SC Humanities funds numerous projects in South Carolina through Major Grants, Mini Grants, Planning Grants, and Fast Track Literary Grants.
Grants awarded in fiscal year 2023 (November 1, 2022 – October 31, 2023) are displayed below. Grants awarded in fiscal years 2007 – 2022 can be viewed by clicking on the links on this page. For previous records, please contact T.J. Wallace at 803-771-2477.
Major Grants
Sponsoring Organization: South Carolina New Play Festival
Project Title: South Carolina New Play Festival Town Hall: Revealing the State of American Theater and New American Plays
Project Director: West Hyler
Awarded: $7,500; Cost-share: $14,980
The South Carolina New Play Festival will present their second annual event on August 11 – 13, 2023 in Greenville. The festival celebrates engaging and dynamic new plays and musicals from across the United States. One event during the festival will be a public town-hall event with a virtual livestream on “Revealing the State of American Theater and New American Plays.” The panel will feature Kimberly Colburn (manager and producer of digital, hybrid, and in-person events for Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto), Annie Weismann (a Los Angeles-based playwright, screenwriter, and producer), Travis Ballenger (Broadway producer and former Associate Artistic Director of The Globe Theater in San Diego), and West Hyler (Executive Artistic Director of the SC New Play Festival). They will discuss the role of live theater and new theatrical works in the post-COVID landscape of America, the contemporary American theater scene, and the new play development process. The panel will be free and open to the public, and the livestream will be turned into a video-on-demand that will be available for a month after the event.
Sponsoring Organization: Friends of Coastal South Carolina
Project Title: Historic Background Research and Identification of Heritage Resources for Hasty Point Interpretation
Project Director: Grace Gasper
Awarded: $9,778; Cost-share: $9,778
The Friends of Coastal South Carolina is working on the public interpretation experience for Hasty Point in the Plantersville community of Georgetown County. The 800-acre historic property dates to 1732 and is documented to have had more than 100 enslaved laborers. They intend to make a thorough survey of existing historical records and to identify heritage resources on the property. They will work with Brockington Cultural Resources Consulting to complete this survey in approximately 8 months. The products will be a comprehensive archival record and a schedule for completing a Heritage Resources Management Plan.
Sponsoring Organization: Anne Frank Center/University of South Carolina Research Foundation
Project Title: Building a Youth Network of Anne Frank Ambassadors in South Carolina
Project Director: Morgan Bailey
Awarded: $9,885; Cost-share: $14,800
The Anne Frank Center at the University of South Carolina will coordinate a program for high school students in five underserved, Title 1 schools. “Building a Youth Network of Anne Frank Ambassadors in South Carolina” is a program with three stages that will take place over the course of 12 months. After the five schools are identified, the first step is to coordinate field visits for approximately 40 students from each school to the Anne Frank Center. In the second step, staff from the Anne Frank Center will travel to the schools to conduct a two-day “Peer Guide Training” for 20 students at each school that will deepen their knowledge of Anne Frank and the Holocaust and help them develop engagement and presentation skills to share this difficult content. The final stage is that each school will host the traveling exhibit “Anne Frank: A History for Today” for 4-6 weeks, during which time the trained peer guides will serve as exhibit docents for their fellow students and the community. The field trips will take place in March – May 2023, and the Peer Guide Training and traveling exhibit portion of the program will take place during the next academic year, September 2023 – April 2024. Each participating school will also receive three follow-on visits from Anne Frank Center staff to facilitate student reflection.
Sponsoring Organization: University of South Carolina
Project Title: Women and Gender Studies: Past Into Future
Project Director: Stephanie Y. Mitchem
Awarded: $8,670; Cost-share: $9,750
The Department of Women and Gender Studies at the University of South Carolina will host a two-day conference in honor of their 50th anniversary in Fall 2023. The goal of the conference is to reflect on the history of the program while looking toward future goals and initiatives. The conference will include presentations by as many of the program’s founding faculty as can be secured, young scholars’ presentations, a keynote speaker, graduate student panel, and table discussions. The intended audience is past and current students and faculty of the program and their families, partnering organizations, and the wider Columbia community. Components of the conference will be free to the public.
Sponsoring Organization: University of South Carolina
Project Title: Wood Basket of the World: Lumbering, Manufacturing, and Conserving South Carolina’s Forests – Conference & Traveling Exhibit
Project Director: Jessica Elfenbein
Awarded: $10,000; Cost-share: $30,000
“Wood Basket of the World: Lumbering, Manufacturing, and Conserving South Carolina’s Forests” will be a major conference held in Sumter on April 21 – 23, 2023 that will feature scholars and industry professionals exploring the history of lumber, wood products, and forest conservation in South Carolina. The conference will also feature field trips to important lumber-related sites. Additionally, the project team will work on the development of a traveling exhibit titled “Wood Basket of the World” that is tentatively scheduled to open in Sumter in Spring 2024 before becoming available to travel the state. The exhibit will incorporate the scholarship of the 2023 conference and inform South Carolina citizens about the important role that wood manufacturing has played in the state’s history. Other potential projects might grow from the initial conference, including a published anthology, an oral history project, and an archival effort.
