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S.C. Arts Awards Spotlight Series: Darion McCloud

Governor's Award: Artist Category

As the day nears for the 2022 South Carolina Arts Awards, The Hub is focusing on this year's recipients: four receiving the South Carolina Governor's Awards for the Arts and three receiving the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award, which are managed jointly by the South Carolina Arts Commission and McKissick Museum at the University of South Carolina.

Darion McCloud is an actor, director, storyteller, educator, arts activist, and children’s literature advocate from Columbia.

[caption id="attachment_50263" align="alignright" width="350"] Darion McCloud (left) received his Governor's Award from SCAC Executive Director David Platts on May 19, 2022. Click image to enlarge. SCAC photo.[/caption] He is also the founder and creative director both of NiA Theatre Company and Story Squad. McCloud is a Riley Institute Diversity Fellow and the 2019 recipient of the Theatre Artist of the Year Award from The Jasper Project. Awards from the University of South Carolina include the Andrew Billingsley Award and the Literacy Leader Award – further recognitions of his work. McCloud is a formally trained visual artist with a bachelor’s in art studio from the University of South Carolina. He found his way to the stage via telling stories and stayed, acting and teaching there for more than 20 years. He enjoys crafting theatre, storytelling, and art experiences for the old and young, the initiated and the un-initiated in environments as varied as classrooms, corporate settings, libraries, and even campfires. Theatres, certainly, are places where McCloud makes art; he is a company member for Columbia-based Trustus Theatre and the South Carolina Shakespeare Company. He collaborated in projects with Benedict College, Francis Marion University, the University of South Carolina, and school districts in Kershaw and Richland counties in the education space. Work in the humanities has taken him to the Charleston Public, Richland, and South Carolina State libraries as well as Historic Columbia. He has further arts sector work with the Mint Museum in Charlotte, Piccolo Spoleto and with the Columbia Museum of Art, Kershaw County Fine Arts Center, and South Carolina Philharmonic closer to home. He even fit in work with the UofSC athletics department’s “Pigskin Poets” initiative. McCloud considers himself as having committed his life to the transforming power of art.
The South Carolina Arts Awards are coming live to SCETV on Monday, June 13, 2022 at 9 p.m. ET. South Carolina ETV, the state’s public educational broadcasting network, will broadcast the awards ceremony through its 11-station TV network that spans the state. Viewers can access the broadcast via livestream on the homepage of SCETV.org; by using a digital antenna; or through cable, satellite, and streaming live TV providers. Further information about accessing SCETV is available here.

Jason Rapp

Community-based actor-teacher job opportunities now open

The Office of Outreach at the SC Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities is hiring several positions to work with Spark, a drama-based literacy program funded by Arts Grow SC.

If you have experience with groups of elementary aged students, an understanding of the performing arts, storytelling, and creative dramatics, there might have a fun full-time position for you! Theatre people, storytellers, librarians and educators who are self-starters, active and organized facilitators, good relationship builders, and playful are a good fit. These curriculum coordinator-level positions will be assigned to regions across South Carolina and will be based from home in local schools. The team of community actor-teachers will design and facilitate drama groups for literacy and reading motivation in elementary classrooms. Positions may be based in the following areas of the state:
  • Cheraw
  • Florence
  • Georgetown
  • Greenwood
  • Kingstree
  • Laurens
  • Marion
  • Newberry
Experience in the elementary classroom or theatre education setting is preferred. Some scheduled, in-state travel will be required for training. COVID protocols for schools and the S.C. Department of Education will be followed. Learn more about this positions at https://www.scgsah.org/spark-jobs.

