the state’s unique and tragic story. She pulled out her cameras and began capturing not only the hurricane’s physical devastation but also the resilience of the people forced to rebuild their lives.

"These photographs are the result of my journeys to the Mississippi Gulf Coast shortly after Hurricane Katrina came ashore in August 2005. They are my personal witness to the events of this sweeping and non-discriminating catastrophe," said Golding.

Golding’s prior documentary exhibit, Katrina: Mississippi Women Remember, was acquired by The Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History Archives Center. Her book of the same name was published by the University Press of Mississippi. All royalties from book sales go to artists who were impacted by the storm.

Golding’s accolades include the Mississippi Humanities Council’s Chair’s Award for Special Achievements in the Humanities for her contributions to the public humanities in her body of work related to Hurricane Katrina. This work was featured and published by the Royal Photographic Society Awards Journal in Bristol, England.

Additional Hurricane Katrina-related programming at the Two Mississippi Museums includes gallery talks, school programs, special panel discussions, and personal stories of Mississippians. Hurricane Katrina: Mississippi Remembers was created by the curatorial staff at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History in partnership with Melody Golding.

HORNE has been a supporter of the Two Mississippi Museums since 2017. The firm also played an integral role in managing Katrina recovery by overseeing federal disaster relief funds and ensuring compliance with funding requirements.

"Sponsoring this exhibit is an honor," said Rusty Butcher, CEO and managing partner of HORNE. "Hurricane Katrina changed the landscape of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Mississippi businesses, and the lives of nearly every Mississippian, including everyone at HORNE. We remain proud to be a part of the long-term recovery efforts and proud of the lessons learned and skills gained. Mississippians who were impacted are now able to help people throughout the country as they recover from natural disasters."

The Two Mississippi Museums opened on Dec. 9, 2017, in celebration of the state's bicentennial. Museum hours are Tuesday–Saturday, 9 a.m.– 5 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m.– 5 p.m. Admission to the museums is free every Sunday. The Two Mississippi Museums are located at 222 North St. in Jackson. Free parking can be found alongside North Street or in the visitor garage of the Two Mississippi Museums on Jefferson Street.

For more information, contact 601-576-6850 or email info@mdah.ms.gov.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 21, 2009

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Melody Golding
101 Lee St, Vicksburg, MS 39180
www.melodygolding.com

Melody Golding’s "Katrina: Mississippi Women Remember"
Photographs Collected by Smithsonian

Washington, D.C. – For the first time since 1910, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History Archive Center is acquiring work about Mississippi, by a Mississippian.

Acclaimed Vicksburg-based photographer Melody Golding’s collection Katrina: Mississippi Women Remember will be added to the Smithsonian’s Archives Center collection this September. This body of work is also the Smithsonian’s sole acquisition documenting Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi. Earlier this year, the Museum’s Collections Committee approved acquisition of the photographic prints, original negatives, DVD movie (including "Song for Katrina,"composed by Lucia Lynn) and other documents related to Ms. Golding’s coverage of the devastation wrought on Mississippi by Hurricane Katrina.

Ms. Golding’s photographs of Katrina’s aftermath in Mississippi first caught the attention of the Royal Photographic Society in London, England. In October 2005, the publication featured her images in their Awards Journal, conveying the story of the storm internationally. In June 2006, Katrina: Mississippi Women Remember became the first exhibit about Hurricane Katrina displayed on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, presented first as Stark Exposures: Images of Katrina, at the just-reopened Walter Anderson Museum of Art in Ocean Springs. Since its first exhibition, the show traveled to the National Museum of Women in the Arts in the Washington D.C., then traveled regionally to more than a dozen sites. Katrina: Mississippi Women Remember has also been on display at colleges and universities, as well as used by these institutions of higher learning, including Mississippi College, Mississippi State University, and the University of Mississippi, as an educational resource to explore art, gender studies, sociology, meteorology, and history.

David Haberstich, curator of photography for the Smithsonian’s Archives Center, met with Ms. Golding in November 2008 to view her collection while it was on display at Mississippi College. He was so impressed with the exhibit that he initiated a formal acquisition request to the Museum’s Collections Committee. The Committee enthusiastically agreed to undergo the process of acquiring Ms. Golding’s work.

"Ever since Ms. Golding offered her Katrina project to our museum, and I [saw] her work, I have been deeply impressed by the single-minded, heroic dedication of this talented photographer,"says Haberstich. "Her photographs, as well as the interviews and research she conducted on the impact of Katrina on her state, constitute a thorough, multi-faceted project in the finest tradition of documentary photography."

Ms. Golding traveled to Washington, D.C. on June 18, 2009, to present in person the initial installment of Katrina: Mississippi Women Remember. The first installment included seventy-one of the ninety-two sepia toned silver gelatin prints from her traveling exhibition, along with her file of comments left by exhibit visitors – first-hand testimonials of the emotional impact the photographs have on those who view them. On August 16, 2009, Smithsonian archivist Craig Orr journeyed to Vicksburg to obtain the sixteen large prints for the museum’s collection of Ms. Golding’s photographs.

Prior to obtaining Ms. Golding’s collection, the Smithsonian archives did not contain any photographs of Katrina in Mississippi. Although the Smithsonian does not have a particular mandate to collect images of every state, Haberstich believes that a national collection should strive for balance in collecting photographs from various regions of the country. Other curators in the Museum had previously collected artifacts and photographs related to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, but Haberstich agreed with Ms. Golding that it was also very important to preserve, on a national level, evidence of Mississippi’s harrowing experiences with the storm. The collection of photographs, film and documentary pieces are all-encompassing, capturing powerful images of place, Coastal landscape and landmarks, and representing people from all walks of life: all ages, genders, races and backgrounds.

Ms. Golding’s photographs, interviews, and research are also compiled in a book, published by the University Press of Mississippi, also entitled Katrina: Mississippi Women Remember. Her work on this project has been supported in part by the Mississippi Humanities Council. All proceeds from the sales of the book go directly back to the Coast’s ongoing recovery.

Ms. Golding continues to capture Mississippi through her lenses. She has several upcoming exhibitions, and in 2010 the University Press will publish another collection of her photographs and essays. For more information about the artist’s work, visit www.melodygolding.com.

Original Katrina: Mississippi Women Remember exhibit sites:


Selected Publications