Sponsoring Organization: Charleston Library Society
Project Title: Howard Reich, “Prisoner of Her Past” Documentary Screening and Conversation
Project Director: Laura Pelzer
Awarded: $4,300; Cost-share: $4,300
The Charleston Library Society will host a film screening and discussion of “Prisoner of Her Past” by filmmaker and journalist Howard Reich on September 27, 2023. “Prisoner of Her Past” looks at the life of Reich’s mother, Holocaust survivor Sonia Reich, and how the trauma of her childhood follows her into the present when she begins to show signs of PTSD. The Huffington Post called it ““One of the most emotionally wrenching yet rewarding films I have recently seen.” Howard Reich and the film’s producer Joanna Rudnick will travel to Charleston for the screening and discussion, which will be widely promoted to the Charleston community, especially to Jewish organizations and synagogues. The Library Society will create a guide with further resources for those interested in learning more about the enduring impact of the Holocaust.
Sponsoring Organization: University of South Carolina
Project Title: Promoting Civil Discourse in South Carolina Through Debate of the Fairness Doctrine
Project Director: Susan C. Bon
Awarded: $9,200; Cost-share: $9,500
The University of South Carolina will coordinate an educational student debate program and competition with five high schools in Title 1 districts. The topic of the debate will be the Fairness Doctrine, the policy of the Federal Communications Commission that required holders of broadcast licenses to present both sides of controversial issues. The policy was introduced in 1949 and abolished in 1987. The year-long project will begin with the identification of 5 South Carolina high schools to participate. In April – May 2023, the Project Director will host online and in-person informational sessions at the selected high schools and identify students who want to participate in the program. From September – December 2023, the project personnel will host monthly school visits to share information about the Fairness Doctrine and historical resources related to it and to teach debate skills. Final preparation and debate practices will take place from January – February 2024, leading up to the public debate hosted at the University of South Carolina in March 2024. While more students may participate in the initial stages of the program, they anticipate having 5 teams of 2-4 students at the final debate. The goal of the program is to engage students in understanding civil discourse while promoting awareness about South Carolina history, essential constitutional values like freedom of speech, and the importance of civic engagement.
Sponsoring Organization: Columbia Museum of Art
Project Title: Resurgence and Renaissance: Art of the Catawba Nation Since 1973
Project Director: Jackie Adams
Awarded: $10,000; Cost-share: $10,000
The Columbia Museum of Art will present the exhibit Resurgence and Renaissance: Art of the Catawba Nation Since 1973 from June 10 – September 3, 2023. The exhibit is a major 50-year anniversary exhibition, building off the original 1973 version that showcased Catawba potters. The new exhibit will celebrate the tribe’s long history and will feature basketry, quilt works, and photography in addition to pottery. A variety of dynamic public programs are planned to go along with the exhibit, including podcast episodes, book talks, several “Let’s Talk Race” panels in partnership with Richland Library, an artists and makers panel, gallery talks and tours, a virtual conversation with the curators, and more. The programs will be widely promoted, and some will be archived on the museum’s website.
Sponsoring Organiation: Women Make Movies
Project Title: Hope of Escape
Project Director: Amy Gerber-Stroh
Awarded: $5,000; Cost-share: $5,000
“Hope of Escape” is a feature-length docudrama that tells the story of Diana Williams, an enslaved woman on Rice Hope Plantation in Moncks Corner, and her journey to escape slavery with her daughter Cornelia and son-in-law Wilby through the “above-ground railroad.” They are real historical figures, and the film writer/director/producer, Amy Gerber-Stroh, is a descendent of the Williams family. The film started production in June 2021 and is now in post-production. The application requests $5,000 for promotional costs like graphic design, posters, and electronic press kit items. They anticipate that the film will be ready to premiere in mid-2023, and they plan to submit the film to the Charleston International Film Festival and screening it at several non-festival venues in South Carolina.
Sponsoring Organization: Friends of Honey Hill
Project Title: Honey Hill Battlefield Interpretive Signage
Project Director: Richard Thomas
Awarded: $8,600; Cost-share: $8,600
The Friends of Honey Hill will work with the Town of Ridgeland, SC to create and install ten permanent outdoor interpretive exhibit signs along visitor walking trails at the battlefield site. The signs will be researched and written by noted South Carolina historian Dr. Stephen Wise. The signs are expected to be installed by the end of April 2024. Additionally, the Friends of Honey Hill will promote the battlefield with billboards on I-95 to attract visitors. They will partner with the Morris Center for Cultural Heritage on Civil War lectures and guided battlefield tours.
Sponsoring Organization: Stone Soup Storytelling Institute
Project Title: LISTEN! American Revolution Program Series
Project Director: Karen Page-Davies
Awarded: $8,477; Cost-share: $8,477
The Stone Soup Storytelling Institute will present a series of six collaborative program sessions about the American Revolution. Each event will include a storyteller presenting a story or oral history from the American Revolution, a scholar presentation about the topic, and a moderated audience discussion. The proposed program topics are “The Seeds of Revolution” (January 2024), “Revolutionary Women” (March 2024), “Not Just the Colonists” (May 2024), “In this Land” (August 2024), “Independence: A Scary Prospect” (October 2024), and “A Revolutionary Christmas” (December 2024). The specific dates are not yet confirmed, and only some of the scholars and storytellers are currently confirmed. Each program will offer both an in-person and virtual livestream option. The in-person programs will be free; the livestream option costs $10 per program. The livestream videos are kept for archival purposes.
