The Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Arts Center

09/05/2026

🖼️💐New Galleries Coming Soon!

Bryant Whelan's "Nature Walk" will be open in The Duckett Gallery from September to the end of December!

Join us September 18th for the Gallery Opening, as well as a Tea Talk with the artist!

Bryant Galloway Whelan is an award-winning artist based in Fairhope, Alabama. She received her BFA from Auburn University and has participated in multiple solo exhibits and group shows. Whelan teaches classes and workshops in experimental printmaking techniques in venues across the Southeast and is represented by Sophiella Gallery in Mobile, Alabama. She has been awarded artist residencies in Nantucket, Cape Cod, and Seaside, Florida. Whelan is a member of the Fairhope Signature Artists exhibiting group and Mississippi Art Colony, the oldest continuous art colony in the nation.

"My artwork reflects a sense of awe and wonder for forms of nature, their shapes and intrinsic beauty. I forage for leaves, flora, seaweed, fungi, moss, broken shells, insect wings and seed pods for inspiration and incorporation in my art. My multi-disciplinary process combines drawing and painting on paper and fabric and layering with stitching, photography, collage, botanic eco-printing and printmaking. Gatherings from my nature walks are immortalized visually with the aim to inspire others to view nature through an expanded lens, evoking a reverence for the biodiversity of our environment and shoreline."

09/05/2026

🖼️💐New Galleries Coming Soon!

GeorgeAnn McCullough's "How Does Your Garden Grow?" will be open in The Local Creatives Gallery from September to the end of December!

Join us September 18th for the Gallery Openings, as well as a Tea Talk with the artist!

"My latest series of abstracted botanicals explores the quiet complexity of the natural world through layered mixed-media abstraction. Organic forms emerge from textured collage papers, acrylic paint, and drawing media, with surfaces built up and excavated to reveal traces of what came before. These shifting layers evoke cycles of growth, decay, renewal, and the passage of time."

GeorgeAnn McCullough is a mixed media artist, residing in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. She has degrees in art, art education, and advanced studies from Texas Lutheran University, University of Houston, and Arrowmont School of Crafts respectively. Her work has won numerous awards, and has been included in regional, national and international exhibitions. She has work included in the permanent collections of the Meridian Museum of Art, the Kenneth Quinn Collection, Mississippi College, City of Jackson, Mississippi, and the Mississippi Welcome Center, Jackson County and Hancock County facilities. She was one of the spotlighted artists at The Five Senses of Ohr: A Party For Your Senses in 2019 and again in 2025. Her exhibition, “A Series of Series, A Retrospective,” was at the Duckett Gallery in the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center, Ocean Springs MS, November 2023 - February 2024.

09/05/2026

Photos from today's First Saturday Collective!

The First Saturday Collective grants local small business owners an opportunity to share their arts and goods and connect with other artisans, and gives you the opportunity to shop local, right here on the Coast. Thank you to the event organizer, and all of the artists who set up shop today!

Keep an eye out for the next Saturday Collective, as well as many more events at https://www.themaryc.art/events

09/03/2026

Coming soon to the Trent Lott Theater!🩷👠💄

"Join The DEN Theatrics for this musical retelling of Tina Fey’s iconic film! “Mean Girls” follows Cady Heron, a new student from Africa, as she meets “The Plastics” and begins a hilarious plot with her friends Damian and Janis to bring down Regina, the queen bee. With direction from Brennan Prince and Angie Trueblood, with music direction by Jennifer Scrimpshire and choreography by Andrea Deaton. Join us October 2-4 at The Mary C. O’Keefe and find out “where you belong”!"

Tickets are available today! Get them now at https://www.thedenms.com/event-list

🗓️: October 2nd at 7 PM
🗓️: October 3rd at 2 PM & 7 PM
🗓️: October 4th at 2 PM
📍: The Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Arts Center

09/03/2026

This year, ALL ROADS LEAD HOME.

Keep an eye out for all of the events and workshops coming to the Coast thanks to the MISSISSIPPI SONGWRITERS' FESTIVAL !

"From the Delta to the Pines… from the Capital River Region all the way down to the Gulf Coast… Mississippi’s music has traveled around the world, but its roots always lead right back here. ❤️

For four incredible days, Thursday, September 17th, to Saturday, September 20th, songwriters, music lovers, venues, businesses and communities will come together across the Mississippi Gulf Coast to celebrate the stories, the songs and the people who make Mississippi truly The Birthplace of America’s Music.

