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April Issue 2003
Events at University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC, to Honor 15 Years of SC Folk Heritage Award Winners
From seagrass baskets and Catawba pottery to colorful quilts and blues music, South Carolina's rich tradition of folk artistry will come alive at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC, on Apr. 6 and Apr. 11, 2003.
On Apr. 6, McKissick Museum will open a comprehensive exhibit that pays tribute to South Carolina's Folk Heritage Award winners over the last 15 years.
On Apr. 11, the museum will celebrate the talents and achievements of these winners with blues and bluegrass music and barbecue on USC's Horseshoe. The celebration, which costs $35 per person or $60 per couple, will benefit the museum's folklife collections. Folk Heritage Award winners will perform, and Willie Williams, a folk heritage award winner from Hampton County who is known for his hash cooking, will provide the barbecue. Those who attend Blues, Bluegrass and BBQ will have the chance to buy or make a donation toward the purchase of a folk art item for McKissick's collections. The museum's "wish list" items include a mandolin by Jennings Chestnut Sr., a turkey call by Neil D. Cost and a sweetgrass basket by Harriett Bailem Brown. Tickets can be reserved through McKissick Museum at 803/777-7251 and will be available at the event.
The exhibit, titled Considerable Grace: Fifteen Years of South Carolina Folk Heritage Awards, will bring alive the state's diverse folk music and craft traditions. It will feature approximately 100 objects, photographs, rare audio recordings, video and text panels that together will pay tribute to 68 award winners since the Folk Heritage Awards were established by the South Carolina Legislature in 1987. It will remain on display until next spring.
"South Carolina is remarkably diverse, both culturally and geographically. It is a state rich in tradition and lore from the Appalachians to the sea islands. This exhibit celebrates those traditions, their origins and the people who share their artform throughout our communities," said Lynn Robertson, director of McKissick.
McKissick Museum is the largest repository of South Carolina folk art and material culture, with some 22,000 objects in its holdings. The museum was instrumental in the creation of the Folk Heritage Awards and, each year, works closely with the SC Arts Commission and the Legislature to present the awards. In 1997, the name was changed to the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award in memory of Rep. Harris, a longtime advocate for the preservation of South Carolina's cultural heritage.
The awards recognize individuals or groups who have dedicated their lives to providing beauty and meaning for their communities in ways that have endured, some for hundreds of years.
"Folklife is an inseparable part of all our lives, encompassing aspects of culture that provide a connection with the past, identity in the present and continuity for the future. The preservation, celebration and sharing of these folk traditions is central to McKissick's mission," Robertson said.
The exhibit will provide a context for the state's many folk traditions, such as the economic role of coastal sweetgrass basketmaking to the social importance of fiddle music in the Piedmont.
Considerable Grace is funded in part by the SC Humanities Council and the Institute of Museum and Library Service.
The list of winners for each
year, including their hometown and folk tradition highlighted
in USC McKissick Museum exhibit are:
1988
The Chosen Sisters, Georgetown, Gospel; Elbert Brown, Pendleton,
Split-oak basket making; Philip Simmons, Charleston, Blacksmith;
Dewitt "Snuffy" Jenkins & Homer "Pappy"
Sherrill, Columbia/Chapin, Bluegrass and old-time country music
1989
James Harbin Jr., Anderson, Shape-note singing; Sara Ayers, West
Columbia, Catawba pottery; Carrie Coachman, Georgetown, Quilting;
The Jarvis Brothers, Orangeburg, Gospel.
1990
Moving Star Hall Singers, Johns Island, Praise house spirituals;
Drink Small, Columbia, Piedmont blues; Grover Hammond, Clarks
Hill, Split-oak basket making; Mount Pleasant Sweetgrass Basketmakers'
Assn., Mount Pleasant, Sweetgrass basket making.
