COLUMBIA, S.C.
– The Southern Arts Federation has selected artwork by four South Carolina artists—Clay Burnette, Columbia; Philip Simmons, Charleston; Henrietta Snype, Mt. Pleasant; and Alice Ballard Munn, Greenville—to tour in the “Tradition/Innovation: American Masterpieces of Southern Craft and Traditional Art” exhibit. The regional arts organization has also welcomed 41 South Carolina artists to their juried, online, artist registry—www.SouthernArtistry.org.
Tradition/Innovation is a project of the Southern Arts Federation and is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. The exhibit, which includes works in glass, clay, fiber, metal, wood, paper and mixed media, will travel to nine museums throughout the Southeast from January 2008 until the spring of 2010. The South Carolina stop takes place October 2009 at the Sumter Gallery of Art, 200 Hasel Street, Sumter.
The show will feature artworks by 60 master traditional artists and contemporary craftspeople from the regional arts organization’s nine partner states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee). It will be accompanied by an array of artist interviews, stories and background information on the artists and their practices. Visit www.traditioninnovation.org for tour schedule, artist list, images and more.
"We are pleased that some of South Carolina’s top artists and craftspeople have been selected to have their work included in the Tradition/Innovation exhibit," said S.C. Arts Commission Executive Director Suzette Surkamer. “It’s also exciting to report that 41 South Carolina artists have been invited to join Southern Artistry.”
SouthernArtistry.org is a free, online artist registry dedicated to showcasing the lives and work of outstanding visual artists, writers, performers, filmmakers and arts educators who are living and working in the South. Artists listed on the site come from a variety of artistic disciplines—visual arts, fine arts and/or crafts, performing arts, literary artists, and media arts and film. Additionally, 13 percent of the artists on the site have been recognized as folk and/or traditional artists.
The online artist registry allows visitors to search for artists based on the artist or group name, their state of residence, artistic discipline, classroom experience, general services offered, and/or public art experience. The site is maintained by the Southern Arts Federation in partnership with nine state arts agencies and the Center for Arts Management at Carnegie Mellon University.
About Southern Arts Federation
The Southern Arts Federation, a non-profit regional arts organization founded in 1975, creates partnerships and collaborations; assists in the development of artists, arts professionals and arts organizations; presents, promotes and produces Southern arts and cultural programming; and advocates for the arts and arts education. The organization works in partnership with the state arts agencies of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. It is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, member states, foundations, businesses and individuals. www.SouthernArtistry.org is a joint effort of Southern Arts Federation (SAF), the Center for Arts Management & Technology at Carnegie Mellon University (CAMT) and nine partnering states arts agencies.
About S.C. Arts Commission
The South Carolina Arts Commission is the state agency charged with creating a thriving arts environment that benefits all South Carolinians, regardless of their location or circumstances. Created by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1967, the Arts Commission is celebrating 40 years of increasing 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 and by the federal government through the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, visit www.SouthCarolinaArts.com or call (803) 734-8696.
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