Sponsoring Organization: University of South Carolina
Project Title: From Mahrabouy to Barnwell Tabby: Unearthing the 250 Year Journey of One Hilton Head Island Building
Project Director: Dr. Kimberly Cavanagh
Awarded: $12,617; Cost-share: $17,235
The University of South Carolina Beaufort is coordinating an archival research project looking at the history of the “Talbird House,” burned during the Revolutionary War. The research will investigate the families of this region and will locate maps, plats, and other important documents related to the property. The researchers will pay particular attention to ascertaining information about enslaved laborers in the northern, “Skull Creek” region of Hilton Head Island, which has not been well-developed. The research will take place at repositories in Columbia, Charleston, Beaufort, and Hilton Head Island between December 2023 and April 2024. Results of the research will be integrated into a virtual reality app that is being developed by USC Beaufort as well as in other educational and tourism materials, including signage.
Sponsoring Organization: Franklin G. Burroughs – Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum
Project Title: National Association of Women Artists | Sisterhood
Project Director: Patricia Goodwin
Awarded: $6,000; Cost-share: $15,200
The Franklin G. Burroughs – Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum will present an exhibition of works from the National Association of Women Artists titled Sisterhood from January 2 – April 14, 2024. The exhibit will feature 60 works by contemporary artists with text panels that investigate the influence of earlier women artists. The humanities scholar Fran Gardner will give a gallery talk and a lecture while the exhibit is on display and will also contribute to a virtual tour of the exhibit for their website and YouTube channel.
Sponsoring Organization: Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum
Project Title: Briggs Before and Beyond Brown
Project Director: Jannie Harriot
Awarded: $15,000; Cost-share: $15,148
The Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum will present five symposiums throughout the state from February – August 2024 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Brown v. The Board of Education decision and particularly the significance of the Briggs v. Elliot case. The symposiums will be held in Summerton, Anderson, Florence, Rock Hill, and Columbia. Each session will feature Dr. Bobby Donaldson; Dr. Thomas Mullikin, attorney for Briggs petition; and Cecil Williams. Some sessions will also include Dr. Larry Watson of SC State University, Dr. Roy Jones of Clemson University, Nathaniel Briggs, J.A. DeLaine, and Sandra Williams. The symposia will be free and widely promoted.
Sponsoring Organization: Sigal Music Museum
Project Title: Distinguished Lecture Series to expand on the new exhibit Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred
Project Director: Thomas Strange
Awarded: $13,200; Cost-share: $13,200
From November 2023 – May 2024, the Sigal Music Museum will present 12 lectures in their Distinguished Lecture Series to accompany their new exhibit Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred. The exhibit includes international instruments and looks at musical cultures, rites, and traditions from around the world. The series will start on November 5 with the lecture “A Spooky Dive Into Shubert” presented by composer and museum Board Member Jon Grier. Other speakers are not confirmed yet, but potential topics include African music, Middle Eastern stringed instruments, and music that combines the cultures of East and West. The lecture series will be free.
Sponsoring Organization: Edisto Island Historic Preservation Society
Project Title: Gullah Geechee Exhibit Final Phase – Media/Interactive Room
Project Director: Gretchen Smith
Awarded: $7,815; Cost-share: $7,815
The Edisto Island Museum has been working on implementing their new exhibit From Africa to Edisto Island: Gullah Geechee since 2019. They are now entering the final phase and are requesting support for an interactive media room – a first for their small museum. The room will include an interactive Gullah language activity, a computer station with an interactive Gullah Geechee software program, an exhibit about James Jamerson, and a looped video about Gullah Geechee history and culture, including net making and casting, Gullah food, and a storyteller speaking in the Gullah language. They anticipate that the new media/interactive room will open in March 2024.
Sponsoring Organization: The Charleston Literary Festival Inc.
Project Title: Charleston Literary Festival: Digital Access Initiative & Charleston Reads
Project Director: Sarah Moriarty
Awarded: $15,000; Cost-share: $50,000
The 2023 Charleston Literary Festival will take place from November 3 – 12 with the theme “Embrace the Conversation.” Some of the confirmed featured authors include Margaret Atwood (virtual), Richard Ford, Paul Harding, Claire Keegan, Rebecca Makkai, Lorrie Moore, and Safiya Sinclair. They expect to host 31 festival sessions where authors are in conversation with each other or with moderators; each session has the opportunity for Q&A. They are specifically requesting funding for their second annual Charleston Reads initiative in partnership with the Mayor’s office and their digital access initiative to record festival sessions and upload them to their website and YouTube channel to be viewed free of charge. The 2023 Charleston Reads program will feature The Original Black Elite: Daniel Murray and the Story of a Forgotten Era by Elizabeth Dowling Taylor. The author will appear on November 5 in a free program that will also be shared with students from the Alabama HBCU Oakwood University.
