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Cultural documentation workshop coming to Blackville

With Folklorist & Archivist Cathy Kerst

Registration deadline: Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Ethnographic Documentation Workshop: Cultural Rights, Interviewing Skills, and General Archival Principles
  • Tuesday, October 8, 2019
  • 5:30-8 p.m.
  • Blackville Senior Center
  • 59 Callahan Street
  • Blackville, SC 29817
  • FREE
Researchers and interviewers who gather and document cultural information are involved in a complex of exciting, but sometimes, confusing issues that come up in person-to-person interactions. This workshop will explore the combined practice of interviewing, basic intellectual property matters, and fundamental archival procedures, so that collected cultural materials can be made accessible to the communities who created them, as well as to researchers, in an ethical and organized manner. Drawing on her work as a Folklife Specialist and Archivist at the Library of Congress, Cathy Kerst will also provide an orientation to the American Folklife Center. The workshop will include opportunities for conversation and Q&A about participants’ specific interests and questions about becoming more involved in cultural documentation.

Who We Are 

Catherine Hiebert Kerst, a folklife specialist at the Library of Congress’s American Folklife Center for 27 years, was trained as a folklorist and has significant experience in archival work and public sector cultural programming. Since leaving the American Folklife Center recently, she has done extensive research on the Sidney Robertson Cowell WPA Northern California Folk Music Collection,1938-1940. Her book focusing on the ethnomusicological fieldwork gathered by this intrepid woman collector is scheduled for publication by Dust-to-Digital in the near future. At the American Folklife Center, Kerst initiated the development of the American Folklore Society Ethnographic Thesaurus and served as coordinator of several symposia. In addition, she has worked extensively with New Deal ethnographic collections in the Center’s Archive, participated in educational folklife outreach activities, and contributed to scholarly publications, public presentations and reference services offered by the Center. Ethnographic Documentation Workshop coordinator Laura Marcus Green is Program Specialist for Community Arts & Folklife at the South Carolina Arts Commission. She holds a Ph.D. in Folklore from Indiana University and an M.A. in Folklore/Anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin. Selected prior positions include Folklife & Traditional Arts Program Director, McKissick Museum, University of South Carolina, Community Engagement Coordinator for the Museum of International Folk Art’s Gallery of Conscience, and work as a folklife field-worker and researcher, writer, curator and consultant for the Louisiana Division of the Arts Folklife Program, the South Carolina Arts Commission, the Iowa Arts Council, New Mexico Arts, and the Idaho Commission on the Arts, among others.

Blackville students gain STEAM at summer camp

From the Augusta Chronicle:

A new summer camp brought learning full STEAM ahead for 100 Barnwell County students.

The Engaging Creative Minds Summer STEAM Camp was held at Macedonia Elementary/Middle School between June 4 and July 19. Approximately 100 students in the first through eighth grades engaged in fun and educational activities centered upon the components of science, technology, engineering, arts and math. While many students were from Blackville, a number also came from Barnwell and Williston.

...

The model used for the camp was started as an arts integration program during the school year in Charleston several years ago. A summer camp component was added in 2014, which proved successful and expanded into Clarendon County. This caught the eye of the South Carolina Department of Education which along with the S.C. Arts Commission provided funding for this year’s camp in Blackville, said Robin Berlinsky, the executive director of Engaging Creative Minds. Another camp was held in Allendale County.

...

Jeremiah Gilchrist, 11, a rising sixth grader at Macedonia, said he isn’t the best artist, but instructor Terrance Washington pushed him to be creative. “He told me not to tell him what I can’t do, but to at least try to do it,” said Gilchrist, who noticed his artistic progression throughout the six-week camp.

There's plenty more to read in Jonathan Vickery's Chronicle story.
Photo from Augusta Chronicle, credit not provided.

State to honor five with 2018 Folk Heritage Awards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 19 March 2018

