The United Arts Council of Greater Greensboro (UAC) in Greensboro, NC, presented a public art gift of eight bronze coffee cups, the Coffee Cup Collaborative, to Mayor Johnson and the City of Greensboro on June 29, 2009, at the Carolina Theatre in downtown Greensboro. Following a presentation at the Carolina Theatre, Mayor Johnson received the gift on behalf of the City outside the Melvin Municipal Office Building in the Governmental Plaza off S. Greene Street. Mayor Johnson officially declared June as Public Art Month to celebrate a number of significant public art projects taking place in June. The Coffee Cup Collaborative gift is unique, each bronze cup crafted by a different artist and located in eight different locations. Guided walking tours will be offered. The public is invited and encouraged to attend. The Coffee Cup Collaborative is a community-based public art project designed to celebrate the unique history of the City of Greensboro and the role it played in advancing the American civil rights movement through the momentous lunch counter sit-ins of 1960. The project was a joint effort between the UAC, International Civil Rights Center and Museum (ICRCM) and Action Greensboro's synerG group to provide a gateway for the public to share and honor the sit-in movement launched at Woolworth's on Monday afternoon, Feb. 1, 1960. "We wanted to create a project that would use art to celebrate our history and educate people about the civil rights movement and Greensboro's role in it, and to generate a community dialogue," said Liz Summers, original project coordinator. The Coffee Cup Collaborative Steering Committee solicited and selected artists for the project. Eight bronze sculptures, commemorating the request for a cup of coffee as the first words spoken in protest against segregated eating facilities, were created by area artists: Timothy Daniel, Charles Jenkins and Jay Rotberg from Greensboro; Derrick Monk and Leo Morrissey from Winston-Salem, NC; Rodney Bennett of Asheboro, NC, Kurt Gabriel of Charlotte, NC, and Gregory Colleton, a graduate of Winston-Salem State University now residing in McClellanville, SC. Each sculpture is accompanied by a quote to demonstrate the courage of the Greensboro Four to take a stand and make a difference. One sculpture is located at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, while the remaining pieces will be located downtown at the following locations: Governmental Plaza, Carolina Theatre, Hamburger Square, The Depot, Cultural Arts Center, Central Library, and the International Civil Rights Center and Museum (installation at the ICRCM will occur after construction is complete in 2010). Coffee Cup Collaborative project funders include: Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro's Future Fund, American Express, Bell Foundation, Bicentennial Committee and Nexsen Pruet, LLC. "Art has the ability to communicate complex concepts in ways that can be understood by all people. We are excited to engage both Greensboro residents and visitors about the ideas and events surrounding the 1960 sit-ins through the creation and permanent display of these coffee cups throughout Greensboro. They will inspire awareness and understanding today and for future generations," offered Jeanie Duncan, president of the United Arts Council of Greater Greensboro. The United Arts Council plans to leverage this public art project as an educational tool to promote public awareness and conversation, and to serve as an attraction to downtown Greensboro to draw cultural tourists. The UAC invests in our creative community. Our mission is to inspire growth of creative expression in our community by providing strategic and financial leadership to arts organizations, artists and educators that enhances quality of life and cultivates economic vitality and educational engagement with the Arts. Our vision is for Greensboro to be nationally recognized as a vibrant center for the Arts with a community rich in creative expression. For more information, contact Altina Layman at 336/373-7523 or visit (www.uacARTS.org).

Despite an afternoon shower prior to the start of the festival on May 8, 2009, Artisphere, Greenville, SC's annual Arts Weekend, managed to avoid the rain that had plagued the event for the past four years and reported the event a tremendous success. Festival organizers announced that attendance again reached last year's record high of 100,000 patrons, and average artist sales were the best ever, increasing from $3,700 in 2008 to $4,100 in 2009.  The festival also contributed $10,000 to its 10 volunteer "Arts Partner" organizations and another $10,000 in "Chairman's Awards" to 5 local performing arts groups. The move from April to May eliminated competition with other well-known, long established arts festivals in the Southeast, and artist applications increased from 424 in 2008 to 585 in 2009. As a result, patron comments were extremely complimentary of increased artist quality and diversity. Visits to artists' booths throughout the weekend revealed positive feedback from the artists, many of whom indicated that their sales at Artisphere were better than other festivals throughout the country. "Comments were very positive when I spoke to each of the artists over the course of the weekend," stated Artisphere Board Chairman, Brad Campbell. "Artists surveys rated us 4.9 on a 5.0 scale in both 'Festival Organization' and 'Artist Hospitality.' Many artists praised our community and said that they would like to live here." Artist hospitality rankings are due, in large part, to the festival's 10 volunteer "Arts Partner" organizations that provided 460 volunteers and 3,881 hours of service. For their time and effort, Artisphere donated a total of $10,000 to these groups based on the number of hours each organization contributed. Since its inception in 2006, Artisphere's volunteer "Arts Partner" program has received $65,000 in contributions from festival proceeds. For a complete list of 2009 "Arts Partners" please visit (www.artisphere.us). Additionally, Artisphere awarded another $10,000 in Chairman's Awards to the 5 local performing arts groups for their performances during the festival on Sunday. The five groups that received $2,000 each include The SC Children's Theatre, Carolina Ballet Theatre, Warehouse Theatre, Greenville Symphony Orchestra and The SC Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities. The Chairman's Awards were sponsored by the Collins Foundation. "Between our volunteers and our performance on Sunday, we received $3,200 from Artisphere," commented Michelle Ward, Marketing Director for SCCT. "That makes a huge difference in our organization and Artisphere makes a huge difference in our community." Artisphere is presented by Carolina First. For more information visit (www.aritpshere.us).

Brookgreen Gardens' in Murrells Inlet, SC, holiday festival, "Nights of a Thousand Candles,' was recently recognized as one of the 2009 Top 20 Events in the Southeast by the Southeastern Tourism Society. "The best events across the Southeast compete to receive the prestigious Top 20 Events designation," said Bob Jewell, President and CEO of Brookgreen Gardens. "We are thrilled to know the Southeast Tourism Society selected "Nights of a Thousand Candles" to receive this designation and believe it will encourage more visitors to the area in the holiday season." Southeastern Tourism Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion and development of tourism throughout the Southeast. It has a membership approaching 1,000 individuals who represented a wide range of travel-related businesses and organizations. Brookgreen Gardens, a National Historic Landmark, is located on US Hwy. 17 between Myrtle Beach and Pawleys Island, SC, and is open to the public daily. Admission is good for seven days - $ 12 for adults; $10 for seniors 65 and over; $5 for children ages 6-12 and children 5 and under are free. For more information, visit Brookgreen's web site at (www.brookgreen.org) or call 843/235-6000.

The Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, SC, conducted an economic impact study with Miley, Gallo & Associates, one of the Southeast's leading economic and financial consulting firms.  Analysis shows that the Columbia Museum of Art and the spending by museum visitors generated more than $23 million in economic activity in the Columbia Metropolitan area in 2008, up significantly from $9,700,000 in 2005. The analysis provided by Dr. Harry Miley uses impact models generated by the IMPLAN modeling system. IMPLAN is a nationally recognized system of local economic models that are specifically designed to represent a local economy such as the Columbia metropolitan area. Museum executive director Karen Brosius said, "This study shows without a doubt that the Columbia Museum of Art is a great investment for the city and county. Additionally, the study goes on to note the educational benefits of the Museum for the citizens of the Midlands." In addition to the money generated, the Museum stimulates directly and indirectly more than 370 jobs in the Columbia area in a variety of business sectors. The Museum serves an average of 10,700 people per month through its programs, events and outreach activities, and brings a growing and significant number of visitors to downtown and Main Street. Overnight visitors spend $8.2 million in Columbia directly on lodging, retail and restaurant/bar expenditures. The study shows that the Museum, in addition to its art exhibitions and public programs, serves the Columbia community in a variety of ways: The Museum is a major component of the downtown economy because it buys goods and services from many businesses in Columbia. The operating expenditures for fiscal year 2008 were $3,347,960, the majority of which were spent in the local economy; The Museum Shop is a downtown retail establishment serving patrons and featuring products not only related to the Museum, but museums from around the world and area artists. Since 2005, Museum shop sales have increased by 30% from $116,115 to $150,844 in 2008; The Museum is a major contributor to downtown Columbia tourism. Attendance and outreach is over 128,000 people per year with 54% from areas outside Richland County and 16% outside of South Carolina in 2008. According to the Travel Industry Association of America, cultural tourists spend 1/3 more on their visits than leisure travelers; The Museum provides quality arts education, which helps to ensure that Columbia's children receive a comprehensive arts education.  Research has proven that children engaged in the arts have better overall academic results; The Museum serves as a venue for local events. The Museum can accommodate parties from 10 - 1,200 people. In 2007 and 2008, the Museum hosted 30,000 people at rental events; and Finally, the Museum is the cultural anchor of the revitalization of downtown Columbia. Since the Museum moved to the corner of Main and Hampton Street in 1998, there has been a strong influx of new businesses that are locating downtown, existing tenants are renewing their leases and a number of new office towers, luxury condos and apartments are being built in the downtown area where hundreds of people now live. The City of Columbia and Richland County each provide about 19% of the Museum's annual operating budget through hospitality tax revenues. The study shows that both the City of Columbia and Richland County receive $32 in economic impact for each dollar they invest in the Museum. Over the past four years, the Museum has significantly expanded private support, which provides the remaining 62% of funding through donations from individuals, sponsorships, grants from foundations and earned income areas such as admissions and shop sales. A survey done by the South Carolina Arts Commission indicated that 99% of CEO's state that the availability of cultural activities is an important consideration when choosing a new location (http://www.state.sc.us/arts). Currently, Columbia is competing with other South Carolina cities to lure the best businesses and the brightest workforce. As the largest art museum in the state, with the most significant international collection and exhibition program, the Columbia Museum of Art is fast becoming the leading art museum in the region and a must-see destination for tourists around the southeast. For further information contact the Museum at 803/799-2810 or visit (www.columbiamuseum.org).

The exhibit "Turner to Cézanne: Masterpieces from the Davies Collection, National Museum Wales" ends the first stop of its nationwide tour by attracting over 46,000 people to the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, SC, for gallery tours, programs and events. This is the highest attendance ever at the Museum and broke the record held by "Excavating Egypt" in 2008 of 33,000 people. During the exhibition, which opened Mar. 6, 2009, the Museum had record visitation from all 50 states, Washington, DC, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and 22 countries. Of all tickets sold:
20 percent were outside of South Carolina
64 percent were outside of Richland County
nearly 9,000 were youth visitors
10 percent were from North Carolina
nearly 3,000 visitors were from Charlotte, NC
422 were visitors from Atlanta, GA
34 percent were from Columbia, SC
10 percent were from Lexington County, SC
6 percent were from Charleston, SC
The single-day attendance record was broken with 1,590 visitors on the last Friday of the exhibition, June 5, 2009, 47 percent higher than previous record. The Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau hosted a "Turner to Cézanne" micro site on their web site that attracted 5,300 hits - twice as many as any other CVB micro site this year. "We are thrilled with the overwhelmingly positive response from visitors. This exhibition brought unprecedented attention and stature to South Carolina, and had a strong economic impact on Columbia, which is particularly important at this time. We are grateful to the exhibition sponsors, the Blanchard Family for enabling us to bring thousands of people to Columbia for the first time," executive director Karen Brosius said. Museum membership also set an all time record with nearly 5,000 members. Entry to the exhibition was free for members (regular $15) and made choosing to become a member easy. Members could visit as often as they wish and their benefits continue throughout the year. The exhibition is organized by the American Federation of Arts and National Museum Wales. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. The Columbia presentation is sponsored by the Blanchard Family. For further info call the Museum at 803/799-2810 or visit (www.columbiamuseum.org).

William Jameson, nationally known contemporary landscape painter who also conducts painting workshops in the Carolinas, Maine, Mexico and Italy, is featured in the current issue of "American Artist's Workshop Magazine". The summer issue details Jameson's recent plein air workshop at Seabrook Island, SC. To learn more about his upcoming workshop offerings: Saluda Summer Weekends, Maine in September and next February's trip to colonial San Miguel de Allende, Mexico please visit (www.williamjameson.com) or call 828/749-3101. Jameson offers one to one instruction for beginner to advanced and early registration is suggested for any of the workshops as these popular classes are limited in size. Jameson's work is in the permanent collection of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans and other prominent collections. He is represented regionally by Gallery Minerva, Asheville, NC, Irene Morrah Fine Art, Greenville, SC, Shain Gallery in Charlotte, NC, and Collette Fine Art in Highlands, NC. Jameson and his wife, Anne, live and paint in Saluda, SC.

The Cherokee Preservation Foundation recently awarded $87,700 to Western Carolina University's Craft Revival Project to continue the university's Cherokee crafts documentation project in Cullowhee, NC. Following its initial year, which explored Cherokee baskets and basket makers, the second year of the project will focus on Cherokee potters and pottery during the first part of the 20th century. The project includes research on handcrafts made by tribal elders at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian and Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual. The project's primary goals are to provide documentation of early 20th-century Cherokee pottery, disseminate new educational information, build an online database of images and develop lesson plans to promote a better understanding of the role and impact of Cherokee crafts in Western North Carolina. With the funding, the project staff will create a museum-level inventory system of the permanent collection at Qualla Arts and Crafts, photograph pottery in the collections, scan historic photographs of potters and pottery, and create individual records for each item photographed and scanned. In addition, the project staff will document the lives of the potter elders. The project plan also includes printing copies of a guidebook on Cherokee pottery. The guidebook follows one on Cherokee baskets and is second in the "From the Hands of Our Elders" series. "The project will build upon the success of a current collaboration with Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual and the Museum of the Cherokee Indian," said Anna Fariello, Craft Revival project director and associate professor at WCU's Hunter Library, where the project is housed. "Hunter Library is sharing its knowledge of digitization, professional cataloging and national archival standards. The Cherokee are sharing their rich cultural collections as a means to inform the region of the value of its craft heritage." The work of this project takes place on-site at both partner institutions, where Hunter Library has set up workstations. The documentation not only involves the two key Cherokee organizations, but also will include interviews with craftsmen who learned their skills from the elders, said Fariello. For more information about the project, contact Fariello by telephone at 828/227-2499 or e-mail at (fariello@wcu.edu).

The College of Charleston's School of the Arts in Charleston, SC, is proud to announce that Matthew Canepa, assistant professor of Art History, was awarded the Charles A. Ryskamp Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) for 2009/2010 and has been inducted into the Society of Antiquaries of London, the world's premier learned society for heritage. The Ryskamp Fellowship ($80,000) is one of the ACLS's most prestigious awards and also one of the most competitive, with nearly 200 applications for only twelve awards. The Fellowships, generously funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in honor of Charles A. Ryskamp, literary scholar, distinguished library and museum director, and long-serving trustee of the Foundation, support advanced assistant professors and un-tenured associate professors in the humanities and related social sciences whose scholarly contributions have advanced their fields and who have well-designed and carefully developed plans for new research. Canepa was awarded the fellowship to support the research and writing of a book entitled "Iran between Alexander and Islam," which explores the global idea of Iranian kingship in the Hellenized and Iranian Near East, South and Central Asia. He will use the fellowship over 2009/2010 and take a research leave from the College of Charleston to devote full time to writing. Canepa will spend the summer and fall semesters in England at University of Oxford, where he will be a visiting research professor at Merton College. He will conduct fieldwork in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and research in several libraries and museums in Europe and the US before returning to Charleston in the spring to continue writing. In Mar. 2009, Professor Canepa was inducted into the Society of Antiquaries of London. In company with the Royal Academy, the Linnean Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Geological Society of London and the Royal Astronomical Society, the Society of Antiquaries of London is the world's premier learned society for heritage. The Society's 2,500 Fellows include many distinguished archaeologists and art and architectural historians holding positions of responsibility across the cultural heritage. Fellows gain membership through nomination and election by current fellows. International in its reach, fellowship is regarded as recognition of significant achievement in the heritage field. Professor Canepa earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. A specialist in the art and cultures of the late Roman Empire and Pre-Islamic Iran, Canepa's research focuses on cross-cultural interaction in the pre-modern world. His forthcoming book entitled "The Two Eyes of the Earth" (University of California Press, 2009) will be the first to analyze the artistic, ritual and ideological interactions between the Roman and Sasanian empires in a comprehensive and theoretically rigorous manner. He is currently publishing an edited volume with the Smithsonian institution that studies the phenomena of cross-cultural interaction between the Mediterranean, Iran, and China. He has been the recipient of numerous research grants including the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (2002-2003), the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut (2007), and the Archaeological Institute of America (2008). He has taught in College's Department of Art History since 2005 and is currently serving as the president of the South Carolina Society of Archaeological Institute of America. More information about Professor Canepa is available at (http://www.cofc.edu/arthistory/fac_canepa.html).