Submitted material

Four artists honored with S.C. Arts Commission fellowships

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 25 June 2018 COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina artists in Charleston, Horry, Richland and Spartanburg counties representing four arts disciplines received individual artist fellowships after approval by the S.C. Arts Commission board in Columbia. All individual artists working in prose, poetry, and theatre acting and playwriting were invited to apply for awards for fiscal year 2019. The S.C. Arts Commission board approved $5,000 fellowships based on recommendations made by out-of-state review panelists, who select these fellows after  reviewing anonymous work samples:

  • Rutledge Hammes of Charleston County for prose,
  • Stephen Tulloh of Spartanburg County for poetry,
  • Paul Kaufmann of Richland County for theatre acting,
  • and Kevin Ferguson of Horry County for theatre playwriting.
Fellowships recognize and reward the artistic achievements of South Carolina's exceptional individual artists. They are awarded through a competitive, anonymous process and based solely on artistic excellence. Recognition from fellowship awards often lends artistic prestige and opens doors to other resources and employment opportunities. “Past fellows are quick to share stories about the transformative difference award dollars make and the positive effect on their spirits and their self-perception,” S.C. Arts Commission Executive Director Ken May said. “It can truly be a life-changing experience. South Carolina’s artists are indispensable contributors to quality of life in our communities and make up the core of our creative economy. A fellowship is one of the best ways the people of South Carolina thank them, and our agency is proud to deliver these tokens of gratitude on their behalf.” The panelists who judged each discipline’s nominees work in those disciplines elsewhere. This year’s prose judge was Jamey Hatley of Memphis, Tenn., an author who received a prose fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in 2016. The poetry judge was poet Shane McCrae of New York City, an NEA poetry fellow and writing professor at Columbia University. Nancy Rominger of Montgomery, Ala., director of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, served as the theatre acting judge. The theatre playwriting judge was Betty Peterson, an English professor at Somerset (Ky.) Community College. Four fellowships per year are awarded to artists who work in rotating disciplines. One artist from each of these fields: visual arts, craft, and music performance or composition, will be honored in fiscal year 2020. To be eligible, artists must be at least 18 years old and a legal U.S. resident with permanent residence in the state for two years prior to the application date and throughout the fellowship period. Applications will be accepted later this summer following announcement by the S.C. Arts Commission. For more on discipline rotation, eligibility requirements, and the application process, please visit http://www.southcarolinaarts.com/grants/artists/fellowships.shtml.

About the FY2019 South Carolina Arts Commission Fellowship Recipients

PROSE F. RUTLEDGE HAMMES | Charleston County “What I write, at its very best, is some illegitimate hybrid of South American magical realism and Southern Gothic I like to think of as Southern Fabulism,” Rutledge Hammes says of the sum of his prose. Hammes, who lives in Charleston, is the writer-in-residence and creative writing teacher for the Charleston County School of the Arts. His students, throughout a 10-year tenure, have accounted for more than 3,500 regional and national writing awards. The city’s 2011 “Best Up-and-Coming Writer” is co-author of two published novels. His first solo novel, A Curious Matter of Men with Wings, is to be published under his name this September. He is the winner of six ADDY Awards for copywriting and winner of the Cypress Dome Fiction Awards. His talent extends to poetry, where he was a finalist for both the Montage Poetry Award and the Paul Laurence Dunbar Award for Poetry. POETRY STEPHEN TULLOH | Spartanburg County Stephen Tulloh received his MFA in creative writing from the University of South Carolina. The Spartanburg resident has spent time as a tutor and instructor on the collegiate level, where he develops and implements subject- and student-centered courses which nurture creativity, empowerment, self-actualization. As a writer, though, Tulloh considers himself versatile and meticulous as he creates essays, books, and articles for traditional or digital publication. He blogs and has three credits to his name: two out-of-print collections of essays, activities, and lectures on communication and writing; and 2009’s Symmetry, described as “retrospective, introspective, emotive, and somewhat innovative, the poems and drawings in Symmetry focus on two siblings' relationships – with nature; with one another; with family, friends and foes.” THEATRE: ACTING PAUL KAUFMANN | Richland County Though an actor for most of his life, Paul Kaufmann is a multi-faceted artist: playwright, songwriter, fiction and copy writer, and a visual artist. A resident of Columbia with a bachelor’s in communications from Florida State University, he is a veteran of the city’s theatre scene, serving as a cast member in stage productions at Trustus Theatre and at USC. His resume includes appearances in productions in New York City, Wales and on screen in Third Reel, a Jason Stokes film. He has been the principal at Kaufmann Forensic Actors for 12 years. His company contracts 20 actors from across the U.S. to provide actors to the FBI, ICE and other federal and state agencies for use in scenario-based training, where they portray victims of myriad crimes. THEATRE: PLAYWRIGHTING KEVIN FERGUSON | Horry County He describes himself as a son, friend, actor, counselor, teacher, mentor, playwright, dramaturg, and a literary manager, but “not always in that order,” says Kevin Ferguson of Little River on his website. He is credited with writing six plays: five original, and an adaptation of Dickens’ famed A Christmas Carol. His work was included in a short play anthology in 2015 and he contributed to a nine-vignette collection of works with other playwrights. Ferguson teaches playwriting and dramaturgy at Coastal Carolina University. He earned an MFA in playwriting with a concentration in dramaturgy from Hollins University. He is playwright-in-residence, literary manager, and resident dramaturg at Atlantic Stage in Myrtle Beach. He is also the resident Dramaturg at the Playwright’s Lab at Hollins.

