All you need to know about S.C. Arts Awards Day
14 recipients to be honored May 1
- Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s Award for the Arts, Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award presented at ceremony
- S.C. Arts Awards Luncheon & Art Sale to follow

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Two awards honoring high arts achievement in South Carolina will be presented to 14 recipients Wednesday, May 1, 2019 during South Carolina Arts Awards festivities at the UofSC Alumni Center in Columbia. The South Carolina Arts Awards, sponsored by Colonial Life, are a joint presentation of the South Carolina Arts Commission, South Carolina Arts Foundation, and McKissick Museum at the University of South Carolina to award the Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s Awards for the Arts and Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Awards.
Awards Ceremony
Both awards will be presented at the awards ceremony at the UofSC Alumni Center (900 Senate St., Columbia), which begins with a reception from 10-10:45 a.m. The official ceremony begins at 11 a.m. S.C. Arts Commission Board Chairman Henry Horowitz and Executive Director Ken May will be joined by South Carolina First Lady Peggy McMaster to present the awards to each recipient. Nine recipients from their respective categories are being recognized with Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s Awards for the Arts for outstanding achievement and contributions to the arts in South Carolina:- ARTIST: Tyrone Geter, Elgin
- INDIVIDUAL: Kathleen Bateson, Hilton Head Island
- ARTS IN EDUCATION (Individual): Simeon A. Warren, Charleston
- ARTS IN EDUCATION (Organization): South Carolina African American Heritage Commission, Hartsville
- BUSINESS: Hampton III Gallery, Taylors
- GOVERNMENT: Florence County Museum, Florence
- ORGANIZATION: The Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston
- ORGANIZATION (Special Award): Town Theatre, Columbia
- LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT: Cecil Williams, Orangeburg
- John Andrew “Andy” Brooks (Liberty): Old-Time Music
- Dorothy Brown Glover (Lincolnville): Quilting
- Julian A. Prosser (Columbia): Bluegrass Music
- The Voices of Gullah Singers (St. Helena Island): Gullah Singing
- Dale Rosengarten, Ph.D. (McClellanville): Advocacy, African-American Lowcountry Basketry & Southern Jewish Heritage
S.C. Arts Awards Luncheon & Art Sale
The S.C. Arts Foundation will honor the recipients afterward during a fundraising luncheon at the UofSC Alumni Center (900 Senate St., Columbia). Works by South Carolina will be on sale from 11 a.m. to noon, with proceeds supporting S.C. Arts Commission programs. The luncheon program is expected to run from 12:30 to 2 p.m.- Unique ikebana flower arrangements, in partnership with Ikebana International Chapter #182 of Columbia, will serve as table centerpieces. Each arrangement, available for sale, will be presented in an included, original vase crafted by a South Carolina artisan.
- Art experiences will also be sold.
- The keynote speaker will be S.C. Arts Commission Executive Director Ken May, retiring at the end of June 2019 after 33 years at the agency and the past nine as its leader, giving a “State of the Arts” message.
- Luncheon tickets are $50 per person and available for purchase through SouthCarolinaArts.com or by calling 803.734.8696.
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.

S.C. Arts Awards: S.C. African American Heritage Commission
2019 Recipient Feature Series

South Carolina African American Heritage Commission
Arts in Education Category | Organization
South Carolina Arts Awards Day is Wednesday, May 1, 2019. The festivities begin at 10 a.m. with a reception that leads up to the awards ceremony at the UofSC Alumni Center (900 Senate St., Columbia). The event is free and open to the public. Following the ceremony, the South Carolina Arts Foundation honors the recipients and the arts community at the S.C. Arts Awards Luncheon and Art Sale. Tickets are $50. Please go here for more information and reservations.
2019 Verner Award to honor nine South Carolinians
State's highest arts honor recognizes outstanding achievement and contributions
Awards to be presented May 1 at S.C. Arts Awards
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Nine South Carolinians are to be honored by the South Carolina Arts Commission with the 2019 Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s Award for the Arts—the state’s highest arts honor. The following recipients from their respective categories are being recognized for outstanding achievement and contributions to the arts in South Carolina:
- LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT: Cecil Williams, Orangeburg
- ARTIST: Tyrone Geter, Columbia
- INDIVIDUAL: Kathleen (Kathi) P. Bateson, Hilton Head Island
- ARTS IN EDUCATION: Simeon Warren, Charleston (Individual) S.C. African American Heritage Commission, Hartsville (Organization)
- BUSINESS: Hampton III Gallery, Taylors
- GOVERNMENT: Florence County Museum, Florence
- ORGANIZATION: Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston Columbia Stage Society (Town Theatre), Columbia (Special Award)
About the Verner Award Recipients









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.