Richard G. Berent

Holly Springs, NC, metal sculptor, Richard G. Berent, has received Honorable Mention for his aluminum sculpture "Lifecyle" in this year's Fine Arts League of Cary's "15th Annual Juried Show". The juror, F. Lennox Campello, is a widely published Washington, DC, and Philadelphia based art critic, award-winning artist, and prominent curator. He can be heard on NPR and Voice of America radio as well as television reporting on Mid-Atlantic art news on ArtsMedia News. His work has been exhibited in museums, collections, and galleries around the world. Campello posted notes regarding Berent's sculpture in his blog post on his flight home "there are always pleasant and enriching surprises where one least expects them. Such as finding a particularly unique piece of sculpture in a show where it is alone amongst its brethren, a seminal piece which tempted me into considering awarding it a Best in Show but ended with a lesser Honorable Mention because I think that the artist has a lot more to explore in order to push the concept behind the work. He needs to enter the world of electricity and lights " Berent has been working on the addition of LED lighting into his sculpture. Berent's "Lifecycle" and the entire FALC juried show can be viewed at Hope Community Church, 821 Buck Jones Road, Raleigh, NC, through June 27th, 2009, Mon.-Fri., 9am to 8pm and Sat. 9am to 2pm. For further info call 919/532-0620.

The Coastal Community Foundation has awarded nearly $56,000 to 19 local artists and arts organizations in Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester, and Georgetown Counties in SC. The2 awards were made in two funding programs supported by Foundation endowments:  The Expansion Arts Fund and the Griffith Visual Arts Fund. "Past awards from these endowments have helped launch programs and careers that today are established parts of the artistic wealth of the Lowcountry," said Richard Hendry, Vice President of Programs for the Foundation. "This year's recipients are going places artistically, and we hope their awards will help them know that they are valued and appreciated." The Expansion Arts Fund was created in 1988 when local donors met the challenge issued by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to match $60,000 to create a local funding source to provide grants to "Expansion Artists."  Through this endowment, the Foundation seeks to promote and expand the works of new and emerging arts groups and individuals. In the years since, the fund has grown from $120,000 to a corpus of over $227,000. Since its inception, more than $355,000 in grants have been provided, with additional grant dollars provided by the John & Susan Bennett Memorial Arts Endowment, created in 2002 through a bequest from John Bennett to honor his grandparents. The program operates in alternate years, with a maximum award amount of $5,000. This year, applications were accepted from individual artists and arts organizations in Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester, and Georgetown Counties. In 2011, applications will be accepted from Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, and Jasper Counties. In addition, a $5,000 grant from the Griffith Visual Arts Fund at the Foundation was recommended for Wadmalaw artist Bernadette Cali. Because of fund establishers Donna and Mike Griffiths' love of the Lowcountry and its local artists, they created this fund in 2003 to give an annual grant to a single artist to produce a work of art reflecting "the look and feel of the Lowcountry," which the artist may then keep or sell. The award will support Cali's creation of an oil painting of the building and grounds of Johns Island's historic Progressive Club. An exhibit of Cali's new and past works is expected to be held at the City Gallery at Waterfront Park in Charleston, SC, early in 2010. The following is a list of individuals and organizations receiving Expansion Arts grants:

Redux Contemporary Art Center was recommended $5,000 for general operations - specifically, to help support the two paid staff positions. Founded in 2002, Redux is the only non-profit, community-oriented visual art space in Charleston dedicated to emerging and under-represented visual artists who work in all contemporary media. A combination gallery, studio and education center, Redux offers free year-round art exhibitions, artist and curator lecture series, and film screenings, along with 15 affordable private artist studios and public printmaking and darkroom facilities. Education programs serve over 600 youth and 150 adults, and audiences for exhibits have increased to over 3,000 per year.

The Village Group was recommended $5,000 in support of the 4th annual Plantersville Heritage Festival, which will feature traditional art, artists and performers with skills in storytelling, dollmaking, quiltmaking & African culture (drumming). Plantersville is in Georgetown County, about 25 miles NW of Pawleys Island. The Village Group became non-profit in 2005, with goals including youth development, community development, and generally improving the quality of life for residents of the Plantersville community. Grant funds will support artist fees and travel expenses, promotion, marketing, tent rental, staging and audio/lighting for performers such as Anita Singleton-Prather (singer, actress, historian), Marlena Smalls & the Hallelujah Singers, and local talent Gloria Ford, Ramona LaRoche, Sandy Drayton and Andrew Rodrigues.

Charleston Academy of Music was recommended $3,000 in support of the "CAM Orchestra Initiative" which, in the first year, aims to recruit 100 youth to work with professional musicians in large and small group settings as an Orchestra. By year-3, the goal is to have 300 youth (100 paying, 200 on financial aid) participating in 3 different youth orchestras playing on three different skill levels. CAM began January 2003 in order to provide high quality musical instruction and performance opportunities to students of all ages and walks of life. In 5 years, CAM's student body has grown from 25 to over 200, and its faculty from 4 to 20, on instruments including piano, violin, viola, cello, classical guitar, and voice, with annual expenses of about $263,000.

New Music Collective was recommended $5,000 in support of advocating for the composition, production and promotion of new music by living composers. Since their founding in 2005, NMC has premiered 40 new works, 34 of which were written by local composers, and all of which were performed by local musicians. Their mission includes educating the public about new music through concerts, performances, workshops and collaborations with artists of every medium. In addition to increasing audience members and donors, NMC aims to offer more compensation to performers and to implement a commissioning program to compensate composers for creation of new works.

PURE Theatre was recommended $5,000 in support of PURE's 2009 production of "Hansel & Gretel" - an original "re-imagining", written by PURE Lab playwrights and employing a composer, video designer and actors. In its 5-year history, PURE has produced over 30 professional full-length productions, including 8 world premieres, for audiences of more than 4,000 each year. The application describes outreach programs to youth and professional artists, and describes PURE's work as a training ground for local artistic and literary talent.

Darryl Lorenzo Wellington was recommended $2,500 for expenses for his MFA at Warren Wilson College plus a small living stipend. An African-American writer living in the Lowcountry since 2000, Wellington often uses themes of race and ethnicity in his work, which has been published in several highly respected local, regional and national publications. A two-time past Expansion Arts grantee, Wellington has been accepted to Warren Wilson's graduate program despite the fact that he has no undergraduate degree. His plans are to receive his MFA, publish his MFA manuscript, and enter the teaching field.

Bill Carson was recommended $2,360 for portable recording equipment for his project to "explore the living music traditions of Johns Island" by collecting informal interviews and archival field recordings of music and stories representative of the island's culture in collaboration with a local photographer who will produce a series of portraits of those involved. Carson is a singer, guitarist and songwriter, who also works in the development and production of contemporary chamber music, or "new music".

