Feature Articles


February 2000 Issue

The Lowcountry Heritage Society Celebrating Sixth Anniversary

The Lowcountry Heritage Society, which operates out of Charleston, SC, is announcing its 12th event, A Spring Exhibition, at The Verner Gallery, Charleston's oldest contemporary art gallery, from Feb. 25 through Mar. 3. The Society was founded in 1994 to foster the production of new works of art, music and literature about or inspired by the South Carolina Lowcountry and holds events each year in the spring and fall.

This is the second time the Society will host an event which will last more than one day. The exhibit will feature works by visual artists who have worked with The Lowcountry Heritage Society in the past and includes works by: Corrie McCallum, Eva Carter, West Fraser, Susan Avent, Mary Walker, Linda Fantuzzo, Kristi Ryba, Lynne Riding, Sisan Cowell, Carol Ezell-Gilson, Beverly Derrick, Wil Milner, Rhett Thurman, and Lese Corrigan. Works by other artists may also be on exhibit.

On Feb. 27, from 4 to 6pm, the Society will host a reading of Lowcountry poetry by members of The Lowcountry Heritage Society and The Poetry Society of South Carolina at The Verner Gallery. A wine and cheese reception will also be offered. The event is free and open to the public.

The Lowcountry Heritage Society is a non-profit organization founded in Feb. 1994 by Edward B. Hart, Jr., Charles W. Waring, III, and William B. Thomason, Jr. The Society is associated with the College of Charleston Foundation, which provides administrative and banking support as well as tax-exempt status for the Society. Participation in the Society is open to all who support the group's mission which is dedicated to the production of new works of art, music, and literature about or inspired by the Carolina Lowcountry.

During its six years of operation The Lowcountry Heritage Society has presented numerous multimedia events including musical performances, visual art exhibitions, dance performances, poetry readings, as well as the publication of two books: Musings of the Lowcountry and The Lowcountry Heritage Society Anthology Volume I, which included poems, essays, short stories, and art work.

Some of the most memorable events sponsored by the Society are those which took place on location throughout the Lowcountry such as the Sea Island Spring which took place at historic Seaside Plantation on Edisto Island; Plantation Pastorale: Fables in the Field, which was held at historic McLeod Plantation on James Island; and Stono Spring, which was presented at Dixie Plantation, the home of the late wildlife artist and naturalist John Henry Dick, located near the community of Green Pond. Other events have taken place at the Sottile Theatre at the College of Charleston, the Gibbes Museum of Art in downtown Charleston, and at the Koger Center in Columbia, SC.

Because the Society creates original works - particularly chamber pieces, other non-profit groups have requested that the Society participate in a variety of cultural events. They also receive requests for permission by other groups to perform its creations. The Upton Trio, based out of Camden, SC, performed Edward Hart's Three Gullah Tunes at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra has performed similar works at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival. The Society has also worked with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, the City of Charleston, and several African-American cultural groups to organize, reconstruct, and fund the Charleston premier of Edmund Thorton Jenkins' Charlestonia.

For further information about The Lowcountry Heritage Society you can write to P.O. Box 21005, Charleston, SC 29413 or call Lese Corrigan at 843/577-7623. For info about The Verner Gallery call 843/722-4246.

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