Butler Snow attorney Stephen Edds has been named chairman of the Mississippi Arts Commission, the law firm announced in a press release.
The Commission, made up of fifteen members appointed by the governor, serves as the official grants-making and service agency for the arts in Mississippi.
“Steve’s passion for the arts is well known throughout the firm and the state,” said Donald Clark Jr., Chairman, Butler Snow. “We know that he will serve as an effective and positive leader of the Commission.”
The Mississippi Legislature created the Mississippi Arts Commission in 1968 as a catalyst for private support of the arts. The release noted that the commission fosters networks of local leaders, artists of all disciplines, arts volunteers and patrons; consults on community arts development, performing, visual and literary arts, folk arts, and arts education; provides training in arts management, arts education planning, arts facilities planning and communitywide cultural planning; and promotes broad-based public awareness of the importance of the arts in education and community life.
The Mississippi Arts Commission is funded by the state and also receives funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. With these funds, the commission provides financial support in the form of grants for eligible art programs and for the work of individual artists.
Edds joined Butler Snow’s public finance group in 2016 and focuses his practice on public finance, tax credits, economic development and tax.
He also serves as the chairman of the Mississippi Tort Claims Board, is vice chairman of the Mississippi Museum of Art and is a member of the Tougaloo College Board of Trustees. He is the chairman of the American Bar Association’s standing committee for the Silver Gavel Awards and is a member of the American Bar Association Committee on Public Education.
Edds completed his undergraduate education and Juris Doctor at the University of Mississippi.