Ce Scott-Fitts promoted to deputy director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The South Carolina Arts Commission is announcing the promotion of Ce Scott-Fitts, previously artist development director, to its executive leadership team as deputy director.
The Detroit native (right) joined the SCAC as artist development director in 2019. Scott-Fitts was previously creative director and on the founding staff of the McColl Center for Art + Innovation in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she curated exhibitions, developed an artist-in-residence program, and established an international residency program for North Carolina artists in South Africa and Ireland.
She has served on numerous grant panels nationwide and taught in higher education. She is currently co-chair of the individual artist support committee for Grantmakers in the Arts and is the founder of South Carolina Artists in Action, which seeks to serve the unique needs of Black South Carolina artists. While adept at serving others, Scott-Fitts is also a practicing artist and has exhibited at museums, public spaces, and galleries throughout the Southeast with works in public and private collections in the U.S., Japan, and the United Kingdom. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in painting from Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.
Scott-Fitts will step into the role officially on July 1. She will continue to manage day-to-day artist development initiatives as she has been while adding oversight of select programs of the SCAC.
“I am thrilled to be a deputy director. I look forward to working with the programs teams as they create more opportunities for and support the state’s artists and arts organizations,” Scott-Fitts said.
“Ce has been a valuable member of the Arts Commission team since her first day here. She has put tremendous effort into developing meaningful relationships with South Carolina artists to connect them with agency resources. Among those are the fellowships program she modernized and rejuvenated and our emerging artists program, which offers not just a grant but valuable mentorship. We are excited that the additional agency programs and constituents will now benefit from her expertise,” SCAC Executive Director David Platts said.
About the South Carolina Arts Commission
The mission of the South Carolina Arts Commission (SCAC) is to promote equitable access to the arts and support 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 by providing grants, direct programs, staff assistance and partnerships in four areas: arts learning, community and traditional arts, artist development, and arts industry. 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 Twitter for #Arts4SC and #SCartists content.
In addition to financial support, the artists will benefit from mentorship and professional support facilitated by the SCAC and Artist Development Director Ce Scott-Fitts. The combined benefits are intended to deepen artistic practice and foster artistic excellence; encourage career growth, advancement, and sustainability; and provide professional development and opportunities for collaboration.
The SCAC awarded an 
The SCAiA logo, by Amiri Geuka Farris.[/caption]
Together, the SCAC and South Carolina Artists in Action (SCAiA) envision a South Carolina where Black artists have essential support for sustainable careers. The mission of SCAiA is to identify and implement best practices enabling Black artist to artist and Black artist to institutions to advance, support and sustain equitable, inclusive working relationships.
“The needs of Black artists are different in that they often require a targeted level of support to get started. SCAiA wants to help navigate access and other systemic challenges. It will also provide a network of peers with similar backgrounds and experiences who either overcame those challenges or are working through them,” SCAC Director of Artist Services Ce Scott-Fitts said.
Scott-Fitts is chairperson of the SCAiA committee, serving with Triza Cox, Michael Murray, and Kathryn Van Aernum.
SCAiA released a survey this week to gather critical input from Black South Carolina artists (#SCartists). The observations, thoughts, and feedback will help SCAiA’s committee set program goals. The survey can be accessed from the program’s SCAC webpage: 
Individual Artist Fellowship Grants
“The fellowship program is one of the arts commission’s signature programs. It directly impacts artist development, one of the agency’s three core functions,” Artist Services Director Ce Scott-Fitts (right) said.
“Increasing the award makes the program more prestigious, but better serves the recipients. They receive financial resources so that they may focus on developing and creating art. Adding disciplines allows for more inclusion while demonstrating how many aspects of the creative economy are touched by the arts.”
Fellowships are made through a highly competitive process and 