In this Mississippi city, public art points a way forward

Madison Rux lives just outside Hattiesburg, Mississippi, but she finds herself in the city often. Sometimes it’s for work, sometimes for her social life. Sometimes it’s to get a moment to herself to think clearly, alone, while she strolls the city until she runs into one of her favorite works of public art.   

It’s of a large, technicolored hummingbird, a painting by Texas artist Avery Orendorf titled “Spread Your Wings.” It reminds Ms. Rux of herself, and of the trials she faced as a teenager. She relocated from Central Texas to Mississippi six years ago, after her adopted parents kicked her out of their home at age 17. She had to reinvent herself and navigate the world on her own. 

“Growing up, I