McKissick Museum celebrates Diverse Voices in new folklife gallery

The University of South Carolina’s McKissick Museum has opened a new folklife gallery and exhibition, Diverse Voices: Discovering Community Through Traditional Arts. Dedicated to the late George D. Terry, McKissick’s director from 1976-1988, Diverse Voices explores deeply rooted traditions that help create the cultural landscape of South Carolina and the surrounding region.

Each year the exhibit will focus on a specific theme or tradition. Year One offers a comprehensive presentation of objects from the museum collection that represent the work of celebrated NEA National Heritage Fellows and Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award recipients. Year One showcases the work of artists such as Philip Simmons, Janie Hunter, Burlon Craig, Snuffy Jenkins and Gale McKinley. Simmons, Hunter and Craig are National Heritage Fellows. Simmons, Jenkins and McKinley are Folk Heritage Award recipients.

The public is invited to celebrate the gallery’s opening at a reception Monday, Aug. 19 from 5:30 – 8 p.m. Mac Arnold (Folk Heritage Award recipient) and Plate Full o’ Blues will perform from 6 – 7:30 p.m. The current exhibition runs through July 12, 2014.

“It’s very exciting and rewarding to finally have a gallery space within McKissick that is dedicated to showcasing and celebrating the folklife and traditional arts of the region,” said Saddler Taylor, curator of Folklife and Fieldwork. “McKissick has been passionate about documenting traditional arts for more than 30 years; it’s fitting that we set aside exhibition space to tell that story on a regular basis.”

Additional programs for Diverse Voices include Mill Billy Blues, featuring Freddie Vanderford on Thursday, October 3, and Folk Time, featuring storyteller John Thomas Fowler and Native American scholar Will Moreau Goins on Saturday, November 2. Vanderford, Fowler and Goins are Folk Heritage Award recipients.

Diverse Voices is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

McKissick Museum is located on the University of South Carolina’s historic Horseshoe with available parking in the garage at the corner of Pendleton and Bull streets. All exhibits are free and open to the public. Museum hours are 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday – Friday and 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Saturdays. The museum is closed Sundays and holidays.

For more information, visit McKissick’s website or call Ja-Nae Epps at 803-777-2876.

Via: McKissick Museum