About the South Carolina Arts Commission

The South Carolina Arts Commission is the state agency charged with creating a thriving arts environment that benefits all South Carolinians, regardless of their location or circumstances. Created by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1967, the Arts Commission works to increase public participation in the arts by providing services, grants, and leadership initiatives in three areas:
  • arts education,
  • community arts development,
  • and artist development.
Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., the Arts Commission is funded by the state of South Carolina, by the federal government through the National Endowment for the Arts and other sources. For more information, visit SouthCarolinaArts.com or call 803.734.8696.

Literary and theatre artists invited to apply for fellowships

Application deadline is November 1. The South Carolina Arts Commission is accepting applications for the next round of Individual Artist Fellowships. South Carolina artists working in prose, poetry, acting or playwriting are invited to apply for the 2019 awards. Each fellow receives an unrestricted $5,000 award. Fellowships recognize and reward the artistic achievements of South Carolina’s exceptional individual artists. Fellowship awards are made through a highly competitive, anonymous process by out-of-state panelists and are based on artistic excellence only. The awards bring recognition that may open doors to other resources and employment opportunities. Fellowships are awarded in four disciplines each year. Find complete guidelines and application instructions online. The deadline to apply is Nov. 1, 2017. Related: Who won the most recent round of fellowships?

Congratulations to the new S.C. Arts Commission Fellows!

The South Carolina Arts Commission Board has awarded FY2015 Individual Artist Fellowships to four South Carolina artists in the categories of prose, poetry, theatre: acting and theatre: playwriting. Each artist receives $5,000.

This year's fellows (picture left to right, above):

“It is rewarding to honor the work of successful artists, who are central to the creative industries in our state. Their accomplishments inspire other creative individuals and entrepreneurs, and they serve as positive examples of our state’s culture and thriving arts community,” said S.C. Arts Commission Executive Director Ken May. The S.C. Arts Commission board approves fellowships based on recommendations made by out-of-state review panelists, who select fellows based solely on a review of anonymous work samples. Serving as judges this year were Pam Duncan, (Prose), author and creative writing instructor at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, N.C.; Ruth Forman (Poetry), a poet and workshop leader currently living in Washington, D.C.; Gaylen Phillips (Acting), an actor and manager of the Arts on Tour program and Grant Services for the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs in Tallahasee; and Brian Golden (Playwriting), a Chicago-based playwright, director, curator and arts leader. Individual artists working in visual arts, craft, music composition or music performance may apply for the FY2016 fellowship awards. The deadline to apply is Nov. 1, 2014. For more information about S.C. Arts Commission programs and services, visit www.SouthCarolinaArts.com or call (803) 734-8696.

Fellowships deadline extended to Nov. 15!

