Christina Xan is wrapping up her time as Galleries Manager with the Jasper Project as she pursues her academic career. We thank her for her dedicated efforts to exhibit and make available for purchase art by hundreds of South Carolina artists via the Jasper Project Galleries Series and wish her great happiness and success in her coming endeavors.

~Cb

The Jasper Project is delighted that, for another year, we have the privilege to show the work of 50+ artists via the Jasper Galleries Series. Starting in 2018 with the Tiny Gallery, Jasper Galleries has now grown to a 6-location series across the Midlands, including our original fully online space.

Mark your calendars for a full slate of talented local artists, who Jasper will share more info about as their individual shows draw closer. Make sure to follow Jasper’s social media and newsletter (Sundays with Jasper) for all updates!

Harbison Theatre

Running alongside Harbison’s programming, Jasper features two artists in the theatre’s lobby in 2025: a Spring and a Fall artist. While the Fall opening will be announced along with the theatre’s 2025-2026 season, the Spring opening is January 24th at 6:30pm, before Patrick Davis performs at 7:30.

SPRING (January–May): Jeffrey Miller

FALL (September–December): Rebecca Horne

**Jordan Sheridan with her installation The Mother**

Koger Center for the Arts

The gallery at Koger Center for the Arts, fondly named “The Nook,” is located external to the upstairs gallery, on the wall across from the main staircase. New art opens every Third Thursday (except most Decembers) with a reception from 5:30pm-7:00pm.

January: Jordan Sheridan

February: Toni Elkins

March: Thomas Washington

April: Richard Lund

May: Chris Lane

June: Jakeem DaDream

July: Virginia Russo

August: Lori Isom

September: Jeff Amberg

October: Colleen Cannon-Karlos

November: Sean Madden

Meridian Sidewalk Gallery

These windows proudly feature along Sumter and Washington Streets, at the base of the Meridian Building, with art rotating quarterly. Each quarter, Jasper shows a pair of 2D artists alongside one 3D artist.

January–March

Emily Wright

Chris Lane

Marion Mason

April–June

Mark Dreher

Vanessa DeVore

Sharon Licata

July–September

Camille Johnson

Lauren Tillar

Renee Rouillier

October–December

Beth Morgan

Robert Sargent

Motor Supply Company Bistro

Jasper’s second quarterly space is a solo show at the Motor Supply Co. Bistro, where opening receptions typically take place on the second Friday of the opening month from 6:00pm—8:00pm.

January–March: Mary Ann Haven

April–June: Rodgers Boykin

July–September: Steven White

October–December: Laurie McIntosh

**Judy Bolton Jarrett of Art Can Studio, Chapin**

Sound Bites Eatery

First Thursday fun is had monthly at Sound Bites Eatery at 1425 Sumter Street, with (mostly) solo shows happening from 5:30-8:00 on each respective Thursday. In August, Sound Bites throws their own party for their birthday month!

Important note: January 205 Opening Reception will be held on January 9th!

January: Josef Berliner and Wilma King

February: Sharon Funderburk

March: Lucy Spence

April: Kelley Pettibone

May: Devon Jeremy

June: Pat Gillam

July: Judy Jarrett

September: Candace Catoe

October: Renea Eshleman

November: Judy Maples

December: Holiday Show – Artists TBA!

Tiny Gallery

Last, but certainly not least, the show that started it all. Moved online during the pandemic and kept online due to its success, the Tiny Gallery provides a 24/7 haven of art, rotating artists out every month.

January: Betsy Kaemmerlen

February: Lindsay Radford

March: Mia Estrada

April: Linda Cannup

May: Colton Giles

June: Lisa Alberghini

July: Jean Capalbo

August: Abby Short

September: K. Wayne Thornley

October: Devon Corley

November: Yyusri

December: Ornament Show – Artists TBA!

Keep up to date with Jasper for any opening reception changes, artist details, and updates on holidays shows and one-off gallery events!

Benji Hicks’s whimsical, personality-filled animals have been playing on Jasper’s Tiny Gallery site since the beginning of August. Keep reading to learn more about Hicks and how he makes his art!

Hicks has considered Columbia his home since birth—over 50 years now—having resided in West Columbia, specifically, since 1973. He is a completely self-taught artist, woodcarver, and woodblock print maker, though he can recall the act of creating being valuable to him from an extremely young age.

“For as long as I can remember, I have always been an artist. Drawing with pencils and pens, and later, painting with watercolor” Hicks says. “Growing up, I got to spend many hours in my dad’s woodworking shop, learning to use tools and make things. This is when I found a love for wood carving.”

Hicks’s professional work as a carpenter compounded with his self-driven exploration of art, ultimately leading to a new relationship with woodblock printmaking—and to handmaking unique frames for each individual print.

A Japanese woodblock printmaking technique called Mokuhanga is what caught Hicks’s attention: “Mokuhanga can best be described as a multi woodblock printing technique where there is a keyblock (black outline) and a separate color block carved for each color in the print. My prints are made with anywhere from 2 blocks to as many as 21 blocks per print…since every print is handmade and shows subtle differences, each one is considered an original piece of art.”

Mokuhanga is similar to other printmaking techniques in that the artist carves into solid surface before adding a colored medium and pressing some form of paper onto the surface before pulling it off to reveal a design. Since embarking on this journey, Hicks has also experimented with adjacent forms of printmaking as he becomes more comfortable with his personal style.

When it comes to what Hicks likes to make, he is “always drawn to funny little characters and…animals doing human things,” he says. “With animals, it doesn’t matter what age they are. They can be young or old and wise, and still get away with being playful and silly or just out to have fun. I tend to let nature take its course and inspire me in my art,” Hicks says. “If you see a character show up in my artwork, then you can believe that I had an encounter with that sort of creature in nature, a dream or maybe even a song brought them to mind. Each idea is a seed. Once planted, it grows into a new series.”

These series may emerge from a single seed, but it is just that—an idea. Hicks does not have a firm idea of how exactly an idea will emerge into its final physical form; he prefers to let the characters and their stories bloom organically.

“If it makes me smile or even giggle a little, then I know I’m on to something. As I create one, I see the next,” Hicks says. “They lead one to another until the end of that path. Some paths are longer than others.”

This Tiny Gallery show is a mix of old and new from Hicks—all coming together to tell a new story. A “woodsy theme” ties this collection together, with “Bear Loves Honey” being one of his favorites.

“I was trying to make each print bring a smile and also evoke the imagining of the before and after. I try to capture the moment just before or just as the main event happens,” Hicks says. “You can imagine if there were more panels like a comic book, you would see the bear getting ready for a hike and packing his backpack to go look for honey. Afterwards, he would be happy with his found stash of honey. I tried to capture the moment he sees the bee and feels the anticipation of finding honey.”

Hicks hopes that when people view the pieces, they “will recognize these moments and use their own imagination to fill in the before and after.”

For more on Mokuhanga and the art of Benji Hicks’s, check out the fall 2023 print issue of Jasper Magazine, releasing October 2023 — details on release party are coming soon. In the mean time, Hicks’ Tiny Gallery show will be up until August 31st at Jasper’s virtual gallery site.

After the show, you can see his work on his Facebook, at the Cayce Arts Guild, the South Carolina Artists Group, and the Meeting Street Artisan Market.