← View All Articles

Team additions, senior staff changes to improve SCAC service

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 14 August 2019


COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina Arts Commission (SCAC) is announcing additions to the agency’s team of arts professionals and changes to senior staff designed to improve and streamline the constituent service experience. New Executive Director David Platts is making these changes as part of plans being implemented to improve responsiveness to increasing demand for the agency’s services. The changes begin with two full-time staff additions that will provide constituents program-specific access points to arts professionals who can best serve their needs. Ce Scott-Fitts is to join the SCAC Monday, Aug. 19 as artist services program director. Scott-Fitts comes from Charlotte, where she was creative director and founding staff of McColl Center for Art + Innovation. She established an international residency program for North Carolina artists, curated exhibitions, developed the artist-in-residence program, and built the education/outreach and artist services programs. In addition, Scott-Fitts partnered with colleges and universities in both Carolinas, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, and others to develop and fund residencies and public art commissions. She taught at Central Piedmont Community College and served on selection panels for the National Endowment for the Arts, among others. An artist herself, she has exhibited throughout the Southeast and her work is held in public and private collections in the U.S., Japan, and the U.K. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from Maryland Institute, College of Art in Baltimore. Laura Marcus Green, Ph.D. joined SCAC on a full-time basis in late July. She previously split time between the agency and the University of South Carolina McKissick Museum as a result of a folklife and traditional arts partnership between the two. In her new role, she is serving as program specialist for community arts and folklife. She holds a doctorate in folklore from Indiana University and a master’s in folklore/anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin. Selected prior positions include community engagement coordinator for the Museum of International Folk Art’s Gallery of Conscience, and work as a folklife fieldworker and researcher, writer, curator and consultant for the Louisiana Division of the Arts Folklife Program, SCAC, Iowa Arts Council, New Mexico Arts, and the Idaho Commission on the Arts, among others.
Further changes include the promotion of Arts Education Director Ashley Brown to senior staff in a new role as deputy director. In addition to continuing as arts education director, Brown will also direct the short and long-term work of the grants, community arts, artist services, and visual art departments. Deputy Director Milly Hough is being promoted to senior deputy director. She will direct the short and long-term administrative, communications, finance, human resources, and operations departments’ work. “Having come to the arts commission from the role of a grantee lets me see some ways we can position ourselves to provide better constituent service. These changes are the start of a process that should ultimately make us even more responsive and efficient,” Platts said. “It is exciting for our team to be fully staffed again. Ce and Laura have the qualifications and experience to benefit the people they serve at a high level, and the expertise Ashley and Milly provide should dramatically enhance internal organization and processes.”

About the South Carolina Arts Commission

With a commitment to excellence across the spectrum of our state’s cultures and forms of expression, the South Carolina Arts Commission pursues its public charge to develop a thriving arts environment, which is essential to quality of life, education, and economic vitality for all South Carolinians. Created by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1967, the Arts Commission 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 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.

S.C. Arts Commission offers $5,000 to state’s artists

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 24 October 2018

  • Fellowships are available to artists in four disciplines
  • Deadline to apply is Thursday, Nov. 8.
COLUMBIA, S.C. – It’s not a multi-state lottery win, but there are more recipients and they’ll at least get the full, stated value. Individual artist fellowships of $5,000 are awarded every spring by the South Carolina Arts Commission. The deadline to apply for the next year’s class of four accomplished artists is Thursday, Nov. 8. Four awards will be given to one artist in four different artistic disciplines: visual art, craft, music composition, and music performance. The different disciplines rotate, and it takes four years to complete a cycle. However, visual arts and craft awards are given every two years because of the volume of applicants. “These are unrestricted awards the Arts Commission uses to recognize artistic achievement by South Carolina’s exceptional artists,” S.C. Arts Commission Deputy Director Milly Hough said. That means artists can use the award to invest in their work with additional learning or supplies or use it to pay bills or buy groceries. The process is competitive, but completely anonymous, Hough said. The panel of judges comes from other states, but applicants must be U.S. and South Carolina residents with a full-time residence in state for two years before applying and plans to remain in-state through the fellowship period (July 2019 through June 2020). Applications may only be submitted online by midnight Thursday, Nov. 8. To learn more and apply, visit SouthCarolinaArts.com. Further questions can be answered by discipline coordinators at the arts commission: Harriett Green for visual art and craft (hgreen@arts.sc.gov or 803.734.8763) or Joy Young  for music (jyoung@arts.sc.gov or 803.734.8203).

About the South Carolina Arts Commission

With a commitment to excellence across the spectrum of our state’s cultures and forms of expression, the South Carolina Arts Commission pursues its public charge to develop a thriving arts environment, which is essential to quality of life, education, and economic vitality for all South Carolinians. 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.

S.C. Arts Commission names Milly Hough deputy director

[caption id="attachment_30595" align="alignright" width="200"]Milly Hough Photo by Emily Brown[/caption]

After serving as communications director for nearly 11 years, Milly Hough has been named deputy director of the South Carolina Arts Commission.

Hough will work with Executive Director Ken May to develop and implement long-range and strategic plans, agency programs, events, and special projects. She will evaluate the impact of programs and oversee reporting requirements for national, regional and state stakeholders. Hough will also provide administrative and programmatic support to the Board of Commissioners, as well as to partnership organizations. “After a lengthy and thorough search process that attracted a large pool of well-qualified candidates, we chose Milly because of the outstanding combination of skills, knowledge, and experience that she brings to this assignment,” said May. “Her understanding of the agency’s work and her communications background will serve us well as we celebrate 50 years of public support for the arts and set ambitious new goals for the next decade. I very much look forward to working with Milly in her new role.” Before joining the Arts Commission in July 2006, Hough spent 20 years working in communications and fundraising positions for nonprofit organizations and state agencies, including as communications coordinator for the S. C. School Boards Association, director of external affairs for the S.C. Department of Archives and History, director of development for Baptist Medical Center Foundation and director of marketing and communications for the State Museum Foundation. She received her BA in Journalism from the University of South Carolina. “I am grateful for this opportunity and look forward to expanding my range of responsibilities,” Hough said. “I’ve enjoyed my work at the Arts Commission, and I’m eager to take on this new leadership role.” For more information about the Arts Commission’s programs and services, visit www.SouthCarolinaArts.com or call (803) 734-8696.