Information
Landmark: Powerhouse Community Arts CenterCity: Oxford MS
Country: USA Mississippi
Continent: North America
Powerhouse Community Arts Center, Oxford MS, USA Mississippi, North America
Overview
In Oxford, Mississippi, the Powerhouse Community Arts Center turns a former industrial building-its brick walls still smelling faintly of old machinery-into the city’s lively heart for the arts.It weaves together history, striking architecture, and fresh creative energy, giving visitors a taste of Oxford’s centuries-old past alongside the buzz of its modern cultural scene.Back in 1928, the Oxford Electric Department built this place as a power plant, sending light and energy into a town that was quickly filling its streets.The building’s purpose shaped every detail of its design-thick brick walls, tall windows spilling daylight across the floor, and a cavernous interior built to house massive, rumbling machines.In 1952, after the Tennessee Valley Authority took over electricity service in the area, the plant shut down, its brick walls and dusty windows standing empty for decades.Built tough, it came through intact, even as the buildings around it fell to rubble or were gutted and rebuilt.Back in the late ’90s, the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council won the funding and backing it needed to transform the building into a lively cultural hub, once dusty floors now ready for concerts and exhibits.Following a major restoration, the building reopened in 2008 as the Powerhouse Community Arts Center, keeping its steel beams and worn brick while adding rooms for art shows, live performances, and neighborhood events.The building still carries its industrial bones-steel beams and worn brick-offering a distinctive stage for artistic expression.Steel beams stretch overhead, exposed brick warms the walls, and sunlight pours through tall arched windows beneath the vaulted ceiling, filling the space with air and light.They kept the soaring interior and the old machine bays, turning them into bright galleries and lively spaces for performances.The center mixes historic charm with modern flexibility, so it works just as well for a quiet, twelve-person workshop as it does for a bustling community festival.The facility features several unique areas, including a bright gallery space where paintings, photographs, sculptures, and mixed‑media pieces from local and regional artists rotate in and out like seasons.The Theatre and Performance Area can host everything from live concerts and plays to dance shows and lectures, with room for 400 people seated or 800 standing shoulder to shoulder.Classroom and workshop spaces adapt easily for hands-on art, whether it’s shaping clay on a pottery wheel, brushing color onto canvas, or hosting lively seasonal camps for kids.The Yoknapatawpha Arts Council runs the Powerhouse Community Arts Center, making sure it offers everything from hands-on art classes to events that celebrate local culture.They offer art classes and workshops in visual arts, ceramics, painting, and sculpture, along with lively seasonal camps for kids and teens.Rotating exhibitions showcase hometown artists alongside visiting collections, so there’s always something new-maybe a vivid mural one month, a rare antique the next-to keep regulars coming back.Music concerts, theater shows, and storytelling nights come alive in the center’s one-of-a-kind space, where a whisper carries and colors seem to glow.Community Events: The venue comes alive with cultural celebrations, lively arts festivals, and the occasional quirky showdown-like the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest, where fingers fly across the keys.At the heart of Oxford’s creative scene, the center offers artists a place to teach, perform, and showcase their work-paint still fresh on canvases-while drawing the wider community into a shared love of the arts.Step inside, and you can’t miss it-the raw steel beams stand shoulder to shoulder with bursts of bright, modern art.Brick walls and steel beams frame bursts of color, and the lofty ceiling makes the space feel grand.You might wander through the gallery, catch a live show, or dive into a hands-on workshop-sometimes all in one trip, with the scent of fresh paint still lingering in the air.The center’s easy to reach and warmly welcomes families, drawing neighbors in to share stories and ideas, so it feels alive-more like a bustling marketplace of culture than a quiet, glass‑case museum.The address is 413 S., easy to spot just past the corner stop sign.The Powerhouse sits on 14th Street in Oxford, Mississippi, just minutes from the courthouse square and the University of Mississippi campus-close enough to hear the bells ring-so it’s easy for both locals and visitors to get there.You can park right on-site, then stroll to a café or grab dinner nearby-perfect for spending the whole day soaking up the local culture.The Powerhouse Community Arts Center shows how a century-old brick factory can come alive again, buzzing with music, art, and conversation.With its blend of historic stonework, adaptable rooms, and an array of programs, it stands at the heart of Oxford’s arts scene.Visitors take in more than exhibitions and performances-they feel the city’s pulse in the lively chatter, shared ideas, and creative spark that shape its contemporary culture.
