Funderburk receives 2024 Mississippi Governor’s Arts Award
The 2024 Mississippi Governor’s Arts Awards recipients were recognized by the Mississippi State Legislature (Senate Resolution No. 12) in a MS State Capitol Building ceremony. (L-R: MS Senator Lydia Chassaniol, MS Senator Bart Williams, Brent Funderburk, Senator John Horhn, presenter, and Mississippi Arts Commission Director David Lewis)
Mississippi State University William L. Giles Distinguished Professor Emeritus Brent Funderburk is the recipient of this year’s “Excellence in Visual Arts and Education” award and was recognized at the 36th Governor’s Arts Awards (GAA) ceremony in February. A public reception preceded the ceremony at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson, the state capital. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves and Mrs. Reeves gave a private reception for the awardees in the Governor’s Mansion that evening.
“It has been my great privilege to have worked and learned from Brent Funderburk from the time of my hire in 2002 to his retirement in 2018,” said MSU College of Architecture, Art and Design Dean Angi Elsea Bourgeois. “Seeing his dedication to excellence and inspirational mentorship to our students provided a guiding light for me and so many others. Throughout his career, Brent drew the very best out of our students, helping them go farther in their artistic and creative discovery than even they believed they could go. He is a true inspiration and so deeply deserving of this immense recognition.”
Presented annually by the Mississippi Arts Commission in partnership with the Governor’s office, the Governor’s Arts Awards recognize individuals and organizations who have made noteworthy contributions to or achieved artistic excellence in Mississippi. This year’s honorees include Earl Poole Ball, “Lifetime Achievement”; Cedric Burnside, “Excellence in Music”; Peter Zapletal, “Excellence in Performing Arts”; and 100 Men Hall, “Arts in Community”.
Funderburk—a Charlotte, North Carolina, native who resides in Starkville with his wife Deborah Wyatt Funderburk, also a retired MSU professor—is widely known for his water-media paintings and energetic teaching and lectures. He has been recognized with some of the highest academic, teaching and research honors and has presented 35 one-person exhibitions across the U.S. Funderburk’s artworks are represented in public and private collections and publications worldwide. He has been juried into more than 100 regional, national and international competitive shows, with numerous awards, and has given presentations to more than 100 museums, universities and professional organizations.
Mississippi Public Broadcasting and the MAC partnered to record and broadcast the MS Governor’s Arts Awards awards ceremony on public television. An interview with Brent Funderburk was aired by MPR on the “Mississippi Arts Hour” earlier this year.
Additional Links:
The Mississippi Arts Hour| Brent Funderburk (Jan. 22, 2024)
Brent Funderburk – 2024 Governor's Arts Awards (Feb. 16, 2024)
MSU's Funderburk receives Governor's Arts Award (Feb. 16, 2024)
GAA recipient Brent Funderburk accepts the 2024 GAA award
2024 MS GAA recipients – Top L-R: Funderburk, MS Gov. Reeves, Zapletal: Below L-R: Burnside, Dangermond (100 Men dba Hall), Ball
2024 MS GAA pr materials, programs and posters featured Brent Funderburk’s watercolor painting “Blood Moon” (Collection of Tibor Pechan and Olga Pechanova)