Page 52 - South Mississippi Living - May, 2016

LEISURE on full display
Baseball exhibit opens at the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art May 10
story by Susan Ruddiman photos courtesy of Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art
ow that Biloxi has a professional baseball team, it’s only fitting the game be celebrated with a six-month exhibit at the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art. Our Love Affair with Baseball will open May 10 and run through
Nov. 4.
“Our goal with this exhibit is to ‘wow’ people, and
to allow them to express their own love affair with baseball. Baseball is an amazing teacher of life lessons,” said Barry Lyons, guest curator for the exhibit.
Lyons, a member of the 1986 World Series Champion New York Mets, had a 14-year career as a professional player. One of the reasons he returned to his hometown of Biloxi was to promote the establishment of Minor League Baseball on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
“Barry Lyons is very passionate about baseball and his hometown community, and is using his connections, knowledge and experience to help us assemble an excellent, entertaining and educational program,” said Vincent Creel, president of the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art Board of Directors.
Our Love Affair with Baseball exhibit follows the highly successful Katrina +10 exhibit and will have a similar format of guest speakers for a noon luncheon each Friday. The exhibit will take up three major galleries at the $40-million facility, according to Kevin O’Brien, museum executive director. Visitors will view exhibits depicting the sport’s characters, history and equipment connected to the Coast and Mississippi.
“Our Love Affair with Baseball makes sense because we have the Shuckers here, and it brings in a popular culture exhibit to the museum,” O’Brien said.
Lyons is looking forward to the exhibit’s opening.
“It’s a journey of faith, passion and love for the game of baseball. This exhibit will be an awesome experience,” he said.
52 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • May 2016
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