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2022 Southern Prize exhibition now open in S.C.

Opening reception tonight in Florence gallery


Compelling visual art from the nine southeastern-state fellows in the running for the 2022 South Arts Southern Prize is now on display in Florence, and an opening reception is tonight from 5:30-6:30 p.m.

South Carolina Arts Commission Executive Director David T. Platts will be on hand for a greeting and remarks to attendees. Launched in 2017, the Southern Prize and State Fellowships acknowledge, support, and celebrate the highest quality art being created in the South. Approximately 600 artists applied for consideration in fall and winter 2021, and jurors reviewed each application to recommend the State Fellowship recipients. After review from a national panel of jurors, Louisiana mixed media artist Hannah Chalew was named winner of the $25,000 Southern Prize. [caption id="attachment_52309" align="alignright" width="300"] Click image to enlarge. Courtesy of South Arts.[/caption] The other 2022 State Fellowship recipients are:
  • Jenny Fine. Multidisciplinary. New Brockton, Alabama.
  • GeoVanna Gonzalez. Multidisciplinary. Miami, Florida.
  • Antonio Darden. Sculpture. Atlanta, Georgia.
  • Crystal Gregory. Sculpture. Lexington, Kentucky.
  • Gloria Gipson Suggs. Painting. Holly Springs, Mississippi.
  • Marcus Dunn. Painting. Fayetteville, North Carolina.
  • Brittany M. Watkins. Mixed Media. Columbia, South Carolina.
  • Sarah Elizabeth Cornejo. Sculpture. Memphis, Tennessee.
Visual artists living in South Arts’ nine-state region and producing crafts, drawing, experimental, painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media, and multidisciplinary work were eligible to apply. The nine fellows receive $5,000 cash awards and inclusion in this touring exhibition, which has made its way to South Carolina. The Stephen F. Gately Gallery at Francis Marion University is host of the exhibition. The Southern Prize and State Fellowships program is made possible through the generous financial support of many donors. [caption id="attachment_52307" align="aligncenter" width="950"]In a dimly-lit room, an art patron with short black hair in a black t-shirt snaps a mobile phone picture of South Carolina State Fellow Brittany M. Watkins' "Maladaptation Sits," on exhibit at the launch of the tour. An exhibition attendee snaps a picture of South Carolina State Fellow Brittany M. Watkins' "Maladaptation Sits," on exhibit at the launch of the tour. Provided photo/South Arts.[/caption]

Jason Rapp

ArtFields opens submissions for 2023

Let 'em hear from #SCartists

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Tuesday, November 1, 2022 [caption id="attachment_44443" align="aligncenter" width="960"] An event from ArtFields 2019. Photo by Zan Maddox/Social Design House for the SCAC.[/caption]

Lake City's big-deal annual arts festival is more than a South Carolina treasure.

It's a regional must-do that turns the small Florence County town into a living art gallery, using everything from the obvious places like galleries to restaurants, boutiques and all willing local businesses to display artworks by the hundreds. Next April it will do it again, but the time to make submissions is NOW. Adult artists (we'll have more about ArtFields, Jr. soon...) of all media from across the Southeast are eligible to apply ($25 fee applies).

What's at stake?

Accepted artists can win part of more than $100,000 in prizes, with the winner grossing $50,000 alone. ArtFields' Southeastern Partner Awards include residencies and exhibitions.

You'll need...

A bio, statement, artwork dimensions, and high-quality pictures of your artwork. Don't delay, #SCartists! Find out more and apply by clicking here.

Jason Rapp

FMU Gately Gallery seeking new gallery coordinator

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Wednesday, June 1, 2022 (tentative)

Francis Marion University invites applications for a gallery coordinator of the Steven F. Gately Gallery.