Sponsoring Organization: Center for Creative Partnerships
Project Title: Preserving History – The Orangeburg Massacre
Project Director: Ellen Zisholtz
Awarded: $15,000; Cost-share: $18,500
The Center for Creative Partnerships will conduct an oral history project about the Orangeburg Massacre that will include public programs and a digital archive. From November 2023 – September 2024, the project will have four phases that will start with a scholar-led community discussion to review current resources and will end with a second public program to view the resulting oral histories and digitized archives. The oral history component will include new work with women who are survivors, observers, or direct participants in the Orangeburg Massacre as well as a focus on the influence of the National Bowling Association and college athletes.
Sponsoring Organization: American Battlefield Trust
Project Title: Black Revolutionary War Patriots at the Battles of Stono Ferry and Port Royal Island
Project Director: Catherine Noyes
Awarded: $15,000; Cost-share: $15,000
The American Battlefield Trust in partnership with the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust will conduct new research on Black Patriots in South Carolina during the Revolutionary War, particularly at the battles of Stono Ferry and Port Royal Island. Conducted by South Carolina scholars Douglas Bostick and George McDaniel, the research will inform the creation of an interpretive sign at each park as well as a short video (approximately 5 minutes long) about the history of Black South Carolinians in the Revolutionary War. The signage and video should be unveiled in Fall 2024.
Sponsoring Organization: The St. James Foundation
Project Title: Gullah Geechee Historical Marker Educators
Project Director: Rev. Dr. Charles C. Heyward, Sr.
Awarded: $10,000; Cost-share: $10,000
The St. James Foundation plans to host a series of four “community outreach history gathering workshops” from January – February 2024 at which they plan to collect images, artifacts, and stories. These materials will be used to inform the content of eight educational historic markers that will be placed along an existing walking trail located at their property on James Island. The markers are expected to be installed in July or August 2024 with an unveiling ceremony.
Mini and Planning Grants
Sponsoring Organization: The Fine Arts Center Partners
Project Title: “Streaming and Podcast of the Panel ‘Re-Inventing Shakespeare’ for Educational Institutions”
Project Director: Mr. Vee Popat
Awarded: $1,500; Cost-share: $2,500
The Fine Arts Center in Greenville will partner with the South Carolina New Play Festival to present a panel discussion on “Re-Inventing Shakespeare” on November 18, 2022. The panel will investigate trends happening in Shakespearean productions, including issues of race, Eurocentric views of art, and what benefits and losses are involved with such an intense focus on one writer’s work. The panel will be recorded and will be livestreamed to schools and the general public on Friday, December 16th. It will also be turned into a podcast. There will be 150 comp tickets available to the livestream, which will be issued to all Theater and English Chairs of Greenville County middle and high schools, the drama and English department of the Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, and to college professors at Clemson and Furman Universities.
Sponsoring Organization: Technical College of the Lowcountry Foundation/Mather School Museum & Interpretive Center
Project Title: Mather School Museum Tours
Project Director: Rufus Pinckney
Awarded: $2,000; Cost-share: $2,000
The Mather School was founded in 1868 and was one of the earliest boarding schools for black women in the United States. The school closed in 1968, and the location eventually became part of the Technical College of the Lowcountry (TCL). The Mather Museum and Interpretive Center is currently located in the Mather School’s former library on the TCL campus in Beaufort. The Mather Museum and Interpretive Center will use grant funds to train four undergraduate students, two from USC Beaufort and two from TCL, to present the history of the Mather school through performative tours. The tours will be offered from February – April 2023, with special educational tours during Black History Month and tours to the general public in March and April. The tours will be recorded and archived for promotional efforts.
Sponsoring Organization: Friends of Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
Project Title: History of Bald Rock: Restoration in Perspective
Project Director: Susan Jordan
Awarded: $1,000; Cost-share: $1,000
The Friends of Bald Rock Heritage Preserve will work with Furman University to research the history of Bald Rock and record stories of past residents, visitors, and vandals. The collected stories will be transcribed. The research is intended to result in informational panels at the entrance to the preserve, as well as educational and marketing materials for outreach and programs.
Sponsoring Organization: And Still We Rise
Project Title: Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr: We Still Have a Dream
Project Director: Jannie Harriot
Awarded: $2,500; Cost-share: $21,450
The nonprofit organization And Still We Rise will present a weekend series of programs titled “Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr: We Still Have a Dream” on January 14 – 16, 2023 in Hartsville. The weekend will include a Call to Leadership, a community banquet with Dr. Bobby Donaldson as the keynote speaker, an opera concert featuring Opera Noire International, a commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday with keynote speaker Michael Harriot (a writer and columnist), and an opening reception for the “Justice for All” exhibit at the Hartsville Museum. Additionally, Cecil Williams will be at several of the events, distributing images from his “South Carolina History that Shaped America in Arts in Education” series. All programs will be open to the public, and the majority will be free. The opera concert is ticketed at $15/person, though students are free.
Sponsoring Organization: Harriet Hancock Center Foundation
Project Title: Harriet Hancock LGBT Center Reading Series
Project Director: Claire E. Lenviel
Outright Requested: $1,767; Cost-share: $1,946
The Harriet Hancock LGBT Center in downtown Columbia will host a monthly scholar-led book club from January – April 2023. The featured books will be the graphic novel Fun Home (Alison Bechdel), The Color Purple (Alice Walker), Tales of the City (Armistead Maupin), and Guapa (Saleem Haddad). In the same format as SC Humanities “Let’s Talk About It” program, a scholar will lead each book club discussion, inviting participants to learn about queer literature, history, and identities.
