MS Power Hosts Sculpture Contest, Donates $5,000 to Sculpture Program

MS Power recently hosted a national sculpture contest, which called for artists to create a sculpture to be placed at MS Power Headquarters in Gulfport. The winning sculpture is shown above. Pictured from left to right are David Wood, student; Jennifer Torres, Associate Professor; James Davis, Instructor and Southern Miss alum; Chris Wubbena, former Associate Professor and winner of the sculpture contest; Richard Kopp, student.

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The sculpture program in The University of Southern Mississippi’s Department of Art and Design recently received a check for $5,000 from Mississippi Power, after participating in a national sculpture contest.

Hosted by Mississippi Power, the contest called for artists to create an outdoor large-scale Katrina commemorative sculpture to be placed at MS Power Headquarters in Gulfport. After receiving over a dozen submissions, the nationwide contest came to a conclusion August 27 with the installation of the winning sculpture, created be Chris Wubbena, former Southern Miss faculty member.

A formal dedication of the piece was held on August 29, the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

“Mississippi Power wanted to do something to illustrate the hard work their employees put into rebuilding after Katrina,” said Jennifer Torres, associate professor of art design and professional consultant for Mississippi Power’s sculpture contest. “And a number of Mississippi Power’s employees are Southern Miss alums.”

According to Torres, Southern Miss art students helped with the installation of the sculpture and also helped the artist while he was building the piece.