  • Four artists and one advocate selected
  • Program managed jointly by McKissick Museum at USC and South Carolina Arts Commission
  • Awards to be presented May 2 at South Carolina Arts Awards Day
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Five South Carolina recipients are to be honored by the General Assembly with the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award, presented annually to recognize work that keeps the state’s traditional art forms alive. The following five recipients – four artists and one advocate – are being recognized as practitioners and advocates of traditional arts significant to communities throughout the state. Their traditions embody folklife’s dynamic, multigenerational nature, and its fusion of artistic and utilitarian ideals. The 2018 recipients are:
  • The Blackville Community Choir (Blackville): A Capella Spiritual and Gospel Singing
  • Michael King (Greenville): Piedmont blues
  • Henrietta Snype (Mount Pleasant): Sweetgrass basketry
  • Deacon James Garfield Smalls (St. Helena Island): Traditional spirituals
  • Dr. Stephen Criswell (Lancaster): Folklife & Traditional Arts Advocacy
“The work of proliferating our state’s unique cultural heritage is an important one in an age of constant change,” South Carolina Arts Commission Executive Director Ken May said. “The intrinsic value of these treasured art forms is the story each tells of where and who we’ve been, and are, as a culture. We should all be grateful for the work these award recipients do on our behalf.” [caption id="attachment_2612" align="alignright" width="150"]Jean Laney Harris Jean Laney Harris[/caption] The Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award is named for the late State Rep. Jean Laney Harris of Cheraw, respected as an outspoken advocate and ardent supporter of the arts and cultural resources of the state. Up to four artists or organizations and one advocate may receive awards each year. The program is managed jointly by the South Carolina Arts Commission and McKissick Museum at USC. Community members make nominations to recognize exemplary artistic achievement/advocacy. An independent advisory panel appointed by the lieutenant governor and house speaker selects the recipients, who must be living and practicing in the state. The Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage and Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s awards, sponsored by Colonial Life, are presented at South Carolina Arts Awards Day on Wednesday, May 2 in a morning ceremony at the State House. The S.C. Arts Foundation will honor the recipients afterward during a fundraising luncheon at the USC Alumni Center (900 Senate St., Columbia). South Carolina artists’ work will be on sale to support the programs of the S.C. Arts Commission. Luncheon tickets are $50 per person and available for purchase through SouthCarolinaArts.com or by calling 803.734.8696. For more information about the Folk Heritage Awards, visit the McKissick Museum website at http://artsandsciences.sc.edu/mckissickmuseum or the S.C. Arts Commission website, SouthCarolinaArts.com.
ABOUT THE FOLK HERITAGE AWARD RECIPIENTS
  • Blackville Community Choir (Artist Category) was formed in 1965 as the Macedonia Tabernacle Choir. In 1976, the choir changed its name to The Blackville Community Choir. The group expanded to include members from different congregations and continued to sing at churches, festivals, funerals, weddings, banquets, public schools, and college graduations. Choir members have been advocates for the arts, organizing an annual program featuring visual and performing artists, collectors, crafters, entrepreneurs, culinary artists, and storytellers.
  • J. Michael King (Artist Category) is a composer, writer, teacher, and accomplished Piedmont blues musician with an insatiable love of traditional South Carolina music. The Piedmont blues, a unique regional distillation of the blues, blossomed in Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia near the beginning of the 20th century. Influenced by ragtime music and early banjo techniques, Piedmont blues involves a light, finger-picking style and steady rhythms. A popular instructor, King teaches the Piedmont blues throughout the region. For over 30 years, he has mentored musicians of all ages in and around upstate South Carolina.
  • Even at 98, Deacon James Garfield Smalls (Artist Category) sings songs dating back to the mid-19th century and stands as one the most important active Gullah singers and cultural ambassadors. Smalls received musical training from B.H. Washington, a member of the St. Helena Quartet and music director at St. Joseph Baptist Church. Smalls sang in Washington’s renowned community choir The Hundred Voices, and later led the ensemble. He also served for many years as director of the senior choir at St. Joseph Baptist Church. Beyond his early musical career, Smalls served in the Pacific with the U.S. Navy’s Seabees during World War II. Over the past three decades, Deacon Smalls has led the singing at Penn Center Community Sings, various island churches, and music festivals.
  • Henrietta Snype (Artist Category) is a Mount Pleasant native and third generation sweetgrass basket maker. Snype’s work has been featured at venues in the Lowcountry and in museums throughout the U.S., including the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African Art. Schools, museum shops, business owners, and private art collectors have commissioned works from her. She conducts workshops for public and private schools throughout Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester counties and does countless demonstrations for all ages.
  • Dr. Stephen Criswell (Advocacy Category) has worked in folklore and anthropology for more than 20 years. His most prominent contribution is his advocacy work for Native American culture, focusing on Catawba potters and contemporary expressive traditions. In 2005, the University of South Carolina Lancaster hired Criswell and challenged him to build and direct its Native American Studies program. After 13 years, the Native American Studies Center (NASC) houses the largest fully intact collection of Catawba pottery in existence and an extensive archival collection. Its new facility has welcomed 30,000 visitors from all over the world since 2012, raising awareness of the history, culture and traditions of Native people of the South.
ABOUT THE FOLKLIFE AND TRADITIONAL ARTS PROGRAM The Folklife and Traditional Arts Program is designed to encourage, promote, conserve and honor the diverse community-based art forms that make South Carolina distinct. The major initiatives of the program serve both established and emerging cultural groups that call South Carolina home. ABOUT MCKISSICK MUSEUM The University of South Carolina’s McKissick Museum tells the story of southern life: community, culture, and the environment. The 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 exhibitions are free and open to the public. The Museum is open from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Saturdays. The Museum is closed Sundays and university holidays. For more information, please call at 803.777.7251 or visit http://www.sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/artsandsciences/mckissick_museum/. 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.

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