1991
J.D. Benson, Seneca, Mouth harp; The Malloy Family, Chesterfield,
Gospel; Joe Cumbee, McClellanville, Folk painting; Billy Henson,
Lyman, Alkaline-glazed pottery.
1992
James Bing Note Singers, Williston, Shape-note singing; The Kittrell
Sisters, Columbia, Old-time country music; Lucas Family, Gaston,
Bluegrass and old-time country music; Louise Nesbit, Pawleys Island,
African-American quilting.
1993
Brotherhood Gospel Singers, Mount Pleasant, Gospel; The Lucas
Sisters, Charleston, Gospel, Old Morrisville Brass Band, Andrews,
Jump-up band; Catawba Cultural Preservation Project, Rock Hill,
Catawba culture; Archie Hunter, Florence, Furniture making.
1994
Henry Smith, Georgetown, African-American sacred and work songs;
Deacon Robert E. Nelson Sr. and The Springfield Baptist Singing
Convention, Greenwood, Shape-note singing; Hallelujah Singers,
Beaufort, Gullah stories and music; James Bollack, Port Royal,
Cast-net making; Mary Alberta Green, Andrews, Quilting.
1995
All-Male Chorus of Blacksburg, Blacksburg, Gospel; Roger Bellow,
Mount Pleasant; Old-time country music; Agnes Brown, McClellanville,
Gullah tradition-bearer; Ike Carpenter, Trenton, Woodcarver.
1996
Claude Casey, Johnston, Western swing; Pat Ahrens, Columbia, Bluegrass
music; Bobby Branton, Awendaw, Bladesmithing; Wade E. Leitner,
Lexington, Instrument making.
1997
Clarence Jackson, Moncks Corner, Old-time country and bluegrass
music; Marie Brailey, Orangeburg, Chair caning; Ron and Natalie
Daise, Beaufort, Gullah culture and language; Geneva Lena Loewe,
Awendaw, Quilting; Charles Easley, Gospel; Harold Vernon Riddle,
Spartanburg, Old-time fiddling; "Colonel" Gene Wyatt,
Spartanburg, Traditional country flat-pick guitar; Nola Harris
Campbell, Rock Hill, Catawba pottery; Veronica D. Gerald, St.
Helena Island, Gullah culture.
1998
Nick Hallman, Pickens, Old-time country music and fiddle; Bill
Wells, West Columbia, Bluegrass music; Buford Mabrey, Sumter,
Storytelling; Tom Boozer, Yonges Island, Decoy carving; Carolyn
"Jabulile" White, James Island, Gullah storytelling.
1999
The Jackson Brothers, Easley, Gospel; Harold Vernon Riddle, Spartanburg,
Old-time fiddling; "Colonel" Gene Wyatt, Spartanburg,
Traditional country flat-pick guitar; Nola Harris Campbell, Rock
Hill, Catawba Pottery; Veronica D. Gerald, St. Helena Island,
Gullah culture.
2000
J.C. Owens, Pickens, Old-time fiddling; The Red White Family,
Conway, Gospel; M. Jeanette-Gaillard Lee, Mount Pleasant, Sweetgrass
basket making; Avery Research Center for African-American History
and Culture, Charleston, African-American history.
2001
Sonoco Men's Club, Hartsville, Gospel; Al Wall, Charleston, Bluegrass
and Western swing; Bill Pinkney, Sumter, Beach music; Willie Lee
Williams, Hampton County, Hash making; Marquetta L. Goodwine,
St. Helena Island, Gullah culture.
2002
Together As One Hymn Choir, York County, Common meter spirituals;
James Brown, Aiken, Soul music; Neil D. Cost, Greenwood, Turkey-call
making; Harriett Bailem Brown, Mount Pleasant, Sweetgrass basket
making; Jennings Chestnut Sr., Conway, Bluegrass music.
For more information check
our SC Institutional Gallery listings, call the gallery at 803/777-7251,
or on the web at (www.cla.sc.edu/MCKS).
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