• The Two Mississippi Museums will host a photo exhibit titled “Hurricane Katrina: Mississippi Remembers” to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the storm.
• The exhibit, featuring photographs by Melody Golding, will run from March 8 to November 7, 2025.
• Golding, a Vicksburg native, extensively documented Hurricane Katrina’s impact on the Mississippi Coast, and her work is featured in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History Archives Center.

Almost any Mississippian who has lived in the state for at least the past two decades will have stories about Hurricane Katrina.

August this year will mark 20 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Mississippi Gulf Coast and took lives and homes becoming one the five deadliest hurricanes in United States history. Mississippi alone saw 238 deaths.

In recognition of the event’s 20th anniversary, the Two Mississippi Museums will host a months-long photo exhibit title “Hurricane Katrina: Mississippi Remembers,” which will feature photographs by Melody Golding capturing the hurricane’s toll on the state’s coast.

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History curatorial staff developed the exhibit which will open on March 8 and run through Nov. 7.

If you go:

• When: March 8 through Nov. 7
• Where: The Two Mississippi Museums, 222 North St., Jackson

Golding is a Vicksburg native who photographed Hurricane Katrina and its effects on the Mississippi Coast. Her work, including a book title “Katrina: Mississippi Women Remember,” is well-known throughout the South and beyond. The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History Archives Center displays Golding’s documentary exhibit following the events of the hurricane.

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Michael Morris, director of the Two Mississippi Museums, said he and his team are very excited for the upcoming exhibit.

“Hurricane Katrina is the most devastating natural disaster in Mississippi’s history,” Morris said. “For me, this exhibit is important because it allows us to explore the immediate and long-term effects of this storm.”

Morris knows first-hand what it’s like to carry memories of the hurricane.

“I was going into my senior year in high school when Hurricane Katrina took place, living right here in Jackson,” Morris said. “I can remember our lights being out for a week and us not having power or running water for a while. It’s something that a lot of Mississippians experienced in different ways. Of course, what was most devastating was what happened on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I think so much has been placed on New Orleans and what they went through, but I think this (exhibit) is an opportunity to kind of shed more light on just how expansive the damage was along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.”

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MDAH and the Two Mississippi Museums are also plan to host several events and panel discussions to accompany the exhibit. The exact schedule is still being fleshed out, but Morris said one panel will be a conversation between Golding and Katie Blunt, the MDAH director who was working in archives and history during the hurricane.

Admission tickets for the Two Mississippi Museums includes the Hurricane Katrina exhibit. Tickets are $15 for adults, $13 for seniors 60 years and older or military, $8 for youth aged four to 22 and free for children under 3. The Two Mississippi Museums offers free admission for everyone every Sunday.

Hours for the Two Mississippi Museums are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday and closed on Monday.

Got a news tip? Contact Mary Boyte at mboyte@jackson.gannett.com