The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience (The MAX) honored its inaugural Hall of Fame inductees with custom awards created by Bennett Awards. The MAX is an experiential museum that showcases Mississippi’s contributions to the arts, including music, visual arts, performing arts, and literature.
The MAX’s inaugural Hall of Fame inductees were officially announced at a press conference held at the Mississippi state capital on March 23, 2017. The honorees were formally inducted into the Hall of Fame at a ceremony held December 16, 2017, at the Riley Center in Meriden, Mississippi. A total of 18 Mississippi artists were inducted and honored with a custom award created by Bennett Awards. The inductees were:
Performing Arts
Oprah Winfrey
Morgan Freeman
Jim Henson
James Earl Jones
Sela Ward
Music
Elvis Presley
B.B. King
Muddy Waters
Robert Johnson
Leontyne Price
Jimmie Rodgers
Writing
William Faulkner
John Grisham
Eudora Welty
Tennessee Williams
Richard Wright
Visual Arts
Walter Anderson
George Orr
For these awards, Bennett Awards worked with The Godwin Group to create a new, unique, stunning custom award design. The design was inspired by The MAX’s logo. The awards were fabricated from aluminum using an extrusion process to create a freestanding geometric obelisk in the form of The MAX logo. The awards were bead-blasted and black anodized for their finish. The awards featured direct laser engraving in the aluminum of The MAX logotype, award name, and recipient name. These custom awards stand approximately 12” tall.