And this year feels especially meaningful as we look toward a new chapter for the Mississippi Songwriters Alliance with the future home of the Mississippi Songwriters Performing Arts Center & Hall of Fame in Gautier."

08/29/2026

In loving memory of Melanie Allen.

Melanie Allen was an incredibly talented, determined and loving soul with a long history of non profit work, community projects, activism, art and so much more. Her history on the Gulf Coast within the last three decades is an incredible testament to the love, care and dedication she poured into the City of Ocean Springs.

The "We Love Melanie" project has been displayed in Marshall Park, honoring and celebrating the wonderful life of Melanie Allen and everything she has done for our city, her family, and the friends of The Mary C. The project was spearheaded by Byran Milling Bryan Milling , Chelsea Prince Chelsea Norton Prince , sponsored by Shelton Jewelers W.P. Shelton Jewelers and OS Lumber OS Lumber , and each letter hand painted by a collection of artists on the Gulf Coast.

Thank you so much to everyone who collaborated to create this incredible piece for an incredible soul. We Love You Melanie.

08/29/2026

Discover Our Trees with Larry Tucei! Live Oak and Yellow Pine.

"Larry Tucei has spent decades documenting, preserving, and caring for the trees that make the Mississippi Gulf Coast beautiful, shady and resilient."

Join us at The Mary C on September 11th at 6:30PM as he shares his work, the new Ocean Springs Tree Trail, and what you can do to grow and protect our urban forests.

08/22/2026

Kids Baking Boot Camp! Cinnamon Rolls!

Today, kids from Building Behaviors joined us at The Mary C for Mirabela Ayers' Kids Baking Boot Camp. All of the kids had a blast kneading their own dough, making the filling and even their own frosting- as well as get to enjoy a cinnamon roll when they were done!

Thank you so much to Building Behaviors Counseling Services, LLC as well as Mira'"Mira's Family Cooking: Around the World for bringing these kids together for a wonderful baking experience.

There are many more culinary experiences to come in our fall season! Check out our updated classes at https://www.themaryc.art/classes

08/22/2026

🍊🦪Preserving Our Place in History!

The 2026 Cemetery Tour is on it's way to the Evergreen Cemetery! With this year's theme of the Citrus, Pecan and Oyster industries, our goal is to keep Ocean Springs' rich history alive and tell the stories of our local friends and families.

Tours will begin on October 14th-15th at the Mary C. where you will be taken on a ride to Evergreen to meet some old friends.

This event is free and open to the public! Any and all donations recieved will go back to the wonderful actors and creatives who make these productions possible.

More information on events will be available on our website at https://www.themaryc.art/events , where you can also find info on auditions to be a part of the Cemetery tour Cast!
City of Ocean Springs (Official)
Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce-Main Street-Tourism Bureau

08/22/2026

So exciting! Make sure to catch all of the live music around town from September 17th to the 20th!

IT’S HERE! 🎶 The Mississippi Songwriters Alliance is very proud to officially unveil the poster for the 17th Annual Mississippi Songwriters Festival — Coast Edition!

📅 September 17–20, 2026

This year, ALL ROADS LEAD HOME.

From the Delta to the Pines… from the Capital River Region all the way down to the Gulf Coast… Mississippi’s music has traveled around the world, but its roots always lead right back here. ❤️

For four incredible days, songwriters, music lovers, venues, businesses and communities will come together across the Mississippi Gulf Coast to celebrate the stories, the songs and the people who make Mississippi truly The Birthplace of America’s Music.

And this year feels especially meaningful as we look toward a new chapter for the Mississippi Songwriters Alliance with the future home of the Mississippi Songwriters Performing Arts Center & Hall of Fame in Gautier.

To every sponsor, participating venue, community partner and supporter whose name appears here: THANK YOU. You help make this festival possible and help us continue telling Mississippi’s musical story.

🎶 17th Annual Mississippi Songwriters Festival
📍 Ocean Springs & Gautier - MS
📅 September 17–20, 2026

The countdown is officially ON.

ALL ROADS LEAD HOME. 🏡🎶 we hope everyone who can will join us