Francis Marion University logoThe successful candidate will work under the supervision of the Director of the Francis Marion University Performing Arts Center. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
  • Coordinating, preparing, documenting, and installing art exhibits within the facility.
  • Scheduling the use of various spaces, and supervising gallery use for openings and event rentals. The Gallery Coordinator is present on most occasions that the gallery space is open to the public; requiring schedule flexibility, including some nights and weekends.
  • Serves as a primary liaison with other building tenants. The Gallery Coordinator will be utilized for special projects and events at the FMU Performing Arts Center as needed.
  • The Gallery Coordinator facilitates timely oral and written communication between the gallery and patrons, coworkers, community members, and supervisors.
  • Records details of events with individuals using and visiting the facility. Supervises students, volunteers, and part-time positions involved in gallery and other spaces as required.
  • Represents the gallery space and Francis Marion University in a positive, professional manner.
Please visit our website for more information and to complete and to download an application. Expected closing date: June 1.

Submitted material

Artist residency space available to all disciplines

Loft on East Main, Lake City


[caption id="attachment_48681" align="alignright" width="275"] Click image to enlarge.[/caption]

This artist residency is an independent, self-directed experience in the small southern town of Lake City, South Carolina.

Lake City is the home of the prestigious annual art competition, Artfields. You'll reside in the heart of this bright and welcoming town of artists and art appreciators, with access to studio space. We connect you with the community for customized engagement opportunities, whether it be promoting open studio hours, hosting pop-up gallery shows, offering artist talks, teaching classes, networking with local artists, etc. The Loft on East Main is conveniently located 90 miles from Charleston and 60 miles from the beach of Pawleys Island. Brookgreen Gardens is an hour and a half drive, and Moore Farms Botanical Gardens is right in Lake City. Come see why Lake City has branded itself the 'Make Your Art’ town! More information and living space images are available here. This residency is not affiliated with Artfields.

Submitted material

ArtFields calls for art from junior #SCartists

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Friday, February 11, 2022


South Carolina student artists in grades 1-12 are now invited to submit artwork to the annual ArtFields Jr. Art Competition.

The ArtFields Jr. Art Competition is open to South Carolina students in grades 1 through 12. Click here to submit for free by Feb. 11, 2022. (Make sure you read the rules first!) Accepted student artwork will be on display during ArtFields 2022 from April 22-30, 2022 in Lake City.

Jason Rapp

Looming deadlines for major art calls

Get 'em in, #SCartists!

  • 1858 Prize DEADLINE: Sunday, October 31, 2021
  • ArtFields DEADLINE: Monday, November 1, 2021

There are big prizes up for grabs in the South Carolina arts scene. Are you going for them?

ArtFields, operating out of Lake City in southern Florence County, is accepting submissions for its historic tenth year. ArtFields offers a unique combination of competition and celebration for Southeastern artists, so fittingly this call is open to artists 18 and older practicing in all media from 12 Southeastern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Lo,\uisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. This is an opportunity for part of $100,000 in cash prizes during the 2022 event taking place April 22-30. Accepted artwork is displayed all around our downtown—in spaces like boutiques, restaurants, barbershops, and more—to create a town-wide gallery. If you're unaware, click here to explore what ArtFields is all about and how you can be part of it. The submission deadline is Monday, Nov. 1. Not terribly far from Lake City as the crow flies is the South Carolina Lowcountry. The Charleston-based 1858 Society of the Gibbes Museum of Art has a call out for contemporary art. Artists from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia are eligible to apply. The winning artist receives $10,000 for work that contributes to a new understanding of art in the South. In addition to the monetary award, artwork will be chosen by the Gibbes Curatorial Team, in collaboration with the artist, for display in the Mary Jackson Modern and Contemporary Galleries for the duration of 2022. Their submission deadline is one day earlier on Sunday, Oct. 31. Find out more about the 1858 Prize here.

Jason Rapp

Announcing the FY22 SCAC Fellows

for immediate release


Four South Carolina artists exhibiting hard work and exceptional ability in visual art, craft, and media production and screenwriting are recipients of fiscal year 2022 South Carolina Arts Commission fellowships.