The deadline to apply for South Carolina Arts Commission Fellowships has been extended to Nov. 15! South Carolina artists working in poetry, prose, acting and playwriting are encouraged to apply for South Carolina Arts Commission Fellowships of $5,000. The award is unrestricted, meaning Fellows can use the funds for anything - professional development, travel, adding on to a studio, buying equipment, marketing, etc. Fellowships recognize and reward the artistic achievements of South Carolina's exceptional individual artists. Fellowship awards are made through a highly competitive, anonymous process by out-of-state panelists and are based on artistic excellence only. The awards bring recognition that may open doors to other resources and employment opportunities. Fellowships are awarded in four disciplines each year. Complete requirements, guidelines and the application are available online. Apply by Nov. 15, 2013.

Last call for Fellowship applications!

The Nov. 1 deadline is at hand! South Carolina artists working in poetry, prose, acting and playwriting are encouraged to apply for South Carolina Arts Commission Fellowships of $5,000. The award is unrestricted, meaning Fellows can use the funds for anything - professional development, travel, adding on to a studio, buying equipment, marketing, etc. Fellowships recognize and reward the artistic achievements of South Carolina's exceptional individual artists. Fellowship awards are made through a highly competitive, anonymous process by out-of-state panelists and are based on artistic excellence only. The awards bring recognition that may open doors to other resources and employment opportunities. Fellowships are awarded in four disciplines each year. Complete requirements, guidelines and the application are available online. Hurry! The deadline to apply is Nov. 1, 2013. Related: Who won the most recent round of Fellowships?

Apply today! Fellowships for actors, playwrights, poets & writers of prose

Application deadline is Nov. 1, 2013. The South Carolina Arts Commission is accepting applications for the next round of Individual Artist Fellowships. S.C. artists working in prose, poetry, acting and playwriting are invited to apply for the 2015 awards. Each Fellow receives $5,000. Fellowships recognize and reward the artistic achievements of South Carolina's exceptional individual artists. Fellowship awards are made through a highly competitive, anonymous process by out-of-state panelists and are based on artistic excellence only. The awards bring recognition that may open doors to other resources and employment opportunities. Fellowships are awarded in four disciplines each year. Complete requirements, guidelines and the application are available online. The deadline to apply is Nov. 1, 2013. Related: Who won the most recent round of Fellowships?

Artists: a reminder about opportunities from the S.C. Arts Commission

A fellowship, a grant and a writing competition for South Carolina artists: 1) Individual Artist Fellowships - artists working in prose, poetry, acting and playwriting may apply for an Individual Artist Fellowship. Up to four fellowships of $5,000 will be awarded.

  • Application deadline: Nov. 1, 2013
  • More info (acting & playwriting): Joy Young, (803) 734-8203
  • More info (prose & poetry): Sara June Goldstein, (803) 734-8694
2) Artists' Ventures Initiative Grants - Artists (individuals and collaboratives) may apply for up to $5,000 in order to launch a new venture or significantly alter an existing venture.
  • Letters of intent due Dec. 13, 2013
  • More info: Joy Young, (803) 734-8203
3) First Novel Prize - a biennial competition open to writers who have never published a novel. The winner will receive a book contract with Hub City Press of Spartanburg and a $1,000 advance against royalties. Hub City will publish 1,500 copies of the book and distribute it nationally.

Fellowships for actors and writers of plays, poetry and prose

Application deadline is Nov. 1, 2013. The South Carolina Arts Commission is accepting applications for the next round of Individual Artist Fellowships. S.C. artists working in prose, poetry, acting and playwriting are invited to apply for the 2015 awards. Each Fellow receives $5,000. Fellowships recognize and reward the artistic achievements of South Carolina's exceptional individual artists. Fellowship awards are made through a highly competitive, anonymous process by out-of-state panelists and are based on artistic excellence only. The awards bring recognition that may open doors to other resources and employment opportunities. Fellowships are awarded in four disciplines each year. Complete requirements, guidelines and the application are available online. The deadline to apply is Nov. 1, 2013. Related: Who won the most recent round of Fellowships?