Koger opens Laura Spong exhibition
Laura Spong: A Passionate Perspective runs through Dec. 18
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Big Red | Laura Spong | 2013 | 96" x 192" | Oil on canvas[/caption]
An artist has serious influence when her voice remains loud and clear even after her passing.
Laura Spong has that influence. See for yourself now through Dec. 18 at the Koger Center for the Arts (1051 Greene St., Columbia), which opened a new exhibition of her works last week.
Laura Spong: A Passionate Perspective covers works from her later years. Included are Big Red (pictured above) which has not been on exhibit since 2015, according to the Koger Center website. It continues:
Recognized as one of South Carolina’s leading abstract painters, Spong began painting in the 1950s, quickly receiving awards in local and state art exhibitions. Through the years Spong continually worked and exhibited while raising her family, but it was not until the late 1980s that she committed to being a full-time artist and embarked on a period of enormous productivity and growth. During these later years, Spong moved from her earlier more angular compositions to the organic, complex oil paintings that defined her mature style. In 2015, Spong commented on her work with these words, “First of all, I like to paint – it’s my passion. I move around shapes, forms, textures and colors until the components fall into place, like a child on the floor arranging and rearranging blocks.”
Spong’s work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in the Carolinas, Tennessee and Georgia with pieces acquired for the permanent collections of the Columbia Museum of Art, the South Carolina State Museum and the Greenville County Museum of Art as well as many private collections ... Spong continually painted, completing works until shortly before her death at 92 in 2018.
The SCAC presented Spong the Governor's Award for the Arts for Lifetime Achievement in 2017. Two of her works are included in the State Art Collection, which the SCAC manages. Laura Spong: A Passionate Perspective can be viewed Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Koger Center's Upstairs Gallery. Free.
Green's depictions of the Gullah life and culture, established by descendants of enslaved Africans who settled between northern Florida and North Carolina during the nineteenth century have earned him considerable notoriety. The vividly colored paintings and prints have captured and preserved the daily rituals and Gullah traditions of his childhood in the Lowcountry marshes of South Carolina.
In 2010, the South Carolina Arts Commission presented Green the 
People experiencing homelessness often cite a feeling of being invisible. Founded in 2016 by Spartanburg pastor and avid photographer Jason Williamson, Through Our Eyes Project (TOEP) gives homeless people a voice by allowing them to document their everyday lives with disposable cameras. The photos are then curated into an exhibit that celebrates the photographers and provides a personal view of homelessness that few have ever seen.
TOEP has had successful runs in other South Carolina cities such as Boiling Springs, Greenville, and Spartanburg and extended to other states: Alaska, Massachusetts, and neighboring North Carolina.
Williamson reflected on previous experiences: “The things that are always surprising is the amount of joy that a lot of people have—whether it’s a pet they’ve adopted, a child, or a friend. There’s a lot of joy, and that’s the part of the project that really caught me off guard,” he said. “We like to say that the cameras are disposable, but the people are not.”
TOEP typically partners with host churches to connect with relevant nonprofits as recipients of funds raised from project sponsors, opening reception ticket sales, and the general public, who can vote for their favorite photos for $1 per vote. The top three photographers who receive the most votes will receive gifts with the money raised.
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Good morning! 
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SUBMISSION DEADLINE: June 30, 2021
The Project: A 2021 Call for Art is the Koger Center’s annual artistic competition that supports the work of South Carolina visual artists. Each year, one chosen artist will receive a $500 stipend, gallery space, and staff support resulting in a free public display in the Upstairs Gallery of the Koger Center. Submissions for this year’s project will be accepted through June 30, 2021.
Kimberly Case is an award-winning visual artist, focusing on fine art portrait photography. Incorporating sometimes fantastical themes, wardrobe and props, her photographs are often mistaken at first for paintings, due to their tones and aura. Hallmarks of her work are richness and whimsy. “For me, storytelling is key; it’s what makes the art relevant. I seek to transport the viewer to another place and time.”
In times of plague, when deaths exceeded thirty per week, London authorities closed the theaters. As acting companies fell on hard times, Shakespeare took the forced closures as a time to create, and in the year 1593 began to compose the first of what would be a brilliant collection of 154 sonnets. Richard III, Venus and Adonis, Titus Andronicus, and the Taming of the Shrew were also thought to have been written during this dark time for the theater, and in 1606 when the plague returned to once again to ravage the city, Shakespeare persevered with the creation of many of his greatest plays of all time, including Antony and Cleopatra, King Lear, and Macbeth.
History has repeated itself and humanity is again facing a pandemic which has disrupted normal life and shuttered performing and visual art venues. To support creative artists during this time, the Koger Center for the Arts is launching The 1593 Project: A Call for Art. We encourage submissions from South Carolina performing and visual artists through June 30, 2020. The chosen artist will receive a $500 stipend, rehearsal or gallery space, and technical support resulting in a free public performance or display in one of the areas at the Koger Center.