Sponsoring Organization: Coastal Carolina University
Project Title: Bucksport, SC: Building a Beloved Community
Project Director: Dr. Jennifer Mokos and Dr. Jaime McCauley
Outright Requested: $2,000; Cost-share: $2,000
Coastal Carolina University will partner with the Association for the Betterment of Bucksport in creating a traveling exhibit and accompanying educational material about the Gullah Geechee community of Bucksport in Horry County. Coastal Carolina University students and faculty will work with citizens of Bucksport to gather ethnographic narratives, historical archives, photographs, and artifacts. The traveling exhibit will consist of retractable vinyl banners and portable artifact display cases, and it is projected that it will open to the public at the James R. Frazier Community Center on April 25, 2023. The completed exhibit will then travel to other Bucksport community events and groups, and a virtual exhibit will be prepared with supplemental lesson plans. The Bucksport community is unique as a Gullah-Geechee community with a rich history in river transportation, lumber, and ship building that is now facing issues like gentrification and heirs’ property.
Sponsoring Organization: Coastal Carolina University
Project Director: The Poverty Project Photovoice Exhibit
Awarded: $2,000; Cost-share: $2,000
Professors from the Sociology department at Coastal Carolina University will coordinate an interactive documentation project with people experiencing homelessness in Horry County that will result in a traveling exhibit of photographs and stories. Using the “Photovoice” methodology, people experiencing homelessness will be given disposable cameras to document their lives, and each participant will pick one image and provide an accompanying statement to be included in the exhibit. The exhibit will be displayed at several locations in Spring 2023, including Coastal Carolina University and partnering organization Fresh Brewed Coffee House, a nonprofit coffee house where anybody can come in for free or paid coffee and food. The goal is for the “Poverty Project Photovoice Exhibit” to enhance the lives of people experiencing homelessness by reaching and influencing community members and policymakers.
Sponsoring Organization: Town of Hilton Head Island – Office of Cultural Affairs
Project Title: Island Culture Project
Project Director: Natalie Harvey
Awarded: $2,500; Cost-share: $11,725
The Office of Cultural Affairs at the Town of Hilton Head Island will partner with the Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park, Lean Ensemble Theater, and several other organizations to provide an educational experience for 200 high school juniors. The “Island Culture Project” will start with school visits by humanities scholars from Historic Mitchelville, and then students will attend a special theatrical production of the new play “Mitchelville” at the Lean Ensemble Theater, which is providing a reduced matinee rate for the students. Finally, students will attend a post-play site visit and tour of Historic Mitchelville. The activities will take place in March 2023.
Sponsoring Organization: The Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum
Project Title: Absence (Research for Short Documentary)
Project Director: Emily Harrold
Awarded: $2,500; Cost-share: $6,200
Filmmaker Emily Harrold is working with Cecil Williams and the Cecil Williams Civil Rights Museum on a new documentary project about the Orangeburg Massacre titled “Absence.” The experimental film will entirely use archival materials (no re-enactments, no interviews) to give an experiential view of this important and tragic historical moment in South Carolina. They will use Planning Grant funds to support the location of materials and primary documents from archives and collections as well as from the general public. A public call will be issued to collect materials from private citizens. The product of the Planning Grant will be a research aid outlining all visual and auditory materials located that are related to the Orangeburg Massacre. The research aid will be part of the collection of the Cecil Williams Civil Rights Museum.
Sponsoring Organization: 2023 FOSCL Annual Conference
Project Title: 2023 FOSCL Annual Conference
Project Director: Kitty Spires
Awarded: $1,500; Cost-share: $2,500
The Friends of South Carolina Libraries will host their Annual Conference on Saturday, April 29, 2023 at the Aiken County Library. The one-day conference will include an update from the SC State Library, presentations on Board recruitment and community outreach, an open forum on membership, a presentation of their annual awards, a documentary screening, and a presentation by poet Len Lawson. The conference is promoted to all libraries and library friend groups around the state.
Sponsoring Organization: Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor
Project Title: How Da Wada Keep Oona | How the Water Kept Us
Project Director: Tendaji Bailey
Awarded: $2,000; Cost-share: $2,919.95
The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor will create a multimedia traveling exhibit that explores Gullah Geechee maritime history and culture, including fishing, cast netting, oyster harvesting, and more. The exhibit will include panels, display items, artwork from Gullah Geechee artists, and a documentary film called Marsh Clouds. The exhibit is expected to debut at the Port Royal Sound Foundation on April 22, 2023, and it will be able to travel to other venues in the state. Additionally, there will be a booklet produced with more in-depth stories of maritime culture bearers
Sponsoring Organization: Sumter County Museum
Project Title: Inspired by Millican: The Life and Legacy of Arthenia J. Bates Millican
Project Director: Annie Rivers
Awarded: $2,397; Cost-share: $5,086
The Sumter County Museum will create a new exhibit on the life and accomplishments of Arthenia J. Bates Millican, an author, teacher, and humanitarian who was a Sumter native. The exhibit “Inspired by Millican: The Life and Legacy of Arthenia J. Bates Millican” will cover her life chronologically, ending with her legacy. The exhibit will open on March 26th with a reception featuring poet Nikky Finney as keynote speaker, and it will be on display for six months.
