News from the South Carolina Arts Commission

The 40 Lists Project continues to roll on, with nearly 500 entries so far! Each month (through May), a few lists will close and the results of previously closed lists will be revealed. Don't wait until the last minute -- add your suggestions now!

Next round of 40 Lists closes Nov. 30!

Time is running out to claim bragging rights! If your town, organization or school accomplished a "first" in the arts -- the first arts festival, public art, student concert, etc. -- brag about that "first" by adding it to the 40 Lists Project. Nov. 30 is your last chance to add to these three lists: 1) a first in the arts in S.C. during the past 40 years; 2) a town or community that has enhanced quality of life through the arts; 3) your favorite literary work by an S.C. writer.

Visit 40 Lists Project to view list results.

Each month during the Arts Commission's 40th Anniversary celebration, we'll unveil new lists of people, accomplishments, ideas and milestones that have contributed to the arts during the past 40 years.

Tell us your story!

As part of the Arts Commission's 40th Anniversary, we want to hear your story and share it with others. Tell us how the arts have influenced your life, or how your community has benefited from the arts. Find out how to submit your story.

Click here to review the list of 40th Anniversary events and other ways to participate!

Important reminder for Annual Operating Support applicants

The application deadline for Annual Operating Support grants is Feb. 15, 2008. This is an earlier deadline than in the past so please be aware that the deadline date has changed. The FY2009 application will be available after Dec. 1. Check the guidelines for more details.

Guidance available for Folk Heritage and Verner Awards nominations

Considering submitting a nomination for the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Awards or the Elizabeth O'Neill Verner Awards? Arts Commission staff can provide guidance in preparing a complete nomination packet. Contact Julianne Carroll, (803)734-8764, for assistance with the Folk Heritage Awards, or Rusty Sox, (803)734-8899 for assistance with the Verner Awards. Nominations for both awards are due Jan. 15, 2008.

Free Cultural Tourism workshops

The S.C. Arts Commission invites individuals from the arts, travel, tourism, hospitality, retail and other industries to attend one of five free Cultural Tourism Workshops. Participants will learn how to find partners for creating new cultural tourism projects and will review the Arts Commission's Cultural Tourism Initiative grant guidelines. Anyone interested in applying for the grant is strongly encouraged to attend a workshop. Please review the grant guidelines to confirm your eligibility.

All workshops are free of charge and open to the public, but registration is required three days before the workshop date. The same workshop is being offered from noon to 3 p.m. at these locations:

Dec. 11, Sakas Theatre at the S.C. Governor's School for the Arts in Greenville
Dec. 13 at the North Charleston Cultural Arts Complex in North Charleston
Dec. 18 in the Lee Nursing Building at Frances Marion University in Florence
Jan. 8 at the Arts Council of York County's Center for the Arts in Rock Hill
Jan. 10 at the Vista Room at Suggs & Kelly Law Firm in Columbia.

For an agenda, directions, or more information, click here, or contact Joy Young, (803)734-8203.

BlueprintSC available

blueprintsc In 2007, the S.C. Design Arts Partnership

collaborated with the American Institute of Architects to conduct a statewide community
design initiative in honor of the AIA's 150th anniversary. The results have been compiled into BlueprintSC: A Statewide Vision for South Carolina's 21st Century Communities. BlueprintSC identifies important goals, issues, and objectives to improve the quality of our state's built (and natural) environment. For more information, contact Lindsey Moore, (803)734-8622.

Call for Southern Circuit films and venues

Southern Arts Federation invites independent filmmakers in the U.S. to submit films for consideration for the 2008-2009 Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Films.

Submissions must be received by Feb. 15, 2008.

SAF is also seeking venues for the next season of Southern Circuit films. Online applications to host Southern Circuit will be accepted through Jan. 23, 2008.

Originated by the S.C. Arts Commission in 1975, Southern Circuit provides communities across the South with a tour of highly talented independent filmmakers. Southern Circuit is the nation's only regional tour of independent filmmakers.

More than 200 films and post-screening discussions with filmmakers have been presented in southern communities.

S.C. artists chosen for regional exhibit and artist registry

The Southern Arts Federation has selected artwork by four S.C. artists -- Clay Burnette, Columbia; Philip Simmons, Charleston; Henrietta Snype, Mt. Pleasant; and Alice Ballard Munn, Greenville -- to tour in the "Tradition/Innovation: American Masterpieces of Southern Craft and Traditional Art" exhibit. The exhibit, which includes works in glass, clay, fiber, metal, wood, paper and mixed media, will travel to pineneedle basket

nine museums throughout the Southeast from January 2008 until the spring of 2010. The S.C. stop takes place October 2009 at the Sumter Gallery of Art.

pineneedle basket by Clay Burnette

SAF has also welcomed 41 S.C. artists to Southern Artistry, a free, online artist registry dedicated to showcasing the work of outstanding visual artists, writers, performers, filmmakers and arts educators who are living and working in the South. Visitors can search for artists based on artist or group name, state of residence, artistic discipline, classroom experience, general services offered, and/or public art experience.

Quote this

"By faithful study of the nobler arts,
our nature's softened, and grows more gentle." -- Ovid (43 BC - 17/18 AD)

Milly Hough
Communications Director
S.C. Arts Commission
803.734.8698

The South Carolina Arts Commission is the state agency charged with creating a thriving arts environment that benefits all South Carolinians, regardless of their location or circumstances. Created by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1967, the Arts Commission is celebrating 40 years of increasing public participation in the arts by providing services, grants and leadership initiatives in three areas: arts education, community arts development and artist development. Headquartered in Columbia, S. C., the Arts Commission is funded by the state of South Carolina and by the federal government through the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, visit South Carolina Arts or call 803.734.8696.