Large-Scale Urban Canvas Art Tapestry Unveiling at Todd & Moore Sporting Goods

A new Urban Canvas tapestry, a component of the Columbia Streams Art public art program is scheduled to unveil on Tuesday, August 20 at 11:30 am by Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann, representatives from Todd & Moore, the host of the new piece of public art, and the artists themselves.

*The featured artists include:

Jennifer Bartell Boykin

Diane Condon

Wilma King

Tabitha Ott

Kristine Hartvigsen

Michael Cassidy

Lori Starnes

Michael Dwyer

Austin Sheppard

Anna Redwine

The tapestry measures 15 feet wide by 10 feet tall, and is comprised of images and artistic expressions by ten different local visual artists, poets, and jewelry designers.

The City of Columbia will also recognize the 20’ wide by 15’ tall Urban Canvas which was recently unfurled in the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, which mirrors the original 10’ by 10’ original canvas first exhibited outside of Art Bar in The Vista in November 2022.

*The Jasper Project Congratulates and Appreciates All the Artists Involved in this Project and Wants to Make Sure Your Names are Heard, Known, and Celebrated!

Todd & Moore Sporting Goods exterior

(Back of the building facing Blossom St.)

620 Huger Street

A Message from Cindi for Midlands Gives 2023

Please Consider Supporting the Jasper Project This Year During Midlands Gives.

Jasper is an all-volunteer 501c3 with NO paid employees and NO overhead, so your donations go directly to the Columbia, SC arts community via events and publications.

Me with Jasper Project board president Wade Sellers and Elvis (aka Patrick Baxley) at Bernie Love 2023

Welcome to one of my favorite times of the year—the time for me to report back to you, our supporters, on how the Jasper Project has been using the funds you entrusted to us over the past year. It’s a joy to celebrate what we can accomplish together with your funding and the Jasper Project’s labors of love.

I always have a soft spot in my heart for Jasper Magazine, which was the seed of the Jasper Project and remains my favorite project of all. Last spring, we published a beautiful issue featuring Lindsay Radford Wiggins on the cover and Michael Krajewski as our centerfold artist. Kristine Hartvigsen wrote the piece on Lindsay, and I had the honor of writing about Michael who, actually, was the centerfold in the first ever issue back in fall 2011. This time, however, he is fully clothed!  We also featured a piece on Mike Miller’s new book, The Hip Shot, WOW Production’s first YouTube series,  Quincy Pugh’s Veteran’s Day Parade painting series, Carleen Maur’s experimental filmmaking, Artists for Africa, and two new books from Muddy Ford Press, (Jasper’s original underwriter before we became a non-profit under the leadership of Larry Hembree), including Night Bloomer by Jane Zenger and More God Than Dead by Angelo Geter. We wrote artist profiles on Lucy Bailey, Diko Pekdemir-Lewis, and Rebecca Horne; Music editor Kevin Oliver compiled a jam-packed article on 10 music artists to watch in the coming year; Will South wrote a piece on Tyrone Geter and his work and life in Gambia; and I had the honor of profiling David Platts, the ED of the SC Arts commission. Sadly, we also memorialized Wim Roefs and Mary Bentz Gilkerson.

Our fall 2022 issue of Jasper featured Wilma King on the cover and Jim Arendt in the centerfold. We wrote about Wideman-Davis dance, Baba Seitu Amenwahsa, Steven Chapp and Jerred Metz, Arischa Connor’s television successes, the Soda City jazz scene, Jamie Blackburn, poet Monifa Lemons and her stint as an actor on Lena Waithe’s film, Crooked Trees Gon Give Me Wings, Carla Daron’s new book The Orchid Tattoo, Amy Brower and the life of a casting agent, new theatre editor Libby Campbell, Dustin Whitehead’s new film Hero, Elizabeth Catlett, and included several poems and music reviews.