Sponsoring Organization: Oconee History Museum
Project Title: Digital Exhibit Kiosks for Oconee County Public Library’s 75th Anniversary
Project Director: Leslie Hagerty
Awarded: $2,500; Cost-share: $5,252
The Oconee History Museum will partner with the Oconee County Public Library to create a digital exhibit interpreting the library’s impact over its 75-year history. The digital exhibit will be made available in each library branch and at the Oconee History Museum (or the bookmobile) via an iPad kiosk. The kiosks will be available from October – December 2023. Additionally, the museum will help the library preserve historic documents and artifacts, and the museum will host a public program about the history of the Oconee County Public Library. There will also be other celebratory events like a birthday party, a commemorative bookmark contest, and more.
Sponsoring Organization: Kids on Point
Project Title: Charleston Civil Rights and Civics (C3)
Project Director: Stachia Bennett
Awarded: $2,500; Cost-share: $51,000
Kids on Point is a Charleston-based nonprofit offering dynamic, evidence-based year-round programming that demonstrably improves its participants’ school attendance, academic performance, and likelihood of higher education enrollment. They will be offering a week-long summer enrichment program about Civil Rights history and civics engagement for 25 rising high school sophomores in the Charleston area. They intend to recruit as diverse a group of students as possible, looking at race, gender, geography, and socioeconomics. During the week of July 31 -August 4, the inaugural class of 25 students will participate in 5 days of tours and talks from historians and key community members, such as visits to the International African American Museum, Penn Center, South Carolina State University and Claflin University, the Gibbes Museum, and more. The goals of the program are to teach the untold history of the Lowcountry’s civil rights legacy and to build bridges and develop relationships between high school freshmen of diverse backgrounds.
Sponsoring Organization: Arts & Heritage Center of North Augusta
Project Title: Hampton Terrace Exhibit
Project Director: Mary Anne Bigger
Awarded: $2,500; Cost-share: $2,500
The Arts & Heritage Center of North Augusta will create a new permanent exhibit component about the Hampton Terrace Hotel. This famous historic venue was open from 1903 until it was destroyed by fire in 1916 and hosted a variety of notable guests like John D. Rockefeller and President-elect William Howard Taft. The new exhibit will consist of three panels and several artifacts. The Arts & Heritage Center plans for the exhibit to be installed this summer with a grand opening in August 2023.
Sponsoring Organization: Coastal Carolina University
Project Director: Fire, Water, Wood: The Lowcountry Tree-Ring Project
Project Director: Sara Rich
Awarded: $2,500; Cost-share: $6,000
Coastal Carolina University will coordinate the Lowcountry Tree-Ring Project initiative in partnership with the Waccamaw Indian People, Coastal Conservation League, and the Association for the Betterment of Bucksport, as well as several archaeologists. The project will sample pine planking from submerged, preserved historical sites in the Cooper River to create a local pine chronology, particularly as related to controlled burns. This data will inform about the forest and fire history of the area, historical construction and shipbuilding, and the historical timber trade. The collected information will be shared in a series of public outreach programs at the Waccamaw Tribal grounds, local museums, and other cultural centers. It is also anticipated that the information will be shared in publications and incorporated into local museum exhibits. The initial research and planning stage is expected to be completed by May 2024.
Sponsoring Organization: Roper Mountain Science Center Association
Project Title: Roper Mountain Living History Farm Signage Replacement
Project Director: Phyllis Henderson
Awarded: $2,500; Cost-share: $3,400
The Roper Mountain Science Center in Greenville, SC maintains a living history farm that includes seven historic structures dating from 1790 – 1898 and a heritage garden. They will use grant funds to update and replace the current signs (7 small and 4 large), which are faded. The updated signs will include QR codes that link to short videos produced by staff with additional context. More than 50,000 students visit the living history farm each year, as well as 33,000 expected over the summer.
Sponsoring Organization: McKissick Museum
Project Director: Paths to Freedom
Project Director: Giordano Angeletti
Awarded: $2,500; Cost-share: $11,120
The McKissick Museum will present the exhibit Paths to Freedom from June 12 – December 16, 2023. The exhibit will feature the artist John Dowell’s digitally-edited photographs which examine enslaved people’s relationship to cotton fields. Scholar Dr. Frank Martin will create the interpretive materials displayed with the art. Additionally, in the fall, there will be a series of public programs including a gallery walk with the scholar, a conversation with the artist, a screening of the documentary film Cotton Road, and a gallery talk with scholar Dr. Nancy Tolson.
Sponsoring Organization: Hub City Farmer’s Market
Project Title: Breaking Barriers: Latinx in Agriculture
Project Director: Heather Raines
Awarded: $2,000; Cost-share: $3,300
The Hub City Farmers Market in Spartanburg is hosting a series of programs on “Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity in the Spartanburg County Farming Industry.” The September during Hispanic Heritage Month will be on “Breaking Barriers: Latinx in Agriculture” and will investigate the barriers that Hispanic communities have faced and will face in the agricultural industry through the lenses of history, ethics, political science, and international studies.
