Officials broke ground Saturday on a $45-million, 58,500 sq. foot facility devoted to Mississippi artists in film, literature, music, arts, dance, theater and visual arts to be named the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience.

An opening date in November 2017, corresponding to the bicentennial of Mississippi's statehood, is expected for the the new public-private arts venue in Meridian.

A few examples of Mississippi artists include: photographer William Eggleston, sculptor Martin Hodges, writers William Faulkner and Alice Walker (The Color Purple), and many music legends, from Elvis Presely to Muddy Waters.

The project's designer, Cybelle Jones, Principal of Gallagher & Associates in Washington, D.C., said: "This won't be a traditional museum. The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience is going to be totally immersive, media driven, hands-on, interactive. It will be an invigorating experience for visitors. What is so special about Mississippi is going to come out. The Mississippi story about these artists is what this experience will be about. Their photography, their paintings, their songs, their theater, will come to life in a different way."