When many south Mississippi residents speak about what was salvaged in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, they consider the lives of family, friends, pets and mementos such as photographs and keepsakes among the treasures. Other treasures essential to Mississippi’s culture and the people who worked to rescue and restore them were honored at recent ceremonies hosted by the Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC) in New Orleans. First Lady Laura Bush recognized the eleven honorees at a special reception held in their honor.

“It speaks to the importance of the Sarah Gillespie Collection (SGC) to be among one of only eleven honorees recognized at an event at which Mrs. Bush offered her personal congratulations for the work we had done,” said Iris Easterling, William Carey University SGC collection curator and award recipient.

Easterling, who also serves as assistant professor of English at Carey, was recognized for her tireless work in not only moving the collection from the ruins of the Gillespie Gallery on the university’s beachfront property following the storm, and her continued work in cleaning and restoring the many pieces of priceless art damaged by the storm and mold that followed, but for her continued work in procuring grants.

The Sarah Gillespie Collection, considered the most complete collection of art produced by Mississippians in the 20th century, will be housed in a new gallery currently under construction on the Hattiesburg campus.

The collection features more than 450 works by Mississippi artists such as Walter Anderson, Kate Freeman Clark, William Hollingworth, Theora Hamblett, Karl Wolfe, Wyatt Waters and Ethel Wright Mohamed, among many others. Gillespie is a lifelong Hattiesburg resident and long-time patron of the arts.

“It is a miracle that the complete collection was not destroyed,” said Easterling. “Each piece had to be removed from it frame, assessed by a professional, and prepared for exhibit.”

Easterling is currently working on campus with a consultant paid for through a SEMC grant. The consultant is not only assisting Easterling with the preparation of the collection for display when the new gallery opens, but is compiling the information and photographs needed to produce a catalog showcasing the collection. The previous catalogs were destroyed along with acquisition information and artist biographies.

Carey’s collection was among only five organizations in the state to receive part of a $225,000 Hurricane Relief Award. Other organizations included the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art, Lynn Meadows Discovery Center, Walter Anderson Museum of Art, and the Maritime Seafood Industry Museum.

This grant is the latest in a series of grants Easterling procured to underwrite the preservation and conservation of the collection. Funding for the collection has come from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Conservation Assessment Program, SEMC, private donors and other foundations.

The SEMC is a nonprofit organization that strives to increase education and professional development opportunities. Members reside in twelve southeastern states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

For more information about the collection call 601-318-6148.