Sponsoring Organization: Newberry Opera House Foundation
Project Title: Aunt Pearlie Sue & The Gullah Kinfolk
Project Director: Anne Pinckney Smith
Awardeded: $2,500; Cost-share: $9,500
The Newberry Opera House will present a performance by Aunt Pearlie Sue and the Gullah Kinfolk, an award-winning storytelling and musical presentation, on Friday, June 23, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. for the the “Storytelling Camp” at the Newberry Arts Center and the general public. The goal of this presentation is to celebrate the influence that Gullah culture has had in the state of South Carolina.
Sponsoring Organization: We GOJA Foundation
Project Director: Timika M. Wilson
Project Title: Union County Community Remembrance Project – 2023 Juneteenth
Awarded: $2,200; Cost-share: $8,003
The WeGOJA Foundation and the Union County Community Remembrance Project will partner to present a Juneteenth event in downtown Union on Saturday, June 17, 2023. The 2023 theme is “Truth, Memory, and Reconciliation.” The event will feature three main humanities presenters: genealogist Robin Foster, living historian Tyrie Rowell, and African Americana artifact collector Philip J. Merrill. They will be stationed at booths, and Merrill and Rowell will also be scheduled to give formal presentations at specific times throughout the day. The Juneteenth event also includes other vendors, a children’s area, a community art mural, and tours of the historic jail. The event is free to the public; a small fee is requested of vendors.
Sponsoring Organization: South Carolina Relic Room and Military Museum
Project Title: Traveling Exhibit: The Twilight of Revolutionaries and the Dawn of Photography
Project Director: Chelsea Sigourney
Awarded: $2,500; Cost-share: $7,319
The South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum is fabricating a traveling exhibit featuring 15 daguerreotypes of Revolutionary War veterans, the majority of whom are from South Carolina or have a South Carolina connection. Each portrait will include contextual information about the veteran’s service. “The Twilight of Revolutionaries and the Dawn of Photography” will debut at the SC Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum from June – December 2023 and then will become available to travel to other institutions. It is a low-security exhibit that is being fabricated to be easy to travel so that it can go to a variety of institutions, including small ones. (The traveling exhibit will only feature reproductions.) The exhibit is intended to celebrate the sestercentennial of the American Revolution and has received grant funds from the SC American Revolution Sestercentennial Commission (SC250th) as well.
Sponsoring Organization: University of South Carolina Upstate
Project Title: One Foot in Eden: Preface 2023
Project Director: Dr. Esther Godfrey
Awarded: $2,500; Cost-share: $5,500
The University of South Carolina Upstate annually offers a freshman reading program called “Preface,” featuring a community read and many collateral programs open to the whole university and the general community. In Fall 2023, the selected book is One Foot in Eden by Ron Rash. Rash will give the keynote address on September 15th. Throughout the fall, there will be an interesting variety of additional programs that look at different aspects and themes of One Foot in Eden, including lectures on the history of the Jocassee Valley and Lake Jocassee, the environmental impact of dams, veteran experiences, and infertility. Ron Rash will also lead a creative writing workshop for local high school students.
Sponsoring Organization: Stormwater
Project Title: Stormwater’s BIPOC Residency Exhibition: Advancing Art, Cultural Heritage, and Creative Expression
Project Director: Kirkland Smith
Awarded: $2,350; Cost-share: $3,400
Stormwater Studios will host an exhibit and collateral programming titled Stormwater’s BIPOC Residency Exhibition: Advancing Cultural Heritage and Creative Expression from July 19 – 30. The BIPOC artist-in-residence is Malik Green, and the programming will also feature 7 finalist artists. There will be an art exhibition, a moderated panel discussion, and artist talks. The programming will be recorded and crafted into a 10-minute video that will be placed on Stormwater’s website.
Sponsoring Organization: Coastal Carolina University
Project Title: Waccamaw Indian People Traditional Ecological Knowledge Interpretive Trail
Project Director: Carolyn Dillian and Katie Stringer Clary
Awarded: $4,995; Cost-share: $5,000
Coastal Carolina University will partner with the Waccamaw Indian People to create an outdoor exhibit along a trail on the tribal grounds about the history, culture, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge of the Waccamaw Indian People. The exhibit will include an official South Carolina Historical Marker as well as seven other panels featuring elements of traditional Waccamaw Indian People life and culture, such as longhouses, shell middens, and traditional gardens. Students at Coastal Carolina University will also work closely with representatives from the Waccamaw Indian People to create online exhibit components, including text, audio, interactive components, and supplemental materials for teachers. The outdoor exhibit is expected to be installed by April 15, 2024, and outreach and maintenance will be ongoing.
Sponsoring Organization: Greenville Jewish Film Festival
Project Title: SummerFest 2023
Project Director: Caroline Warthen
Awarded: $3,500; Cost-share: $13,225
The Greenville Jewish Film Festival will present “The Jews and the Blues” as their summer film on Sunday, August 27 at the SC Children’s Theatre. The filmmaker Drew Stone will speak after the screening. A reception with cuisine featured in the film will follow the program. Tickets are $30 per person.