Samuel Sfirri was recommended $2,500, mostly for union-wage musicians and a conductor from the Charleston Symphony Orchestra to assemble a musical composition that relies completely on the environment of the Charleston area, using such things as field recordings, found objects such as dried palmetto leaves as instruments, and implementing melodies and traditional musical aspects of the Charleston area. The score and recording of the work will be part of Sfirri's application to graduate school. Sfirri is a composer, pianist and student, currently studying at the College of Charleston for a degree in Music Theory/Composition and Jazz performance. As a composer, he wrote a piece of music for the New Music Collective in 2007, he premiered two works in 2008, and he was invited joined the Board of New Music Collective in December 2008.

Zelda Grant was recommended $2,500 to purchase an embroidery machine and a camera to enhance her work. A textile/fabric artist, Grant's work has been described as, "a most interesting and exhilarating combination of fabric textures, colors and designs crafted into boldly artistic and highly functional pieces of art". Her application makes a strong case for her being the type of artist the Expansion Arts program was designed for: "Utilizing mixed media like dried palm fronds and other plant materials in my work to increase the awareness of the beauty and culture of our region and of course, preserving it. I desire to be an artist more closely affiliated with her environment, giving my work a true organic and indigenous Lowcountry nature."

Joanna Jackson was recommended $1,063 to create a life-size cast stone piece of sculpture of a firefighter - a tribute to the nine who lost their lives in the Sofa Super Store fire in June 2007. Jackson describes herself as a visual Realism Artist, working in acrylic paint, and wood and cast sculptures. Her current concentration is on merging the two media - painting and sculpture - into one, consistently using bold colors and hard lines. Her first solo show was in January 2005, in her home. Since then, she has taken courses in wood sculpture and in painting techniques, with an aim of having her art be her only source of income by 2012.

Michael Moran was recommended $2,500 for PR costs, tools and milling costs to create custom furniture in designs so unique that he considers them a form of sculpture. Much of the wood he uses is from local trees (some of which he "rescues" from being sent to a dump). Moran's application makes it clear that he feels a deep affinity for the wood he works with, and he is almost poetic in his description of his attitude toward various woods. He plans to continue his education in both art and furniture history - particularly the techniques and handtools of Japanese woodworkers and sculptors - through study and travel.

Georgette Sanders was recommended $2,500 to purchase a kiln, pottery wheel and other supply, since her community (McClellanville - Buck Hall) has limited resources for working with pottery. Her work merges two art forms - sweetgrass basket weaving and pottery. She is primarily a potter, but was taught sweetgrass basket making by her husband. For the past 4 years, she has dedicated herself to developing her sweetgrass technique, and is a full-time artist with limited resources.

Henrietta Snype was recommended $2,500 in support of an education initiative "The Next Generation" (TNG) for 20 young basketmakers, ages 9-21 from within the traditional sweetgrass basket making communities along Hwy 17 in Mt. Pleasant, SC. The project will consist of a series of structured interactive workshops and field trips to culminate in a museum exhibition at the College of Charleston's Avery Research Center (ARC), which has agreed to serve as a facilitator in partnership with Ms. Snype. Topics in the workshops are designed to educate about repositories and museums, the places where art is collected and displayed, encourage and expand individual and collective creativity; develop communication skills; learn how to market one's art; and promote artistic excellence. ARC, while committed to the project, is unable to offer funds to produce it in its entirety.

Julian Williams was recommended $2,500 for materials to produce artistic ironwork to sell and display. Williams is a full-time student at the American College of the Building Arts, where he studies Architectural metals (the art of blacksmithing). With a wife and four children and trying to pursue his education, purchasing materials for producing additional work is outside of his financial capabilities.

Mollie Hayes was recommended $1,875 to defray the costs of film and processing for a project in collaboration with Bill Carson to make a series of field recordings which explore the living music traditions of Johns Island. Hayes would support the project with photographs and film. Grant funds will be utilized to purchase some of the equipment necessary to improve the quality of the work in this project and others.

Hunter Wentworth was recommended $2,000 in support of his film "The Wit of the Staircase" which is about the life and works of lowcountry writer, Robert Jordan. He interviewed Robert Jordan about his life, his work and Southern literature in July of 2007, which was a rare appearance and the last time that Jordan appeared on camera. Grant funds will support the costs of research, identifying archival materials and developing visual ideas for telling the story in digital video.

Ashley Harwood was recommended $2,500 for tools and equipment for improving her studio. Harwood describes herself as a three dimensional artist using different media, primarily glassblowing and woodturning and also weaving and plastic wrap. In 2005, Harwood began training as a woodturner utilizing her skills as a glassblower, and is constantly developing her skills by taking advantage of educational opportunities. Grant funds will purchase a lathe, materials to create a chainsaw table, gouges, lighting and a dust collection system for woodturning.

Fletcher Crossman was recommended $1,710 in support of a multi-media exhibit at Circular Church in Charleston, exploring women in religion. Crossman will produce an 18-foot painting of a figure that references religious traditions associated with women. In order to create the exhibition, he will need to make 7 canvas that will hang together to form the central image of the exhibition. The installation of the piece will be extensive, utilizing various equipment, such as a truck and a "genie" lift.

Established in 1974, Coastal Community Foundation is a public grant making foundation fostering philanthropy for the lasting good of the community in Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Georgetown, Hampton, and Jasper Counties. Thousands of families, businesses, individuals and organizations have built over 532 individual funds and endowments at the Foundation to benefit specific charities and/or broad areas of community life ­ education, basic human needs, conservation and preservation, arts, health and neighborhood/community development. In its 35-year history, Coastal Community Foundation has awarded more than $75 million in grants and manages assets in excess of $105 million. Last year, Foundation funds generated over $11.8 million for charitable programming, community projects, educational initiatives and scholarships. To learn more, call Christine Beddia at 843/723-5736 ext. 103 or visit (www.coastalcommunityfoundation.org).

Stephen Marc

The Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, SC, has announced that photographer and digital montage artist Stephen Marc of Tempe, AZ, has won the 2009 Elizabeth and Mallory Factor Prize for Southern Art and the $10,000 cash prize that accompanies the award. The Factor Prize acknowledges an artist whose work demonstrates the highest level of artistic achievement in any media while contributing to a new understanding of art in the South. Artists were nominated for the Prize online at (www.factorprize.org) through January.  In March, seven panelists narrowed the list to six finalists that included Marc, Lonnie Holley, Ross McElwee, Kathryn Refi, Edward Rice and Mike Smith. Stephen Marc is recognized for his unique and powerful photographic montages that combine family snapshots, antique photographs and images from his own extensive body of photographic work to visually interpret American history focused on the black experience. His work combines contemporary images with those of historic artifacts that reconfigure time and space in an attempt to tell both his personal story and the story of a culture. Marc's current project, "Passage on the Underground Railroad", explores North America's Underground Railroad, which moved escaped slaves to freedom. While working on the series, Marc says "he became committed to learning about southern culture and heritage, from slavery through the civil rights struggle. My family connections to Mississippi and Arkansas play an important role in this interest." One of Marc's photographic montages from his "Underground Railroad Series" was featured in the 2008 Gibbes exhibition "Landscape of Slavery: The Plantation in American Art" and on the cover of the accompanying catalogue. According to Angela Mack, Executive Director of the Gibbes Museum of Art, "the choice was extremely difficult due to the exceptional artistic abilities of all six Factor Prize finalists. We chose Stephen Marc because of his highly creative approach to blending historical materials and contemporary images to create a new southern narrative." Marc received his BA from Pomona College in 1976 and his MFA from Tyler School of Art at Temple University in 1978. He resides in Tempe, where he is a Professor of Art at Arizona State University. Marc's work has been featured in many exhibitions including "Constellation", an invitational exhibition celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Center for Photography at Woodstock (where in 2001, Marc was Artist in Residence), and three exhibitions which were accompanied by book publications; "Committed to the Image: Contemporary Black Photographers" at the Brooklyn Museum of Art; "Game Face: Women in Athletics" at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC; and "Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers" at the Smithsonian Institution's Center for African History and Culture in Washington, DC. Later this year, Marc's book "Passage on the Underground Railroad" will be published by University Press of Mississippi. The book will contain 87 digital photographic composites and will be accompanied by an interview conducted by Carla Williams along with essays by Dianne Miller (National Coordinator of the Network to Freedom division of the National Park Service) and University of Buffalo Professor Keith Griffler. Nominations for the 2010 award are accepted throughout the year at (www.factorpize.org). The site not only serves as a nomination point for artists but it is also an archive of information about Southern artists that can be used by curators, collectors, academicians and the public. Established as the Carolina Art Association in 1858, the Gibbes Museum of Art opened its doors to the public in 1905. Located in Charleston's historic district, the Gibbes houses a premier collection of over 10,000 works, principally American with a Charleston or Southern connection and presents a series of special exhibitions annually. In addition, the museum offers an extensive complement of public programming and educational outreach initiatives. As the aesthetic heart of the Lowcountry, the Gibbes serves the community by stimulating creative expression, increasing economic vitality through tourism, and improving the region's superb quality of life. For further information call the Museum at 843-722-2706 or visit (www.gibbesmuseum.org).

The Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, SC, announced the winner of the 2009 Mary Whyte Art Educator Award at the museum's Annual Meeting Celebration.  Dayton Colie, who teaches art to students in grades 9-12 at R.B. Stall High School in North Charleston, SC, was the winner of this year's award and $1,000 cash prize. The 2008 Award was presented by artist Mary Whyte to educator Dona Dowling from St. Johns High School on Johns Island. K ­ 12 teachers in the Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester school districts learned about the award on the Gibbes website (www.gibbesmuseum.org) and submitted lesson plans and examples of work to be considered for the Award. The two other finalists that were selected along with Colie were Robin Boston from Stratford High School and Amy Coleman from Memminger Elementary School. Dayton Colie's plan Two True Views enabled students to create relevant art by combining technology with technical skill and emotional expression. Students photographed themselves and then used Photoshop to create self portraits combining their frontal and profile views to form a face.  Images were transferred to canvas and students applied paint to add emotional elements to their work. "The public and private art teachers in the Charleston area are especially dedicated and gifted, and should be recognized for the tremendous education and inspiration that they provide to our students. Dayton Colie, this year's award recipient, is extremely talented and selfless in his desire to encourage students and provide the very best art education possible," noted artist Mary Whyte. "We are so pleased that Mary Whyte came to us to help administer the Award. I cannot think of a more appropriate way to acknowledge the great work that art teachers in all three counties do to motivate and inspire the students in their care," said Gibbes Executive Director Angela Mack. Established as the Carolina Art Association in 1858 (celebrating 150 years in 2008), the Gibbes Museum of Art opened its doors to the public in 1905. Located in Charleston's historic district, the Gibbes houses a premier collection of over 10,000 works, principally American with a Charleston or Southern connection and presents special exhibitions throughout the year. In addition, the museum offers an extensive complement of public programming and educational outreach initiatives that serve the community by stimulating creative expression and improving the region's superb quality of life. For further information call the Museum at 843-722-2706 or visit (www.gibbesmuseum.org).

The Arts Council of Henderson County's new website is available at (www.acofhc.org). The new site includes more visuals, greater interaction and a more comprehensive perspective of The Arts Council's gallery exhibits, grant and artist opportunities, and special events. There are pages devoted to two of the Arts Council's major projects, Art on Main and Open Studio Tour, as well as for "The Arts Council Presents," a 10-day celebration of arts and culture in Henderson County being coordinated by The Arts Council. These and other pages will include a great deal of internal and external linkings, to help the visitor navigate within the site as well as reach other arts organizations and agencies and artists. Applications are currently available at the site for Art on Main, Open Studio Tour, Bring Us Your Best 6, and Grassroots Grants and Regional Artists Project Grants, which The Arts Council awards and administers on behalf of the North Carolina Arts Council. "We've been eagerly awaiting the completion of our new website," reports Cindy Perry, Arts Council Board Member and coordinator of the project. She adds, "We now have a website that properly represents who we are, what we do and where we are headed. We are excited about the different possibilities our new web presence will allow us moving forward." The Arts Council of Henderson County is a community organization that advocates for the arts and provides opportunities to enrich the lives of children and adults through the arts by offering exhibits, art education and performances. The Arts Council, which is handicapped accessible, is located at 538 North Main Street, 2nd Floor (the corner of 6th Avenue and Main) in Hendersonville, NC. The Arts Council is supported in part by the North Carolina Arts Council, the State of North Carolina, several funds administered by the Community Foundation of Henderson County, Henderson County, and the Henderson County Travel and Tourism Bureau. For more information contact The Arts Council of Henderson County at 828/693-8504 or visit (www.acofhc.org).

The Greenville County Museum of Art, in Greenville, SC, has recently acquired its third work of art by Carolina Galleries' artist Gary Grier titled "His Story". This newest purchase will join Grier's "High Noon" and "Cracker Jack", acquired by the GCMA in 2008. "His Story' has been purchased for the museum's prestigious permanent collection. The Greenville County Museum of Art has steadily amassed an impressive collection of Southern art since the early 1980's, the country's first museum to do so. Under the guidance of Tom Styron, the museum's director, the Southern Collection has been carefully and considerately grown, reflecting life in the South from colonial America to present-day. Grier's "His Story" features the Old Slave Mart on Chalmers Street in downtown Charleston, SC, while visitors ponder the history and significance of the building. Originally used as a slave auction gallery, the Old Slave Mart Museum focuses on the history of the building's role in the domestic slave trade during the 19th century. Grier was born in Jacksonville, FL, in 1976 and is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts. Carolina Galleries in Charleston, SC, is the exclusive representative for Gary Grier since 2007. For further information call the gallery at 843-720-8622 or visit (www.carolinagalleries.com).

The Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, SC, announced that photographer and digital montage artist Stephen Marc of Tempe, AZ, has won the 2009 Elizabeth and Mallory Factor Prize for Southern Art and the $10,000 cash prize that accompanies the award. The Factor Prize acknowledges an artist whose work demonstrates the highest level of artistic achievement in any media while contributing to a new understanding of art in the South. Artists were nominated for the Prize online at (www.factorprize.org) through January.  In March, seven panelists narrowed the list to six finalists that included Marc, Lonnie Holley, Ross McElwee, Kathryn Refi, Edward Rice and Mike Smith. Stephen Marc is recognized for his unique and powerful photographic montages that combine family snapshots, antique photographs and images from his own extensive body of photographic work to visually interpret American history focused on the black experience. His work combines contemporary images with those of historic artifacts that reconfigure time and space in an attempt to tell both his personal story and the story of a culture. Marc's current project, "Passage on the Underground Railroad", explores North America's Underground Railroad, which moved escaped slaves to freedom. While working on the series, Marc says "he became committed to learning about southern culture and heritage, from slavery through the civil rights struggle. My family connections to Mississippi and Arkansas play an important role in this interest."  One of Marc's photographic montages from his Underground Railroad Series was featured in the 2008 Gibbes exhibition "Landscape of Slavery: The Plantation in American Art" and on the cover of the accompanying catalogue. According to Angela Mack, Executive Director of the Gibbes Museum of Art, "the choice was extremely difficult due to the exceptional artistic abilities of all six Factor Prize finalists. We chose Stephen Marc because of his highly creative approach to blending historical materials and contemporary images to create a new southern narrative." Marc received his BA from Pomona College in 1976 and his MFA from Tyler School of Art at Temple University in 1978. He resides in Tempe, AZ, where he is a Professor of Art at Arizona State University. Marc's work has been featured in many exhibitions including "Constellation", an invitational exhibition celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Center for Photography at Woodstock (where in 2001, Marc was Artist in Residence), and three exhibitions which were accompanied by book publications; "Committed to the Image: Contemporary Black Photographers" at the Brooklyn Museum of Art; "Game Face: Women in Athletics" at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC; and "Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers" at the Smithsonian Institution's Center for African History and Culture in Washington, DC. Later this year, Marc's book "Passage on the Underground Railroad' will be published by University Press of Mississippi. The book will contain 87 digital photographic composites and will be accompanied by an interview conducted by Carla Williams along with essays by Dianne Miller (National Coordinator of the Network to Freedom division of the National Park Service) and University of Buffalo Professor Keith Griffler. Nominations for the 2010 Factor Prize Award are accepted throughout the year at (www.factorpize.org).  The site not only serves as a nomination point for artists but it is also an archive of information about Southern artists that can be used by curators, collectors, academicians and the public. Established as the Carolina Art Association in 1858, the Gibbes Museum of Art opened its doors to the public in 1905. Located in Charleston's historic district, the Gibbes houses a premier collection of over 10,000 works, principally American with a Charleston or Southern connection and presents a series of special exhibitions annually. In addition, the museum offers an extensive complement of public programming and educational outreach initiatives. As the aesthetic heart of the Lowcountry, the Gibbes serves the community by stimulating creative expression, increasing economic vitality through tourism, and improving the region's superb quality of life. For further information call the Gibbes at 843/722-2706 or visit (www.gibbesmuseum.org).

Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet, SC, was the recipient of the 2009 Erin Hardwick Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management presented by the South Carolina Association of Non-Profit Organizations (SCANPO) at their annual conference in Spartanburg, SC, on Apr. 30, 2009. The award was in recognition of Brookgreen Gardens as a 501(c) (3) nonprofit that has excelled in the management of their organization. "We are honored to be selected by committee to receive this prestigious state-wide award for excellence and for the recognition that it gives Brookgreen as an outstanding institution," said Bob Jewell, President & CEO. "The award is based on SCANPO's Guiding Principles and Best Practices which is a comprehensive initiative that encompasses: mission and planning, governance, marketing, information technology, accounting transparency, human resources, and every other aspect related to managing a non-profit with integrity." "The award committee felt that Brookgreen Gardens best met the award criteria and best exemplified excellence in non-profit management," said Reid Lehman, SCANPO award committee chairperson. "Congratulations to the board, staff, and volunteers." Brookgreen Gardens, a National Historic Landmark, is located on US 17 between Myrtle Beach and Pawleys Island, SC, and is open to the public daily. Admission is good for seven days - $ 12 for adults; $10 for seniors 65 and over; $5 for children ages 6-12 and children 5 and under are free. For more information, consult our web site at (www.brookgreen.org) or call 843/235-6000.

The special exhibition, "Prop Master: An Installation by Juan Logan and Susan Harbage Page" is on view at the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, SC, through July 19, 2009. A video chronicling the making of "Prop Master" by Charleston filmmaker Nick Smith will be on display in the museum and on the museum's website at (www.gibbesmuseum.org/explore) (note that Youtube link can be viewed now at http://tinyurl.com/daot9w). The exhibit is a site-specific, large-scale installation created exclusively for the Gibbes. The exhibition draws materials from the museum's permanent collection of portraits, landscape paintings, and archival materials, begun over 150 years ago. Artists Susan Harbage Page and Juan Logan juxtapose art objects drawn from the Gibbes' collection and decorative art objects from local public and private collections, with works of their own creation, to investigate the role of the institution of the museum as both a prop master and a prop with regard to race, class, and gender relations in Charleston society. As the person who acquires and manufactures props for theatrical productions, the prop master is responsible for all aspects of their use on a set. Drawing a comparison between the prop master and the museum and a production and an exhibition, Logan and Page reveal how the elements of a collection are props and the museum a prop master. Made up of such components as Sexually Ambiguous, Background Material, and Famous Last Names, the exhibition critiques portraiture as a prop and support for a structure of social positions. "Juan and Susan were given free rein to mine the museum and we're thrilled by the choices they have made in their effort to explore and interpret our collection," noted Gibbes Executive Director Angela D. Mack. For further information call 843/722-2706 or visit (www.gibbesmuseum.org).

Since 1985, Linda Howe, associate professor of Romance languages at Wake Forest University, in Winston-Salem, SC, has watched first-hand how art-particularly the art of bookmaking-flourishes in adversity. On May 20, 2009, she will see more than two decades of research and work come to fruition when "Cuban Artists' Books and Prints: 1985-2009" debuts at the Grolier Club of New York on the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. Designed and executed by Wake Forest students, faculty and staff in collaboration with numerous professionals, the exhibition will feature more than 100 pieces, including handmade, limited-edition books by the bookmaking cooperative Ediciones Vigía and other objects created by 13 contemporary Cuban painters, sculptors, photographers and printmakers such as Sandra Ramos, Sandra Ceballos, Ibrahim Miranda, Carlos Estévez, Rene Peña, Rocío García and Tonel (Antonio Eligio Fernández). The exhibit will run through Aug. 1, 2009. During the summer, Wake Forest students will present bilingual tours of the exhibition. According to Megan Smith, exhibitions coordinator at the Grolier Club, this is the first exhibit created by college students that the Grolier Club has shown. "This exhibit is primarily about the ingenious resilience of the Cuban artists represented and how they express their experiences of life in Cuba," said Howe. "But, it is also a testament to the service and entrepreneurial work of more than 200 Wake Forest students, faculty and staff over the years.  Without them, this exhibit never would have happened." In 1997, Howe founded Wake Forest's summer academic program at the University of Havana and directed it until 2005, when student travel to Cuba was severely restricted by the US government.  During the trips, the student groups helped Vigía Press translate and fabricate the books and worked with schoolchildren.  Howe, whose expertise is Cuban cultural production, also performed research for her book "Transgression and Conformity:  Cuban Writers and Artists after the Revolution" during these trips.  As a result, she established strong relationships with artists and writers and began collecting their books. In 2007, Howe initiated an interdisciplinary entrepreneurship project to create an exhibition that would bring national and international attention to these artists and their work.  "These artists have survived cultural politics, difficult living conditions and resource shortages that limited their access to the most basic materials, like paper," she said, "but the project is not about politics.  It's about living our university motto, 'Pro Humanitate'-for the good of humanity." Work began on the project in the spring of 2007 when groups of students began working with different Wake Forest faculty on various aspects of the exhibit, including the curatorial strategy; business plans; a bilingual exhibition catalog and Web site; promotional materials; and a short film about the artists to be featured as a permanent part of the exhibit. Last fall, in Howe's course "Entrepreneurship in Art Education and Educational Outreach:  Cuban Artists' Books and Prints: 1985-2008," students organized the exhibition's content; coordinated its installation, launch and eventual travel; and created educational outreach materials and curriculum to accompany the exhibit. Several of the students worked with North Carolina teachers and administrators to integrate the exhibit into K-12 instruction through classroom materials, tours, performances and other activities. The curriculum and outreach materials will be offered to K-12 teachers across the country through the exhibit's Web site. In conjunction with the Grolier Club opening, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) will host a symposium titled "Cuban Artists' Books" at 1pm on May 20, 2009. Cuban artists and specialists from the exhibit's various lending institutions will discuss the imagination and resourcefulness of Cuban cultural survival. Howe, one of the panelists, will describe her experience working with Vigía Press and well-known Cuban artists. The symposium will be held in the Celeste Bartos Theater (Theater 3), of the Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Education and Research Building. Tickets are $10; members $8; students, seniors and staff of other museums $5. For complete details on the symposium or to purchase tickets, visit (http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/events/1725). Howe will also present a free lecture about the exhibition at 6pm on May 21, 2009, at the Grolier Club. For details on the exhibit and lecture, visit (www.grolierclub.org). In Aug. 2009, the exhibit will make its campus debut at Wake Forest's Charlotte & Philip Hanes Art Gallery, and then it will begin traveling to galleries nationwide. The exhibit and symposium are sponsored by MoMA, the Grolier Club, the Reed Foundation, Inc., the Cuban Artists Fund and Wake Forest University, specifically the departments of Romance languages, art and Latin American studies; the Provost's Office; the Dean of the College; Calloway School of Business and Accountancy; and the Office of Entrepreneurship and Liberal Studies. For further information call Pam Barrett at 336/758- 5237 or e-mail to (barretpm@wfu.edu) or Kevin P. Cox at (coxkp@wfu.edu). Downloadable photos are available at (http://www.wfu.edu/news/release/2009.04.29.c.php).

The Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, SC, is pleased to announce that Janet W. Scarborough has joined the museum as Director of Finance and Administration. Scarborough comes to the Gibbes after 28 years at MUSC where she retired from her most recent position as CFO and Treasurer of the MUSC Foundation for Research Development. Her responsibilities at the Gibbes include operational guidance as well as financial forecasting and management. "I look forward to making a strong contribution to the Gibbes and getting to better know the Charleston arts community in general," noted Scarborough. Janet W. Scarborough is from Spartanburg, SC. She earned a BA in History at Wofford College and a Masters in Accounting from the College of Charleston. She is a Certified Public Accountant and has lived with her family in West Ashley since 1988. Established as the Carolina Art Association in 1858 (celebrating 150 years in 2008), the Gibbes Museum of Art opened its doors to the public in 1905. Located in Charleston's historic district, the Gibbes houses a premier collection of over 10,000 works, principally American with a Charleston or Southern connection and presents special exhibitions throughout the year. In addition, the museum offers an extensive complement of public programming and educational outreach initiatives that serve the community by stimulating creative expression and improving the region's superb quality of life. For further information call Marla Loftus Director of Communications at 843/722.2706 x38 or e-mail to (mloftus@gibbesmuseum.org).

Carol Gentithes of Seagrove, NC, is one of 120 of America's finest artists and craftsmen chosen to exhibit at the "27th Annual Smithsonian Craft Show". Exemplifying innovation, creativity and technical merit, the Smithsonian Craft Show features superb craft artists from across the country. Each of the 2009 exhibitors reflects the story of contemporary American craft in one of 12 categories: basketry, ceramics, decorative fiber, furniture, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, paper, wearable art and wood. The 120 individual artists or partnerships, with 43 first-time participants on this list, were selected from over 1,300 applicants and no artist is ever included without being juried into the show. The three jurors were: Wayne Higby, ceramic artist and Robert C. Turner Chair of Ceramic Art at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Jane Milosch, senior program officer for the arts in the Office of the Under Secretary of History, Art and Culture at the Smithsonian, and Melissa Post, curator at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, WA. The jurors all agreed that whether traditional or cutting edge, functional or sculptural, only outstanding technical excellence and execution earned entrance into what is considered to be the nation's most prestigious craft show. Gentithes was selected in the mixed media category for her particular objects. Her work is a surreal portrait of the animal kingdom. Her sculptures are handbuilt in porcelain with an intense focus on the surface decoration. She likens her work to a 3-dimensional painting. Built up with stains, glazes, silkscreen emulsions, wax crayons, and glass, her surfaces are a feast for the eyes that reveal a micro world of imaginary characters and parodies of contemporary figures. Originally from the flatlands of Ohio, Gentithes has been residing with her husband Fred Johnston who is also an artist in Seagrove for the past 12 years. They collaborated on a public art commission that is permanently exhibited at the City Center Park in Greensboro, NC. Together they operate the gallery Johnston & Gentithes Art Pottery where they sell and make their work. Gentithes has also exhibited her work throughout North Carolina including the Mint Museum of Art, SECCA, Gregg Museum of Art, Hickory Museum, Blue Spiral 1 Gallery, the North Carolina Pottery Center and her work is in various collections throughout the country. In addition to the items for sale by the artists at the show, a silent auction will be held online beginning April 15, 2009. This will include over 100 craft items donated by exhibitors and other talented artists, with a special section featuring 14 objects from the Bernard and Sherley Koteen collection. Funds raised by the Craft Show go to the Smithsonian museums and research centers to support cutting edge science, preserve and display national treasures, educate children and adults, and much more. For further information contact: Heidi Austreng in Washington, DC, by calling 202/633-5069 or Carol Gentithes at 336/873-9176.

Decorated combat veteran, Stacy Pearsall acquires The Charleston Center for Photography (CCforP), located at 654-D King St Charleston, SC 29403. The CCforP offers a variety of photography classes for the beginner, intermediate and professional photographer. CCforP also offers 1, 3, 5 day workshops hosted by world renowned professional photographers such as Joe McNally of "National Geographic", Bob Croslin of Atlantic Records, and Bill Frakes of "Sports Illustrated". Pearsall's vision for the CCforP is to maintain it's wonderful track record for classes and workshops but will expand services to include printing and mounting, portrait and corporate, as well as commercial and fashion photography.  New to The Charleston Center for Photography is a Teen Photography Summer Camp offered from July 13-17, 2009, for high school aged youth. The Center's website can be viewed at (www.ccforp.com) where patrons can register for events and classes, upload images for printing and mounting, and can book studio time or portrait sessions all in one stop.  In keeping with community involvement, Pearsall will continue the ever-popular Free 2nd Monday Night Lecture Series as well as offer middle and high school art based academics the opportunity to have field trips to the studio and participate in photography based projects. For instance, Buist Academy has had the opportunity to be a part of this new program and will be exhibiting their work from this joint project on April 16, 2009, from 6-7pm. The Buist Academy show is open to the public from 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday, April 13-30th at the CCforP studio. Retired Air Force Staff Sgt. Stacy Pearsall is a 12-year combat photography veteran, who is the only woman to have won Military Photographer of the Year twice. During her years in service, she traveled to over 40 countries, three combat zones, attended Syracuse University and earned some of the military's top medals and honors. For further info call 843/720-3105.

Artisphere, Greenville, SC's Spring Arts Festival, recently received high rankings in Greg Lawler's Art Fair Sourcebook for the 2008 festival. This publication ranks and critiques 600 top-selling Fine Arts and Craft festivals and shows nationwide. In the Fine Art show category, Artisphere placed 46 out of 600 shows, while in the Contemporary Craft category, Artisphere was ranked 59 out of 600. The Art Fair SourceBook credits the rankings to the "beautiful and vibrant" Greenville community and the quality of selected artists. The artists' caliber and the rise in attendance helped increase art sales in 2008. Top-selling artist and Greenville resident, Judy Verhoeven said, "It's always great to exhibit my work during Artisphere. I meet so many people who share my love of art."  To view work by Judy Verhoeven and the 100 visual artists participating in the 2009 festival please visit the Artisphere website at (www.artisphere.us). The festival, which has also been recognized by the Southeast Tourism Society as a Top Twenty Event will be held this year on May 8-10, 2009, in Downtown Greenville. The Art Fair SourceBook is the "Consumer Reports" for artists looking to apply to festivals with a proven track record in the way of sales, accommodations, hospitality and overall festival management.  Mayor Knox White commented that "these rankings not only reflect the quality of the festival; they reflect the support from the Greenville community and the importance we impart on the arts and quality of life.  Artisphere has helped catapult Greenville into the spotlight as an arts destination." Artisphere's mission as an annual signature event for Greenville is to showcase the arts, reflect the area's international flair, encourage economic development and bring awareness to existing local arts programs. The festival provides a diverse menu of experiences that center around the arts, both visual and performing, and Greenville's multicultural offerings to appeal to visitors from around the world, as well as residents throughout the region. Artisphere is presented by Carolina First.  More information is included on the Artisphere website at (www.artisphere.us).