I don’t want to give too much away about the spring 2023 issue which is releasing on Saturday May 20th at the Artists Showing Artists event, hosted by Desirée Richardson of Death Ray Robin, but if you meet me that evening at the One Columbia Co-Op at 1013 Duke Avenue, you’ll get some fresh print featuring Philip Mullen, Olga Yukhno, Bohumila Augustinova, Katie Leitner, Dick Moons, Ivan Segura, Drink Small, Alyssa Stewart, and lots of surprises

Fall Lines volume IX - Cover art by Sean Rayford — https://www.seanrayford.com/

After the magazine my next favorite project has to be Fall Lines—a literary convergence. We just released our 9th volume and issued the call for our 10th. I’m incredibly excited to announce that, in addition to the Broad River Prize for Prose, which went this year to Tim Conroy, and Saluda River Prize for Poetry, which went this year to Jo Angela Edwins, that next year we will also be offering the Combahee River Prize to a SC BIPOC writer of poetry or prose. We’ve also formed an ad hoc committee, captained by poet Randy Spencer,  to study the best ways to grow Fall Lines as it moves into its 10th year.

Along the same lines we awarded the Lizelia Prize, named in honor of anti-Jim Crow poet-activist Lizelia Augusta Jenkins Moorer, to Myrtle Beach poet Maria Picone. Maria will have her poetry chapbook titled Adoptee Song, published by Muddy Ford Press through a sponsoring relationship with the Jasper Project. Board member Len Lawson managed this project.

We devoted a lot of our time last summer to the Play Right Series, a project managed by board member Jon Tuttle. The winner of last year’s Play Right Series was first-time playwright, Colby Quick. After spending the summer working with Community Producers Ed Madden, Bert Easter, James and Kirkland Smith, Paul Leo and Eric Tucker, Bill Schmidt, Wade Sellers, and myself, as well as the cast of Colby’s winning play, Moon Swallower, we presented a heavily produced staged reading, directed by Chad Henderson, at the Columbia Music Festival Association in August. We were also delighted to invite the public to the reading and, via our relationship with Muddy Ford Press, offer published copies of Moon Swallower for sale.

Jasper Friends Dick Moons and BA Hohman pose with our host, Clark Ellefson, outside the Art Bar

In December, Clark Ellefson and Andy Rodgers hosted the Jasper Project at the Art Bar on Park Street where we staged our first official Santa Crawl, inviting all comers to don their Santa suits and drink like it was Christmas. We had a fabulous time and enjoyed a delicious house-created cocktail list with a portion of each sale going to the Jasper Project. Thanks Clark, Andy, and everyone at the Art Bar!

In February, the good folks in the Capital City Playboys invited us to partner with them on the fundraiser concert event, An Evening with Bernie Love—A Tribute to Elvis. We themed the event around Valentine’s Day and welcomed more than 100 folks to the 701 Whaley Market space where Marty Fort, Jay Matheson, Kevin Brewer, and Patrick Baxley as Elvis! We also hosted artists Jamie Peterson, Gina Langston Brewer, Cait Maloney, and Lindsay Radford Wiggins who showed and sold their work. At the same time, and thanks to Lee Ann Kornegay, we had reserved the Community Hallway Gallery at 701 Whaley for the month of February to stage an art exhibit we called Love Hurts/Love Heals featuring K. Wayne Thornley and Wilma King.

In March, created a new event called Artists Showing Artists. Artists Showing Artists is an opportunity for established artists to share the spotlight with other artists who may be emerging, new to the area, or who they want to highlight. The project encourages collaboration within and between disciplines and enlightens the community about both the featured artists and the art curation process. Our first event featured Saul Seibert who invited poet Alyssa Stewart (we’re publishing her first ever published poem in the next issue of Jasper Magazine - thanks Saul!), visual artist Virginia Russo, and rapper Keith Smiley.

Our next Artists Showing Artists event will feature Desirée Richardson of Death Ray Robin as our Artist Host. I hope you can join us on May 20th to pick up a copy of the spring issue of Jasper Magazine and check out all the artists Desirée has invited to join us!

In fact, our various gallery spaces across town have grown considerably, helping Jasper to spotlight the work of artists in small, captured spaces. We do a First Thursday artist-in-residence rotation at Sound Bites Eatery on Sumter Street that has thus far included Michael Shepard, Alex Ruskell, Kimber Carpenter, Ginny Merritt, Adam Corbett, Quincy Pugh. Marius Valdes, Gina Langston Brewer, Lindsay Radford Wiggins, Lucas Sams, Colleen Crichter, and Keith Tolen.

