Unlock the Power of your Generosity!
Our capital campaign just got a game-changing boost with a generous matching grant from the Southern Black Farmers Community-Led Fund.
Every dollar you donate will now have double the impact, thanks to this incredible opportunity.
Your support isn’t just a contribution; it’s a catalyst for positive change. Together, we’ll create a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen, preserving traditions, and fostering community in our community of Utica, Mississippi.
Double your impact, double the legacy.
Let’s savor the past and cook up a vibrant future together. Donate now and be part of the cultural transformation we’ve all been craving!
Video by Jasmine Cannon, Back South Productions
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Last Updated: April 11, 2025
Help Us Raise $1.8 Million for our community's vision
In 2024, the Mississippi Center for Cultural Production (Sipp Culture) will open the Main Street Cultural Center on Main Street in downtown Utica, Mississippi. The opening of this newly imagined and renovated space marks a new beginning for the small rural town of Utica. This space, which occupies the corner lot in downtown Utica at the intersection of White Oak Street and Main Street, hasn’t been a viable business for more than two decades. Through this renovation project, this space will now provide a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen and an intimate venue for the presentation of music, film, and multidisciplinary performance and visual art. It will serve as Sipp Culture’s primary presenting venue for year round arts programming.
Main Street Cultural Center Job Opportunities
Thank you for your interest in joining our team at Main St. Cultural Center. Understanding the Center and its functions is crucial to understanding all the job roles, responsibilities, and furthermore the requirements for the position you are applying for.
Main St. Cultural Center is a multi-functional space of Sipp Culture (our parent organization), and serves the community in these three major ways:
It is an event center and venue for multiple types of events from within and outside of the organization, including events from public rental. Events are hosted and catered from within.
It has a restaurant component that operates through certain days of the week.
It is hub for programs operated by Sipp Culture such as Farmers Market, Plant Sale Events, Elder Share, Food Club and more.
Working at Main St. Cultural Center will mean that you get to be involved in all aspects and functionality of the center, and will provide great exposure to the wonderful things that are happening in Utica, MS through Sipp Culture. Your flexibility and adaptability to a multifaceted operation will be key to your success, and our success! We look forward to growing with the experience and strengths that you bring to the position.
Apply Now: Lead Cook – Main Street Cultural Center
We are looking for an experienced and qualified Lead Chef to organize the kitchen’s activities.
Apply Now: Line Cook – Main Street Cultural Center
We are looking for a professional Line Cook to work alongside our Lead Cook.
Apply Now: Pastry & Dessert Cook/Line Cook – Main Street Cultural Center
We are seeking an experienced and passionate Pastry Cook to join our team.
Apply Now: Dishwasher & Utilities – Main Street Cultural Center
We are looking for a Dishwasher & Utilities individual to join our kitchen staff and maintain cleanliness around our facility.
Apply Now: Lead Server/Steward – Main Street Cultural Center
We are looking for a competent Lead Server & Steward to take charge of the front of the house (FoH). You’ll be the face of our restaurant and responsible for our customers’ experiences.
Apply Now: Server/Steward 2 – Main Street Cultural Center
We are looking for a competent Server & Steward to take and deliver orders. You’ll be the face of our restaurant and responsible for our customers’ experiences.
“The renovation of the Main Street Cultural Center is the most important development in the town of Utica this century. It marks the next phase of a return to locally sourced community food systems.”
– Carlton Turner, Lead Artist & Sipp Culture Co-Director
“Ground Seeding” event with community leaders to officially celebrate the Main Street Cultural Center construction, July 2024
Sipp Culture has been working with Mike Grote of Alembic Community Development of New Orleans as the primary developer consultant in support of this project. Mike is the visionary behind the Andre Cailloux Center for Performing Arts & Cultural Justice (ACC) on historic Bayou Road and the conversion of former elementary school, McDonough 19, into the TEP Center in the Lower 9th Ward, both in New Orleans. Mike has walked us through the process of developing this underused space into a concept for long-term community health for the town of Utica.
The building is being designed by Allison Anderson, FAIA and John Anderson AIA LEED-AP of unAbridged Architecture in Bay St. Louis. unAbridged designed the Mockingbird Café and The Arts, both in Bay St. Louis. As designers, their goals are to design a space with aesthetic appeal, quality build, and relevance to the community it will serve. As designers, they are also deeply committed to designing for the future and addressing pressing issues of climate change. John was the first LEED-Accredited Professional in the state of Louisiana in 2002.
The Main Street Cultural Center will install a 26 kw solar power grid on the roof of our building. This array will serve three functions: to decrease our annual operational costs; to provide an emergency space for our community during severe weather (disaster preparedness); and to demonstrate how renewable energy can directly impact small rural communities through providing practical applications.
