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September Issue
2010
City of Charleston
Mixes Art and Poetry for MOJA Arts Festival
The City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs will present the exhibit, I-8-TEE: THE EXHIBIT, where artists and poets create visions and words of compassion, on view at the 2nd Floor Lobby in the Gaillard Auditorium in Charleston, SC. The exhibition, part of the MOJA Arts Festival will be on view from Sept. 24 through Oct. 31, 2010. The exhibit was curated by KTC/Karole Turner Campbell.
In this art and poetry
exhibit the visual artists and poets are using their creativity,
to raise funds to support Haiti. Specifically, the funds raised
will support the League of Hope's new art therapy program for
the children in Port Au Prince, Haiti.
Sponsored by MOJA Arts Festival, the exhibit challenges each artist
and poet to create works expressing how they feel about Haiti;
its land, people and culture. When a piece is purchased the artist
will donate a minimum 15% of the proceeds to the League of Hope.
The compassion displayed through these donations is not limited
to only our Lowcountry artists and poets. The works of painter
Duns Sylvaince, who survived the January earthquake in Haiti,
will be on view along with New York City fabric artist Jacqueline
Johnson. And, one of the poets, Enzo Surin, who lives in Boston,
MA, is originally from Haiti.
Artists participating in the exhibit include: Nancy Amis, Marty Biernbaum, KTC/Karole Turner Campbell, Arianne King Comer, Robin Cruz-McGee, Zelda Grant, Steve Hazard, Andrea Hazel, Hank Herring, Jacqueline Johnson, Hampton R. Olfus, Susan R. Olfus, Pedro Rodriquez, Adelle Sanders, and Duns Sylvaince.
Poets participating in the exhibit include: Kwame Dawes, Mary Hutchins Harris (poetry coordinator), Kurt Lamkin, Enzo Surin, and Marjory Wentworth.
Curator Karole Turner
Campbell offered the following statement: "A personal and
professional gift I received, this year was being a part of the
WALK Gallery's Juxtaposition exhibit that connected a visual
artist with a poet. These collaborations produced symbiotically
inspired two-dimensional works by the artist and Haikus by the
poets. My gift was to work with poet Mary Hutchins Harris. Our
collaboration produced two paintings and two haikus. One painting
was inspired by the news report of a Haitian woman who was trapped
in a collapsed building, after the earthquake. Unbelievably she
was singing which led rescuers to her. And, when she was subsequently
rescued she sang throughout the entire ordeal. That spirit of
perseverance, faith and hope she displayed moved me to create
the piece, And, They Came Out Singing, which in turn informed
Harris' correlating haiku. The creation of that piece motivated
me to seek to curate another exhibit for the MOJA Arts Festival
and to ask the participating artists to donate a percentage of
their sales to Haitian relief. MOJA's coordinator, Elease Amos-Goodwin,
again graciously allowed me to run with this idea."
Campbell added, "Mary Harris and I were talking about the
upcoming exhibit and she said what was on my mind. 'How cool would
it be to have poets be a part of this?' So, I ran that by WALK
Gallery's Christine Bailey. Who gave her stamp of approval for
our take on her original idea and 'Voila' here we are. I want
to reiterate the primary purpose of this show - to raise funds
to help the people of Haiti. Specifically, we'll raise funds to
support the League of Hope's art therapy program for Haitian children.
So, this is more than an art show. It is a call to all good people
to lift your spirits through the purchase of magnificent art and
to thereby help to lift the spirits of the people of Haiti."
For further information
check our SC Institutional Gallery listings, call the OCA at 843/724-7305
or visit (www.ci.charleston.sc.us/oca.html) or (www.mojafestival.com).
For info about the League of Hope call 404/520-1866 or visit (www.leagueofhope.org).
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