Steven White speaking to theatre goers at Harbison Theatre

In January, the Koger Center opened a space on the second floor of their building just outside of the Donor’s Gallery for the Jasper Project to show the art of Columbia-based artists. We opened with Thomas Crouch, then Lindsay Radford, followed by Quincy Pugh. We’ve scheduled additional visual artists to fill out the remainder of 2023 and are already programming into 2024 at the Koger Center as well as at Harbison Theatre in Irmo, where we’ve shown David Yaghjian, Steven White, Michael Krajewski, Lori Isom Starnes, and are currently showing Olga Yukhno. We also keep a running gallery at Motor Supply Bistro and in the sidewalk gallery at the Meridien Building on Main Street.  

I’m actually thrilled to announce that the Jasper Galleries helped put almost $18,000 into the pockets of working artists in Columbia since last March!

Board Member Bert Easter staffs the kegerator at a Jasper Project House Party

As the Jasper Project board of directors has grown, we’ve done a bit of reorganization. Christina Xan, whose work on the Tiny Gallery continues to be so efficient that we tapped her to manage all our gallery spaces, is now also serving as our treasurer. Emily Moffitt was also elected board secretary in January, just after officially joining the board, and Wade Sellers and Kristin Cobb both continue as board president and vice president respectively. Bekah Rice is officially our digital manager as well as our operations manager and, typically, our events director. We welcomed new members to the board including visual artists Ginny Merett and Kimber Carpenter, and Jasper Magazine theatre editor Libby Campbell

I’m sure I’m forgetting an event, a happening, or a party.

Please remember, it is your support of Jasper’s passion for supporting, promoting, and validating Midlands-area artists that allows us to do what we love. Thank you for your continued support.

Cindi

April 2023

Please enjoy a few more photos from the past year of the Jasper Project below —

Carla Damron at Richland Library leading discussion on her book, The Orchid Tattoo, for Jasper’s Nightstand Book Club

Me judging the Mad Hatter Art Show

Featured Artist Wilma King talks with artist Gerard Erley at the Love Hurts/Love Heals art show that she shared with K. Wayne Thornley— a Jasper Project with 701 Whaley

Lisa Hammond served as the poetry judge for Saluda River Prize for Poetry in 2022’s Fall Lines

Jasper was invited by the good folks at Curiosity Coffee to arrange a pumpkin carving contest among the city’s artists — it was a huge success, a lot of fun, and we had some beautiful (and terrifying) pumpkins result!

Point person = Bekah Rice

We featured the art of the four artists on the board at Artista Vista this spring - Ginny Merett, Kimber Carpenter, Laura Garner Hine and Emily Moffitt

Olga Yukhno speaking to theatre goers at Harbison Theatre for her spring exhibit

Our 2019 project, The Supper Table, is still touring. Here it is at the Myrtle Beach Gallery of Art just after being on exhibit at the Morris Center for Arts and History

Michael Krajewski with his exhibit at the Jasper Gallery at Harbison Theatre

What's up with Lee?

? ? ?

We’ve had so many people ask us, “Where’s Lee? and “What’s up with Lee?” that we thought it might be best to go straight to the horse’s mouth and ask Lee Snelgrove, the former executive director of One Columbia for Arts and Culture, exactly what he’s up to so he can make sure everyone has the details straight.

So, without further ado, here’s What’s Up with Lee?

Lee Snelgrove, What exactly is your new job?

I'm the Arts and Culture Manager at Richland Library. 

What kind of things will you be doing?

This is a newly created position that was part of the development of an Events and Experience department of the Library, so I have the opportunity to figure out what exactly the role will be. I expect to focus on developing the arts and cultural programming the library presents, but I'll also be handling some other non-arts programming for adults. I plan to work with each of the 13 library locations to identify ways to tailor programming for adults by identifying the types of activities in which the community is interested and working directly with area residents to create new programming that best serves them. I also plan to foster new partnerships with artists and arts organizations. And, just as I have been for the last several years, I'll be focused on ensuring increased access to arts and cultural opportunities for all residents across the City of Columbia and Richland County. 

Are you still connected to One Columbia?

For a short time, I'll be serving One Columbia as an interim Public Art Administrator to ensure that the public art projects that were already in the works will continue and to help transfer knowledge to other staff that will be responsible for carrying on the organization's efforts in regards to public art. 

