SwampFox

arts council board and ARTworks' gallery - filled!

Submitted by: Lisa Annelouise Rentz on Sep 07, 2009 at 7:34 pm Tagged with: Beaufort, creative economy, lowcountry Source: Arts Council of Beaufort County

The Arts Council of Beaufort County is pleased to announce four new board members, as well as a dynamic series of art shows that will, for the next seven months, fill the gallery at ARTworks, home of the arts council in Beaufort Town Center.

Six continuing board members will be joined by Helen Roper, an attorney in Beaufort, architect Nat Hughs, Maridolores Valentin, Outreach Coordinator for BJH Comprehensive Health Services, and Connie Gardner, who is retired from vocational rehabilitation.

"I love working in the community and for the community," said Ms. Valentin. "The arts are such an important part of our lives, in our society. Serving as a board member gives me the opportunity to advocate for them at larger scale. As an educator, I promoted the arts in every aspect of Spanish teaching. Now as a board member I can promote the arts by helping make important decisions. The arts in Beaufort show such a spectrum of forms, colors and diversity. We have great artists and I love their work! Let's keep on working hard making changes and showing our Lowcountry arts to the whole world."

Arts council staff is on-track for this mission of showing Beaufort County arts to the world, via a series of amazing, accessible, and innovative gallery shows. Through September 29th, work by five Lowcountry visionaries will hang, forming the already-popular 100 for $100 show. From October 2 through the 30th, thirty members of the Photography Club of Beaufort will re-construct and amend their recently published book, "The Photographer's Guide to Beaufort," revealing new Lowcountry vistas on the walls of ARTworks. The photography show coincides with MarshClasses in Wildlife Photography, as well as Handbuilt Ceramics and Portraits & Figures.

In November, the arts council honors the careers of two Lowcountry craftspeople with a look at the traditional and not-so-traditional woven objects of Joseph Legee of St. Helena Island and Kim Keats of Okatie. In 2009, both were recognized for their professional achievements: Mr. Legree is the recipient of the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award for cast net making; Kim Keats is a SC Arts Commission 2010 Craft Fellow for her fiber works. Demonstrations will be held, and the show coincides with MarshClasses in wheelthrown pottery, lampwork beads, and basketry, which Ms. Keats will present, from tradition to innovation.

ARTworks is also the workspace of eleven resident artists, who work there in-view, independently, collaboratively, and around the clock. "Artists Unleashed" will take over the well-lit space from December 4th through January 15th with work by new resident artists Carol Kamm, Diana Hoppe, Victoria Smalls and Tyrone Moultorie, as well as residents since the 2008 start: Pat Willcox, Lisa Clancy, Peggy Carvell, Natalie Daise, LaShanta Ase, Hank Herring and Pam Nilsen.

February 2010 pans are still undercover, and the 2nd Annual Youth Art Month in March promises much color, inclusion, and fun, even beyond the gallery space at ARTworks. Youth Art Month will be followed by a show of work from arts council board members and staffers, from painted to written; Linda Sheppard will exhibit later in April, and in May, resident artist Hank. D. Herring presents Do You See What I See #2, which is a look at new work of emerging artists who exhibited in the series that launched in Spring 2009.

"I like art personally," said new board member Connie Gardner, "and have been involved with the Harlem Renaissance Gala over the past few years. I'm really looking forward to the new Mardi Gras costume gala we're planning for January, it's something different. I joined the arts council board because I want to be more involved with more types of art. So I am looking forward to an exciting time."