Jackson, MS — For the first time, the Mississippi Museum of Art (MMA) is dedicating a major exhibition to the life and work of L.V. Hull, the self-taught artist from Kosciusko whose creative vision transformed her small-town home into a vibrant art environment. LV Hull: Love Is a Sensation opens March 20, 2026, and is presented in partnership with the L.V. Hull Legacy Center in Kosciusko, which also opens this March with a parallel exhibition and programming.
Hull (1942–2008) was known not only for her striking artworks made from found objects, paint, and glue but also for the way she wove art into daily life and community. Her 900-square-foot home, which she purchased in 1974 with earnings from domestic work, became her studio, gallery, and canvas. Every surface—from walls to porch to garden—bore her unique touch of assemblages, painted signs, and dot patterns. In 2024, her home was recognized on the National Register of Historic Places, the first Black female artist’s studio to achieve National Significance.
“L.V. Hull’s work reminds us that artistic innovation isn’t limited to formal training or big city galleries,” said Laurie Hearin McRee, director of MMA. “Her home was her studio, her canvas, and the expression of a deeply rooted creativity that resonates with Mississippi’s cultural story. Presenting her work at MMA affirms our belief that artists like Hull are essential to a fuller understanding of American art history.”
The Jackson exhibition features roughly 300 works by Hull, from large-scale pieces to recreations of her richly decorated home environment. The Legacy Center in Kosciusko offers a more intimate, place-based experience with archival materials, personal memorabilia, and works Hull made for friends and neighbors—showing how community relationships fueled her creativity.
Hull’s life and art are also explored in a one-hour documentary, Love Is a Sensation, directed by Yaphet Smith, a longtime friend of the artist. The film captures Hull’s immersive home environment and her unique approach to life and art, including her creation of a special work for blues legend B.B. King. Both the film and exhibitions premiere in spring 2026 at MMA and the Legacy Center.
Smith, who serves as liaison with Hull’s estate and vice president of curation for the Arts Foundation of Kosciusko, said, “Visiting L.V. was its own immersive artistic experience. One visitor depicted in the documentary observed that it was, ‘hard to tell where the art starts and L.V. begins. She had some eggs boiling on the stove, and it was like that was part of the whole thing.’ Together, the documentary and companion exhibitions once again immerse us in L.V.’s world, providing a visceral reminder of the transformative power of art.”
The L.V. Hull Legacy Center, located on the street where Hull lived in Kosciusko, is designed to continue celebrating her life and art. It features exhibitions, community spaces, workshops, artist residencies, and a garden, offering residents and visitors a chance to explore Hull’s creative legacy where it all began.
Love Is a Sensation is supported by Teiger Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation, Feild Co-op, Mississippi Humanities Council, Visit Mississippi, and Visit Jackson.
For more information on the exhibition and Legacy Center, visit www.lvhull.org
About the L.V. Hull Legacy Center
Opening in March 2026, the L.V. Hull Legacy Center is a new visual arts campus on Hull’s street in Kosciusko, MS, that includes Hull’s preserved home. Visitors are encouraged to view the exhibitions at both MMA in Jackson and the Legacy Center in Kosciusko in order to gain a more complete understanding of Hull’s life and practice. Focusing on Hull’s special relationship to place, the exhibition at the Legacy Center acknowledges the many people who united to support her during her lifetime and to preserve her legacy following her death in 2008. With exhibitions, programs, community meeting spaces, artist residencies, and a garden, the Legacy Center will provide additional opportunities for visitors to learn more about Hull’s practice and her place in the cultural history of Kosciusko, the birthplace of civil rights activist James Meredith and cultural icon Oprah Winfrey. For more information, visit www.lvhull.org.
The first phase of the Legacy Center’s construction is almost complete and was supported by the Mississippi Arts Commission’s Building Fund for the Arts. Fundraising is underway for the next phase, also partially supported by MAC, and will include building a creative studio and renovating an existing barn into an open-air space for workshops, performances, screenings, and other community events.