The South Carolina Arts Commission (SCAC) Board of Directors approved four $5,000 fellowships among several other FY22 grant awards to be announced on a later date. The SCAC’s four fellows are:
  • Kristi Ryba of Charleston County in visual art,
  • Clay Burnette of Richland County for craft,
  • Sherard “Shekeese” Duvall of Richland County for media production,
  • and Triza Cox of Florence County for media screenwriting.
Individual artists residing in South Carolina full-time were invited to apply last fall for a fellowship in any of the four categories represented in this cycle. Out-of-state panelists were recruited from each of those disciplines to review applications. Starting with this cycle and going forward, applications are no longer anonymous and awards no longer made solely on artistic merit. The panelists also considered achievements and commitment to the discipline in which artists apply, which can be more than one if separate applications are submitted. Panelists then recommend recipients of each $5,000 fellowship. “Fellowships recognize and reward the artistic achievements of exceptional South Carolina individual artists. Recognition from a fellowship lends artistic prestige and can often open doors to other resources and employment opportunities,” SCAC Executive Director David Platts said. “We will no doubt hear more from these amazing artists, and we congratulate them on this honor.”

About the FY22 Individual Artist Fellowship Recipients

Kristi Ryba | Visual Arts | Charleston County Winner of the 2020 South Arts State Fellowship for South Carolina and a 2018 ArtFields second place award, Ryba’s work has been touring the Southeast in painting and printmaking exhibitions since 1990.  A Magna cum laude graduate of the College of Charleston, Ryba also studied at Vermont Studio School and Studio Camnitzer in Valdotavvo, Lucca, Italy, and has her Master of Fine Arts from Union Institute and University, Vermont College. She has won various awards and scholarships. A founding organizer of Print Studio South, Inc., she served as its president and on its board and has taught locally in both adult and children's programs. Ryba was one of 10 artists featured in a 2002 Piccolo Spoleto exhibit and was invited to exhibit in Contemporary Charleston 2004 and in Helping Hands: an artist's debut among friends in 2005. Her work was featured in the 2018 Biennial in Columbia. Ryba also exhibited at Silo in New York City and her work was in the 2007 SOHO20 Chelsea show honoring The Feminist ART Project. Clay Burnette | Craft | Richland County Clay Burnette is a self-taught pine needle basketmaker who has been coiling longleaf pine needles with waxed linen thread since 1977. Burnette’s work is included in numerous public and private collections—including the State Art Collection—and has been included in more than 250 exhibition venues throughout the U.S. and abroad for 40-plus years. He has also been published in numerous international, national, and regional magazines, catalogs, and fine craft publications. Burnette has taught at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee since 2015. Images of his work are available at www.clayburnette.com. Sherard Duvall | Media: Production | Richland County Sherard “Shekeese” Duvall is a film and messaging professional from Columbia, S.C. He specializes in visual storytelling, film education, media strategy, diversity consulting and is an advocate of Hip-Hop culture. He’s produced commercial and documentary projects for VH1, Oxygen, and more. A 2021 Liberty Fellow, a 2016 Riley Fellow, a Leo Twiggs Arts Leadership Scholar and one of the founders of Columbia’s Hip-Hop Family Day: Love Peace & Hip-Hop. A 2001 University of South Carolina grad, Sherard is a product of Richland District One schools. Sherard is the Founder and Executive Producer at OTR Media Group, and the proud dad of his son, Cairo. Triza Cox | Media: Screenwriting | Florence County Triza Cox is a playwright, screenwriter, and theatre artist. She is currently the South Carolina Ambassador for the Dramatists Guild and is an associate member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. Her research and creative work center on playmaking using Jungian archetypes, motifs, and symbols of the collective unconscious. Triza holds an MFA in Theatre Performance from the University of Louisville and has trained with Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre and the Mandala Center for Change as a Theatre of the Oppressed Facilitator. Her original plays include A Last Supper; The Willing, which recently received a staged reading with Triad Stage in Greensboro, North Carolina; God in the Midst of it All; and Lil’ Bard which was a semi-finalist in NYU’s New Plays for Young Audience 2018 and premiered at Charlotte’s Children Theatre in a staged reading. Triza has received a Kentucky New Voices grant for her playwriting.
A diverse group of panelists reviewed applications from the discipline in which they work. The visual art and craft panelists were Kesha Bruce, a curator and artist programs manager for the Arizona Commission on the Arts; arts consultant and curator Mark Leach based in St. Louis; and Holly Blake, residency manager for Headlands Center for the Arts in Sausalito, California. Reviewing media production applications were panelists Eleanor Savage, activist and program director with the St. Paul, Minnesota-based Jerome Foundation; and Bill Gaskins, (re)director of the Maryland Institute College of Art’s photographic and electronic media graduate program. Writer and producer April Turner of Charlotte was the media screenwriting panelist.
Four fellowships per year are awarded to artists working in rotating disciplines. One artist from each of these fields: prose, poetry, and theatre acting and playwriting will be honored in fiscal year 2023. 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 SCAC. For more on discipline rotation, eligibility requirements, and the application process, please visit https://www.southcarolinaarts.com/grant/fel/.
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 three key areas: arts education, community arts development, and artist development. 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.

