Tapp’s Arts Center developing an Artist in Residency program
The Tapp’s Initiative is a juried Artist-in-Residency program developed by the Friends of the Tapp's Arts Center that is aimed at bringing contemporary art production, practice and community engagement to the Columbia/Midlands area. Each resident will have access to their own studio space at the Tapp's Arts Center in downtown Columbia for three months to develop a site-specific project and invite the public to interact with the artwork during open-gallery events. At the end of the studio time, the artist will close with an exhibition of work produced during the residency.
The residencies will be open to artists from all areas of South Carolina.
The success of a current Kickstarter campaign will determine whether the program can begin accepting applications in early February 2015. Campaign proceeds will help support the artist during the residency; if funds permit, the residency can be extended to four months.
For more information, visit the Tapp's Arts Center website.
About the Tapp's Arts Center
Tapp’s Arts Center is Columbia’s community center for visual and performing arts located at 1644 Main Street. Our mission is to provide communal space, studios, and exhibition opportunities to strengthen artistic voices and enrich the lives of Columbia’s diverse communities. The center boasts 32 artist studios on two floors, two multi-use performance/event venues with room for up to 300 guests and dedicated gallery space accommodating painting, sculpture, installation and performance. Local artists may rent studios, gallery space and featured Tapp's original window displays to both create, show and sell their work. The center is free and open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Via: Tapp's Arts Center
S.C. Philharmonic “kick starts” fundraiser to commission unique concerto
A Kickstarter fundraising campaign lets “little guy” donors help the South Carolina Philharmonic commission a unique concerto to premiere at its March 14, 2015, Masterworks concert.
American composer Dan Visconti (right) is currently composing Beatbox, the first concerto to pair a full orchestra with a string quintet. Classical music rock stars Sybarite5 (above) team with the S.C. Phil and Music Director Morihiko Nakahara for the work’s world premiere.
Rather than seek a corporate or wealthy, individual donor to make Beatbox a reality, the S.C. Phil is using Kickstarter.com to empower non-traditional donors – from every-day patrons to the community at large – to pool smaller donations and fund a portion of the non-traditional new work. Donations ranging from just $1 to $1,200 can help raise $5,000 to go toward the often-prohibitive cost of commissioning new music. The catch with Kickstarter is that the S.C. Phil has just 30 days to raise the full $5,000 goal – or else get nothing at all.
“While the S.C. Phil supports contemporary American composers and would like to participate in commissions and consortiums more often, the costs involved are in addition to those of putting a performance on stage,” S.C. Phil Executive Director Rhonda Hunsinger said.
“With Visconti, we are also bringing in a critically acclaimed string quintet, which involves additional fees, transportation and lodging. We are able to raise a portion of this through traditional fundraising, but need new sources of support to cover the full cost of this endeavor.”
Beatbox is to combine Visconti’s classical/bluegrass/rock style with Sybarite5, who are characterized by their unique style and virtuosity. Visconti and Sybarite5 have worked together before, and while this piece promises to have a folk music influence from Visconti's Virginia upbringing, it is being written specifically for Sybarite5 and will capture the group's energy and musical spirit.
The Duluth Superior Orchestra (Minn.) and Midland Symphony Orchestra (Mich.) are joining the S.C. Phil in the commissioning consortium.
Visit the Kickstarter campaign page for more information.
Via: South Carolina Philharmonic
Spartanburg artist’s first Kickstarter project is staff pick of the day
Spartanburg artist and printmaker Jim Creal's first Kickstarter campaign just launched, and it's already enjoying a day in the spotlight as a Staff Pick on the Kickstarter website.
Creal, one of the first artists to participate in the Artists' Ventures Initiative, developed his Kickstarter campaign, the South Carolina Coastal Lithograph Project, to draw attention to the beauty of South Carolina's coastal islands and help preserve their habitats. His project is also about preserving his own work.
"I turned 60 this year, and I wanted to create a cohesive body of work -- something of lasting value," said Creal. "I jokingly call this my legacy project."
Creal will create original, stone-drawn, hand-printed, lithographic images devoted to capturing the mood, spirit and rich diversity of South Carolina's coastal habitats. The finished product will be a limited-edition series of museum-quality lithographs that capture a vision of the breathtaking scenery and animals of the South Carolina coast. Some of these lithographs will be used as rewards for supporters of the Kickstarter campaign. (Example of Creal's work pictured left.)
The first step is photographing the 25 sites Creal wants to include in the project. Many are well-known -- Brookgreen Gardens and Huntington Beach State Park -- and others are less popular -- Dungannon Heritage Preserve in Hollywood, S.C., and Nemours Plantation in northern Beaufort County. Some places are accessible by car, some only by boat and some will be photographed from the air. High-end donors to the Kickstarter campaign can join Creal on an expedition and photography shoot of some of the sites.
Creal's love for South Carolina's coastal habitats is a life-long passion.
"I have had a love for the magnificent beauty of the South Carolina coastal islands since I was young. When I am in these extraordinary places, I feel connected to something transcendent and primordial."
"My hope is that this body of work will help audiences appreciate South Carolina’s coastal habitats' timeless beauty, their significance as vital ecosystems under stress, and their value as national treasures that need to be preserved for future generations."
Find out more about Creal's project, including a description of how he creates the lithographs, on his Kickstarter campaign site.
About Jim Creal
Jim Creal creates landscapes, still-lifes and non-representational images through lithographic, etching and monotype print processes. His work, which has been exhibited in numerous solo, invitational and juried exhibitions and recognized by many awards, is held in private, institutional and corporate collections. In 2000, Creal exhibited in Winterthur, Switzerland and was a resident artist there in a cultural exchange. Creal teaches in the South Carolina Arts Commission's Arts in Education Program and received a South Carolina Arts Commission's Artist Venture Initiative grant in 2010, which allowed him to set up to produce stone lithographs in his Spartanburg studio.