An art project commissioned by The Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC, has reignited an old debate over whether Queen Charlotte ­ the city's namesake ­ was part black. This week, the London-based "Guardian" newspaper ran an article exploring the theory that King George III's wife had African ancestry, stemming from a recent art commission for the new Mint Museum in Center City. In honor of the upcoming 250th anniversary of Queen Charlotte's coronation, The Mint Museum has commissioned American artist Ken Aptekar to create a contemporary interpretation of its Portrait of Queen Charlotte by 18th century painter Alan Ramsay. Aptekar's contemporary interpretation of the royal portrait will be housed in the new Museum, scheduled to open in the fall of 2010. With his reinterpretation of Queen Charlotte's portrait, Aptekar is placing special emphasis on his subject's cultural background. An argument by the noted historian Mario de Valdes y Cocom claims that the queen, though German, was directly descended from a black branch of the Portuguese royal family related to Margarita de Castro e Souza. As part of his creative process, Aptekar visited Charlotte last May and held focus groups with community members to discuss their reactions to the subject of his work. Aptekar told the "Guardian": "I took my cues from the passionate responses of individuals whom I asked to help me understand what Queen Charlotte means to them." The resulting suite of paintings will include close-ups of the queen's face overlaid with the words "Black White Other" and "Oh Yeah She Is." The full article is available online at (www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/12/race-monarchy). Known for connecting paintings from the past to the present, Aptekar has exhibited his work at numerous national and international art venues, including the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In addition to the Mint's commission, Aptekar is also developing projects for the Louvre in Paris and the National Portrait Gallery in London. He expects to complete his reinterpretation of Queen Charlotte in May 2009. The Mint Museum is presently involved in a major expansion project: the construction of a new 145,000-square-foot facility in Center City Charlotte and the reinstallation of the historic United States Mint facility on Randolph Road. Scheduled for completion in 2010, the new facility will house important collections of American Art, Contemporary Art and Craft + Design. Following the opening of the Center City location, collections at the Randolph Road facility will be reinstalled with a fresh new vision. Galleries there will feature the Mint's superb Ceramics, Art of the Ancient Americas, and Historic Costume and Fashionable Dress collections. For more information, visit (www.mintmuseum.org).

Long time Margaret Petterson collectors, Gene and Lea Glowney of Augusta, GA, recently donated one of their many Petterson paintings "Down the Way" to the permanent collection of the famous Morris Museum of Art in Augusta. The Morris Museum of Art is the first museum dedicated solely to the art and artists of the American South. On Sept. 26, 1992, the Morris Museum opened it's doors to the public and attracted more than ten thousand visitors in it's first three months of operation. This museum also houses the Center for the Study of Southern Art, an important reference resource. Petterson's work fits perfectly, as she is best known for capturing lowcountry scenes in a uniquely colorful way, as in "Down the Way" which depicts a light filled country road framed by beautiful oak trees using vivid and eye catching colors. Margaret Petterson moved to beautiful Charleston, SC, at the young age of eight years old. Inspired by the warmth and charm of such a visually rich and historic city, she began painting more seriously in her twenties, although she remembers always being an "artistic person" growing up. Petterson has become one of Charleston's most popular and respected artists, making a name for herself as a watercolorist and oil painter, as well as mastering her unique style with mixed media monotypes. She opened her exclusive self titled Margaret Petterson Gallery at 125 Church Street in 1994, and remained the beloved owner and artist at this famous French Quarter corner for 15 years. Though this sophisticated location became the John Carroll Doyle Gallery in July of 2008, Petterson's work is still proudly and exclusively featured where it has been for so long, at the gallery. Petterson has only retired from gallery ownership and continues to paint passionately in her country studio. For more information call the John Carroll Doyle Gallery at 843/577-7344 or visit (www.margaretpetterson.com).

When the "31st Annual North Carolina Artists Exhibition" opened on Mar. 1, 2009, in the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh, NC, an oil painting by Chapel Hill, NC, artist Kimberly Alvis was among the works carefully selected for the show by Nasher Museum of Art director Kimberly Rorschach, Ph.D., who served as juror. Alvis' accepted work is entitled "Boys Snorkeling", a 38" x 41" oil on linen painting that the artist created in St. Thomas. The two children in the painting are her sons. "I frequently use my kids as objects for paintings, but I always try to catch them unawares," she noted. Alvis works primarily in oil on linen or panel, creating portraits, landscapes, figures in landscapes, still-lifes and nudes that Somerhill Gallery director Joseph Rowand refers to as "her own fresh masterpieces". Sponsored by the Raleigh Fine Arts Society since 1978, the "2009 NC Artists Exhibition" drew over 500 submissions from artists across the state. Only 59 were chosen for final consideration. According to the RFAS, the quality of this year's submissions "was exceptional and it was difficult to narrow them down to fit the available space." "I am so honored and excited to be participating in this exhibition," Alvis said. The "31st Annual North Carolina Artists Exhibition" will remain in the Betty Ray McCain Gallery of the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts through May 3, 2009. For more information visit (www.raleighfinearts.org).

Works by Charleston, SC, artist Rhett Thurman have been published in a book titled "Coloring Outside the Lines." The book has just arrived and includes an overview of her other paintings, photographs of her painting on locations around the world and text describing her approach to painting. Forty five paintings displayed across 38 pages in either softbound or hardback editions at $20 or $30 create a smorgasbord of color much like what a child discovers in opening up a fresh supersized box of crayons! Remember  your childhood by giving yourself the treat of a new book and permission to look outside the lines - available only at the Sylvan Gallery at 171 King Street in downtown Charleston. For further info call the gallery at 843/722-9868 or e-mail to (joe@thesylvangallery.com). You can preview Thurman's new works at (www.thesylvangallery.com).

The Graham Foundation of Greenville in Greenville, SC, has awarded a grant in the amount of $15,000 to the new Trillium Arts Centre in Travelers Rest, SC, for the purpose of building a handicapped-accessible bathroom in the facility. This grant is of particular importance to the Arts Centre because without this bathroom Trillium Arts has not been able to hold children's classes at the new Centre. (Building codes require a handicapped-accessible bathroom if anyone under the 12th grade attends classes at the facility). Trillium Arts currently runs a children's after school arts program at Heritage Elementary in Travelers Rest; this grant means that classes will soon be able to be held at both locations, which will provide additional opportunities for area children and their parents. The Graham Foundation is a local private foundation that is funded through the generosity of the late Allen J. Graham and his daughter, Frances G. MacIlwinen. These two individuals have been extraordinarily generous to Greenville and the surrounding region both personally and through the Graham Foundation. A board of trustees (comprised of four local individuals) currently runs the organization and makes granting decisions. The Graham Foundation focuses its giving on Greenville and the upstate of South Carolina and targets organizations and projects that it believes can make a significant difference for the betterment of Greenville and the Upstate. The cover letter from the foundations states that "It is a pleasure to confirm to you the Graham Foundation has approved a grant to Trillium Arts Centre in the amount of $15,000." And: "Our trustees are supportive of your efforts and we wish you the best with continued growth and success." Trillium Arts Centre deeply appreciates this grant award. Executive Director Susan Buser says "Without the foresight and generosity of individuals and organizations such as this the arts could not survive and grow in these tough economic times." The city of Travelers Rest has also been a recent generous donor to the Arts Centre, donating $5,000 toward the remodeling and opening of the Centre. Other recent donors are the Bank of Travelers Rest with a gift of $1,000, Carolina First at $1,000 and the North Greenville Hospital System at $500. Many individuals also have contributed. Susan Buser says that "We appreciate every donor, large and small, who contributes to the betterment of their community by contributing to the arts. We continue to need the support of our community as we establish services and facilities that will benefit everyone and that will contribute to the overall economic growth of this region." "The arts are especially important in these tough economic times. Not only do they give a sense of hope, greater purpose and vision to the artists and community supporters involved, but they contribute to the economic health of our towns as they draw tourists to our region and stand as evidence of the strength of our communities - that we are strong enough and visionary enough as a community to continue to value the arts even in tough economic times." For further info contact Susan Buser by calling 864/834-2388 or visit (www.trilliumartscentre.org).

Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc. Copyright© 2009 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts Online, Copyright© 2009 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.