Teachers become students at SCAAHC’s Summer Teacher Institute
A group of 23 public school teachers from across South Carolina reversed roles and became students recently when they participated in the “2018 School Desegregation in South Carolina” Summer Teacher Institute.
The institute was sponsored by the S.C. African American Heritage Commission (SCAAHC), whose mission is to identify and promote the preservation of historic sites, structures, buildings, and culture of the African American experience in South Carolina and to assist and enhance the efforts of the S.C. Department of Archives and History.
“The five-day Summer Institute’s purpose was to provide teachers with additional resources they can use to enhance their teaching of the state’s history that reflects African American heritage,” said Jannie Harriot, vice chair of SCAAHC and executive director of its fundraising arm, the S.C. African American Heritage Foundation (SCAAHF).
“The ... institute [helps] teachers create lesson plans for grades K-12 based on the public school desegregation lawsuits in Darlington and Clarendon counties: Stanley v. the Darlington County Board of Education and Briggs v. Elliot, respectively,” Harriot said. “So, we applied to the S.C. Arts Commission for a grant to conduct this institute and to bring teachers together to write the plans.”
Wallace Foxworth is an eighth-grade social studies instructor who teaches South Carolina history at Johnakin Middle School in Marion. He said the institute expanded his understanding of how school desegregation happened. Meeting people involved with those cases, such as Nathaniel Briggs, the son of Harry Briggs, Sr., lead plaintiff in Briggs v. Elliott, and Joseph DeLaine, Jr., whose father was also involved in the case was inspirational.
“I wanted to gain a better view of what is out there beside what we find in the textbooks,” Foxworth said. “The textbooks have a certain slant on history, and sometimes the slant is misguided concerning the contributions of African Americans in history. To be a more effective history teacher and bring more balance to history, this is something I feel is necessary.”
In addition to learning about the school desegregation cases, institute participants also learned about other facets of South Carolina African American history that they can incorporate into lesson plans. Mary Hoyt, a music teacher who teaches strings to fifth- and sixth-grade students at Chapin Intermediate School in Chapin said that she already has some ideas about how to incorporate information she learned about jazz great and Cheraw native Dizzy Gillespie into lesson plans.
“I just love history,” Hoyt said. “I am not from South Carolina and I find South Carolina to be a fascinating place with so many layers of history. I welcome the chance to learn more and enrich my classroom for my students. I feel privileged to be here.”
The teachers will submit 20 lesson plans that will go into a teacher’s guide that the S.C. Department of Education will disseminate across the state for teachers to use in their classrooms, Harriot said.
Teachers who participated in the institute included Jasmine Govan, Stephanie Gold, and Kay Ingram of Richland District 1; Melinda Hanna, Allison Geddings, Joceline Murdock, and Ashley Rogers of Darlington County School District; Andrea Walker from Allendale County Schools; Wallace Foxworth from Marion County Schools; Amy Robinson of the Beaufort School District; Mary Hoyt, Lexington/Richland School District Five; Tracy Carter, Lisa Hyman, and Michael Jenkins from Florence District 1; Wonda Hilliard of Greenville County Schools; Brian Day of Calhoun County Schools; Barbara Bodison from Berkeley County Schools; Coastal Carolina University English Professor Dr. Veronica Gerald; South Carolina State University student Enifinette; and retired educator Patricia Evans Hall.
Institute presenters included:
- Jean Grosser, professor of art, Coker College
- Joy Young, S.C. Arts Commission
- Dr. Larry D. Watson, professor of history, South Carolina State University and the University of South Carolina
- Dr. Bobby Donaldson, professor of history, University of South Carolina and the Center for Civil Rights History and Research at USC
- Dr. Valinda Littlefield, director of African American studies, University of South Carolina
- Dr. Louis Venters, associate professor of history, Francis Marion University
- Dr. Jennifer Heusel, assistant professor of communication, Coker College
- Brian Gandy, Darlington County Historical Commission
- Felicia Flemming McCall, Southern African American Heritage Center
- Cecil Williams, photographer
- Joseph DeLaine, Briggs v. Elliott
- Nathaniel Briggs, Briggs v. Elliott
- James Felder, historian
- Alada Shinault Small, historian and Charleston tour guide
S.C. African American Heritage conference features Jonathan Green
South Carolina artist Jonathan Green will headline the annual conference of the South Carolina African American Heritage Commission in Columbia on Friday, March 28, at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.
Green, widely known for his bold, colorful paintings depicting Gullah life in the South Carolina Lowcountry where he grew up, will be the keynote speaker for the conference's awards ceremony. Two signed posters of his paintings will be up for auction.
This year's conference theme is "Exploring African American History Through the Arts." Presentations include building arts education into today's education curricula, capturing family stories using visual and media arts, and preserving a community's history.
The day will end with a performance by the Concert Choir of Benedict College demonstrating the evolution of spiritual music from chants and shape notes to hymns and contemporary gospel.
The conference runs from 9 a.m. -- 5 p.m. and is open to the public. Registration is $50. Find more information or register online.
Image: Jonathan Green, Sea Swing
Via: South Carolina African American Heritage Commission
S.C. African American Heritage Commission to screen documentary “Homegoings”
The public is invited to a screening of Homegoings, the soon-to-be broadcast PBS documentary directed and produced by Christine Turner and featuring South Carolina native and New York funeral home director Isaiah Owens. Hosted by the South Carolina African American Heritage Commission, the screening takes place Thursday, June 13 at 5 p.m. at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History in Columbia. Seating is limited and reservations are required. Call (843) 917-3350 by June 11 to reserve your seat. Through the eyes of funeral director Isaiah Owens, Homegoings brings the beauty and grace of African-American funerals to life. Filmed at Owens Funeral Home in New York City’s historic Harlem neighborhood, the documentary takes an up-close look at the rarely seen world of undertaking in the black community, where funeral rites draw on a rich palette of tradition, history and celebration. Combining cinéma vérité with intimate interviews and archival photographs, the film paints a portrait of the dearly departed, their grieving families and a man who sends our loved ones “home." The evening will include a panel discussion about African American homegoing traditions. Panel members are Chris Leevy Johnson of Leevy’s Funeral Home in Columbia, James Flemming of Flemming Funeral Homes in Chesterfield, Rep. Anne Parks of Parks Funeral Home in Greenwood, and Herbert Fielding of Fielding Home for Funerals in Charleston. The panel will be moderated by Beryl Dakers, director of cultural programming and executive producer for outreach at South Carolina ETV. This event is a collaboration with POV, PBS’ award-winning nonfiction film series. Related: Read a New York Daily News article about the documentary. Via: S.C. African American Heritage Commission