S.C. Arts Commission announces new artist fellows
#SCArtists’ hard work, ability recognized with $10,000 grants
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina Arts Commission (SCAC) is excited to announce the four South Carolina artists from different artistic disciplines who are recipients of its $10,000 individual artist fellowships for FY26.
The SCAC awards four fellowships per year to artists working in rotating disciplines. At its latest meeting, the SCAC board of commissioners approved panel recommendations of artists who exhibit hard work, exceptional ability, and dedication to their discipline for the agency’s fellowships. Those receiving awards in FY26 are:
- Katy Bergman Cassell of Greenville, Craft (mixed media [metals & shells] jewelry)
- Kathy Harris of Greenville, Design Arts (women’s fashions)
- Lauren Waring Douglas of Columbia, Media Arts
- Charles Clary of Conway, Visual Art (mixed media [hand-cut paper – collage, wallpaper, drywall])
“Each of these four is deserving of the prestige and financial benefit that a fellowship brings. The South Carolina Arts Commission is excited to recognize these four fellows for demonstrating a high level of artistic excellence, and we hope all South Carolinians join us in taking pride in their accomplishments. We are full of anticipation for what they will do next with our support of their creative pursuits,” SCAC Executive Director David Platts said.
“The fellowships program spotlights our state’s creative talent while directly impacting these artists’ development,” SCAC Artist Development Director Tanisha N. Brown said. “It recognizes an artist’s dedication and achievement, and the financial resources provided by a fellowship give them the ability to focus on creating art.”
Out-of-state reviewers representing each year’s disciplines are recruited to review and score applications before recommending the top scorers to the SCAC’s board of commissioners for funding. Applicants are not anonymous, but panelists solely consider work samples, artistic merit, noted achievements, and commitment to the discipline in which artists apply. Artists may apply in multiple categories with separate applications, though they may only be awarded in a single category.
This fall, the SCAC will open applications for FY27 Individual Artist Fellowships to artists working in: Poetry; Spoken word/Slam poetry; Choreography and Directing (film, theatre, and/or opera); and Performance: Dance, Music, or Acting (film or theatre). To be eligible, artists must be at least 18 years old and a legal U.S. resident with permanent residence in South Carolina for two years prior to the application date and throughout the one-year fellowship period. For more on discipline rotation, eligibility requirements, and the application process, please visit the grant guidelines.
About the FY26 Individual Artist Fellows
Katy Bergman Cassell, Craft (mixed media [metals & shells] jewelry), was introduced to enameling at the Cleveland Institute of Art in Ohio and went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts from Kent State University. She worked as an archaeological illustrator, museum educator and college professor before moving to Greenville to teach at the Fine Arts Center. She balances her passion for teaching metals and enameling with her own studio practice. Career highlights include the international exhibition of her work in Taiwan and at nine U.S. solo exhibitions, including at the Mesa (Arizona) Contemporary Arts Museum. She has been an S.C. State Parks artist-in-residence twice and was awarded a National Artists Teachers Fellowship to travel to England to study rock art, fossils, and historical enamels at the British Museum. She earned a doctorate in education in 2022 from Converse University and enjoys exploring the natural wonders of her adoptive home state with her husband and two daughters.
Kathy Harris, Design Arts (women’s fashions), was born in Columbia and grew up there, graduating from Dreher High School. She attended Winthrop University and received a bachelor’s in a curriculum, developed by industry experts, centered on the textile industry. Upon graduation, she lived in megacities such as Philadelphia, Miami and Baltimore. Her experiences became the soul of the köttkömm brand; she wanted to tell the story of an easy, strolling-on-the-Battery Southern lifestyle along with the sophistication of the career woman making her way through morning rush hour in a bustling, cosmopolitan city. The textile design degree added to the aesthetic by mixing up the fabric expectations of a garment. She is passionate about creating a local product and has assembled an Upstate design and production team with an in-state manufacturer while adding collaborations with regional artists. köttkömm’s mission is to continue creating a ready-to-wear line that suits the stylishness of the moment and the tried-and-true dependency of pieces you return to, regardless of the style trend of the times.
Lauren Waring Douglas, Media Arts, is a producer (in Columbia) from Charleston. She graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in media arts, and with a master’s in media management from Columbia College in Chicago. Lauren began her professional career as a production coordinator for South Carolina Educational Television (SCETV). Some of her projects include credits with Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, A&E Television – Biography Network, and ABC Studios. Lauren is also a proud alum of the New Orleans Film Society’s Southern Producer’s Lab. Her current projects include Rooted, E is For: and When Porgy Came Home—the untold story of Charleston’s famous opera, Porgy and Bess. She considers herself blessed to have made a meaningful career celebrating South Carolina stories.
Charles Clary, Visual Art (mixed media [hand cut paper – collage, wallpaper, drywall]), was born in 1980 in Morristown, Tennessee. He received his BFA in painting with honors from Middle Tennessee State University and his MFA in painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design. He has shown in exhibitions at Galerie Evolution-Pierre Cardin in Paris, The Netherlands’ CODA Museum Paper Biennial in 2021, The Shanghai Paper Biennial in 2021, Art of Paper Fair in New York City, and many other international, national, and regional juried, group, solo, and museum exhibitions. Clary won Top Prize at the 2016 ArtFields Competition in Lake City and additional prizes in 2019. He was the South Arts 2024 South Carolina State Fellow. He recently sold three commissioned pieces to Google corporate offices, and he was named the HTC Distinguished Teacher-Scholar at Coastal Carolina University in 2022—the highest award bestowed upon a faculty member by the university. Clary is represented by Paradigm Gallery + Studio in Philadelphia; The Grand Bohemian Gallery in Greenville, Charleston and Asheville; and R02 Gallery in Dallas. He currently lives and works in Conway, where he is a full professor of studio art and associate chair of visual arts at Coastal Carolina.
About the South Carolina Arts Commission
The mission of the South Carolina Arts Commission is to expand access to the arts and foster the cultivation of creativity in South Carolina. We envision a South Carolina where the arts are valued and all people benefit from a variety of creative experiences.
A state agency created by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1967, the SCAC works to increase public participation in the arts through grants, direct programs, staff assistance and partnerships in artist development, arts industry, arts learning, creative placemaking, and folklife and traditional arts. Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., the SCAC is funded by the state of South Carolina, by the federal government through the National Endowment for the Arts, and other sources. Visit SouthCarolinaArts.com or call 803.734.8696, and follow @SCArtsComm on Facebook, Instagram, and X for #Arts4SC and #SCArtists content.