Jason Rapp

ArtFields readies for full 2021 schedule

The Southeast's largest visual arts competition is readying for nine days of events in 2021.

Ardie Arvidson of the Morning News has details at SCNow.com:

ArtFields, the largest visual arts competition in the Southeast, displays hundreds of art pieces throughout Lake City, along with hosting special events, live music, lots of food and fun for the whole family with student competition artwork and outdoor public art galore.

This nine-day art fest will feature artworks uniquely displayed in downtown businesses. Along with the artwork, additional events will include the Portrait Contest, Makers Market and Artist Talks, plus events all week at local businesses, said Roberta L. Burns, marketing manager of Lake City ArtFields Collective.
ArtFields joins Greenville's Artisphere and other S.C. arts events like Ag + Art Tour and Artista Vista (Columbia) in announcing plans for in-person gatherings. Read Arvidson's full story at SCNow.com.  

Jason Rapp

ArtFields calls for artists to compete, exhibit

Nine-day, town-wide event plans for 2021

Submission deadline: Sunday, November 1, 2020

From September 1 through November 1, 2020, Southeastern artists, both emerging and established, are invited to apply for ArtFields, an annual, nine-day art competition and exhibition in Lake City, South Carolina.

Each year, ArtFields brings together art lovers, collectors, and curators who come to see Lake City transform into a town-wide gallery, allowing accepted artists to be part of the celebration while they compete for $100,000 in prizes. ArtFields started in 2013 with a simple goal: honor Southeastern artists with nearly two weeks worth of celebration and competition in the heart of Lake City—a small, once agrarian South Carolina town. To date, ArtFields has awarded over $800,000 in prize money, helped launch the careers of countless artists, and ultimately led to Lake City’s transformation into a burgeoning arts mecca. Adult artists of all media, who live in the competition's 12 participating Southern states are welcome to apply. Prizes and rules details are available via the ArtFields website.

Prizes and Quick Facts

Submissions Timeline:
  • Entries Open – Sept. 1-Nov. 1, 2020
  • Accepted Artists Notified – Dec 2020
  • ArtFields 2021 – April 23-May 1, 2021
Prizes at Stake:
  • Grand Prize – $50,000
  • Second Place – $25,000
  • People’s Choice 2D – $12,500
  • People’s Choice 3D – $12,500

Submitted material

One week to apply for ArtFields portrait contest

Ahem: the prize money doubled from 2019

Application deadline: Friday, March 6, 2020, 11:59 p.m. ET [caption id="attachment_44443" align="aligncenter" width="600"]Artists standing at easels painting portraits at ArtFields 2018 The 2018 ArtFields Portrait Contest. Photo by Zan Maddox/Social Design House.[/caption]
From our friends at ArtFields comes this dispatch: Applications for the eighth annual ArtFields Portrait Contest are officially open through March 6th, 2020. Artists will compete for Best in Show and over $3,000 in cash prizes while painting live portraits. To apply, you’ll need basic contact information, a portfolio of work, and the submission fee of $25. Click here to apply via ArtBooth through March 6. The stakes are higher than ever this year as prize money up for grabs is DOUBLED to $2,000 for 1st place, $1,000 for 2nd place, and $500 for 3rd place. The ArtFields 2020 Portrait Contest is Saturday, April 25, 2020 from 1-5 p.m. at The Bean Market. For questions, call Carlie Baxley at 843.374.0180. Click here to apply!

Jason Rapp