Walter Anderson Museum of Art’s ‘The Traveler’ exhibits contemporary art with coffee shop

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (WLOX) - The Traveler is the newest addition to the Walter Anderson Museum of Art’s campus, located just steps away.

Just like the museum, The Walter Anderson Museum of Art’s Executive Director, Julian Rankin, says The Traveler is infused with pieces of art capturing the culture of Ocean Springs.

Rankin says, “It allows people to take what they see in the museum and then come and experience it over here through contemporary art that champions the legacy of coastal culture.”

Some locals may be able to identify this coffee shop, as it stood as a residential building in downtown Ocean Springs for a century.

The museum bought the old house in 2022, and Rankin says they were trying to figure out how to connect the community and food, something the city of discovery is known for.

Rankin says, “Because so much of nature is about the way we eat and spend time with one another. But, we also wanted to show a contemporary connection between the founding history of Shearwater Pottery and the Walter Anderson family more than 100 years ago now and all of the cool work that’s being created by people in the community.”

Rankin says that The Traveler represents the past through Ocean Springs’ history, but also signifies the future of the city.

In the future, it won’t just be The Traveler that’s on the museum’s campus.

Rankin says, “We also have the creative complex, which is coming in the years to come, a new 5,000 square foot educational campus. When it’s all said and done, there will be three distinct properties, the museum, The Traveler, and the creative complex.”

Rankin says that after completion, it will allow the community to experience and participate in all the cultural art Ocean Springs has to offer.

Rankin adds that public, state, and federal funds helped bring The Traveler to life, along with private sector donors located in the community.

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