Who will be the new Lee?

No one is expected to be a "new Lee." The OC board will be working over the next few months to identify the organization's needs and hone a job description for a new Executive Director before they start a broad search for someone to fill the position. The organization has changed tremendously since its inception and the growth of One Columbia's role will require someone with different experience and training than I had when I started. 

And, how do you like it so far?

I'm really enjoying being part of such a great team. As most people know, Richland Library staff are smart, passionate folks that care deeply about providing services and programming to everyone in Richland County. I'm excited to learn from them and to work with library staff and customers to figure out new ways for every Richland County resident to engage with arts and culture. Already I'm getting to work on some very fun things, like helping to coordinate the Small Talk with George Clinton on June 8 at the Township Auditorium and an event organized by Jasper's own Al Black called Ukweli: Midlands Writers and Poets Explore Racism on June 25.  

CALL for Site Specific Visual Art via Our Friends at CCA

701 CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY ART 

MILL DISTRICT PUBLIC ART TRAIL OPPORTUNITIES 

We were excited to hear about this unique opportunity for visual artists to break into site specific/public art offered by the good folks at 701 CCA that we wanted to help them spread the word.

Here’s what we know —

701 Center for Contemporary Art (CCA) is seeking artists to develop and execute site-specific works for five gate houses located on the grounds of the historic Granby and Olympia Mills as part of CCA’s Mill District Public Art Trail. The mills are twin Romanesque Revival style, four-story structures designed by W.B. Smith Whaley & Company - the leading mill architects of their time. Once considered two of the most architecturally significant textile mills in South Carolina, today the two massive buildings have been repurposed for residential mill living.  

The application deadline is Wednesday, March 9, 2022.

Budget 

The budget for each gate house is $3,000

Public Art Opportunities

Five gate houses located in front of the two mill buildings offer unique opportunities for site-specific works. The structures were built during WWII.  Designed to compliment the architectural elements of the mill buildings, the Olympia Mill gate houses feature arch-shaped windows and a frieze consisting of terracotta arches. The less decorated Granby Mill gate houses feature dentil brick molding and sash windows.  

The gate houses will function as changing exhibition spaces for temporary public art projects. The projects will be installed for a minimum of one year.  Each gate house is 10’x10’ with a modest interior and lighting. Access to the interior is through doors on the rear or side of each structure. The gate houses are not air-conditioned or heated. Artwork must be able to withstand extreme weather conditions. 

The exteriors of the gate houses are protected under the City of Columbia historic preservation ordinance. Attachments to the exterior are not allowed. 

Eligibility 

Artists working in media appropriate for non-conditioned environments and styles are eligible for consideration. Artists may submit individually or as a team. Artist teams must designate one artist as the lead contact. This opportunity is open to professional artists 18 and over. 

Selection Process

A panel of arts professionals will review artists qualifications and make a selection of artists who will be invited to submit a full proposal. Selections will be based on artistic merit, experience with public art commissions and/or installation art and the ability to complete and install the project by June 20, 2022.

RFQ Requirements

1. Images of up to five completed commissions/installations that demonstrate your qualifications for the project. Please include the title, medium, dimensions, year completed, location, and a short description. 

2. Artist resume demonstrating a minimum of five years of professional visual art experience. If submitting as a team, a current resume should be submitted for each team member.  Please compile resumes into one document.

3. Statement of interest in this particular Mill District opportunity

4. References that include the names and current contact information for three individuals with whom you have worked, collaborated, or who have commissioned your work in the past. References may be contacted for artists invited to develop a proposal for the commissions

   Timeline

Call for RFQ - February 9, 2022

Zoom Q&A - February 14

Zoom Q&A - February 28

Deadline for RFQ - March 12 

Panel Review & Selection - March 13

Notification to Artists - March 15

Deadline for Proposals - April 4

Finalist(s) Notification - April 8 

Finalist(s)  Interviews/Presentation of Proposals on Zoom - April 11

Notification to Finalists - April 13

Site Availability - April 14

Deadline for Installed Works - June 20

Please submit questions to Michaela Pilar Brown at director@701cca.org. Questions and answers will be posted on our website at www.701cca.org.