Sponsoring Organization: The Actors’ Theater of South Carolina
Project Title: The Final Trials of Anne Hutchinson: A docudrama film for screenings and scholar discussions
Project Director: Chris Weatherhead
Awarded: $3,500; Cost-share: $24,500
The Actors’ Theatre of South Carolina is creating a 60-minute “docudrama” titled “The Final Trials of Anne Hutchison” that will examine the life and death of the colonial Puritan figure. Actors will portray the fictional character of Dr. LaRoche and the historic characters of Anne Hutchison, Roger Williams, John Winthrop, and Susanna Hutchison and will examine issues of women’s rights, due process, religious liberty, and more. Scholar commentary will be included as part of the docudrama package. They anticipate the project could be complete as early as December 2023, with public screenings occurring in winter and spring of 2024. Several venues around South Carolina have expressed interest in hosting a film screening and discussion program, including Richland Library, Kershaw County Library, Cane Bay Writers’ Circle (Summerville), Nancy Carson Library (North Augusta), and the Newberry Museum.
Sponsoring Organization: Filipino-American Association of Greater Columbia
Project Title: Weaving Communities and Cultures Through Cloth
Project Director: Chiara Cox
Outright Requested: $5,000; Cost-share: $5,500
The Filipino-American Association of Greater Columbia will host a textile exhibit at Richland Library from October 5 – November 21 to celebrate Filipino American History Month. The exhibit will include a carefully-curated variety of contemporary textiles using natural materials. There are several collateral public programs planned, including a presentation by a Philippine textile expert and several programs on Filipino Classical Guitar and Filipino Identity Through Music. The programs will be free and open to the public.
Sponsoring Organization: Pat Conroy Literary Center
Project Title: 7th Annual Lowcountry Book Club Convention
Project Director: Jonathan Haupt
Awarded: $4,000; Cost-share: $9,600
The Pat Conroy Literary Center will present their 7th Annual Lowcountry Book Club Convention event on Saturday, September 30 in Beaufort. The one-day event will include a panel of local Lowcountry novelists as well as three headliners: bestselling novelist Brendan Slocumb, chef and cookbook author Johnathon Scott Barrett, and youth advocate Sidney Keys III with Books N Bros. Tickets range from $15 for all sessions without lunch or $40 for all sessions with lunch.
Sponsoring Organization: Lander University
Project Title: Constitution Day 2023 at Lander University
Project Director: Ashley Woodiwiss
Awarded: $2,150; Cost-share: $4,275
Lander University will present Judge Trevor McFadden for programming celebrating Constitution Day on September 18 – 19, 2023. Judge McFadden will give a keynote address on “The Oath Clauses in Perilous Times” on Monday, September 18 to an expected audience of 200 – 300 students, faculty, and community members. He will also make four different presentations to Lander students and participate in a luncheon with the Greenwood Bar Association.
Sponsoring Organization: Belton Area Museum Association
Project Title: 19th Annual Heritage Days at the Depot
Project Director: Alison Darby
Awarded: $5,000; Cost-share: $11,200
The Belton Area Museum Association will host their 19th annual Heritage Days at the Depot Festival on October 5- 7, 2023. The event feature 13 heritage skills artisans and historical interpreters giving demonstrations and presentations about historical skills like brick making, colonial apothecary, cheese making, Native American silversmithing, wagon train camp cooking, and more. More than 600 4th and 5th grade students from Anderson County School District 2 will attend on the Thursday of the event, and homeschool students are invited to participate on Friday. On Saturday, the Heritage Days at the Depot is part of Belton’s Standpipe Heritage and Arts Festival, which attracts around 6,000 attendees.
Sponsoring Organization: Friends of the Kaminski House
Project Title: Family Fun and Literacy Day at the Kaminski House Museum
Project Director: Kim Leatherwood
Awarded: $2,500; Cost-share: $3,000
The Friends of the Kaminski House Museum will present their annual “Family Fun and Literacy Day” on Saturday, October 14, 2023. The event will include three storytellers, games, crafts, snacks, and other activities for children. Each participating child will be given a book to take home.
Sponsoring Organization: Converse University
Project Title: Art History Lecture Series
Project Director: Dr. Ashley Lazevnick
Awarded: $2,000; Cost-share: $2,000
Converse University will present a year-long art history lecture series featuring art historians from other South Carolina universities with programs in September, November, March, and April. The speakers include Dr. Gillian Young of Wofford University, Dr. Sarah Archino of Furman University, Dr. Abbe Schriber of USC, and Dr. Andrea Feeser of Clemson University. The lectures will cover a diverse range of modern and contemporary artistic practices. One of the goals of the program is to build stronger connections among art history programs in South Carolina; another is to bring high quality scholarship to Converse students and the wider Spartanburg community.
Sponsoring Organization: Wassamasaw Tribe of Varnertown Indians
Project Title: Wassamasaw Tribe Powwow
Project Director: Janie Leach-Shumak
Awarded: $3,500; Cost-share: $12,150
The Wassamasaw Tribe of Varnertown Indians will host their annual Powwow event on Saturday, October 21 at Old Santee Canal Park in Moncks Corner. The daylong event will include a tribal history exhibit on display; performances of dancing, singing, and drumming; and demonstrations of traditional crafts like pottery and beadwork, among other activities. Tickets are $10 for the general public and $8 for tribal members.
Sponsoring Organization: AfroSouth Film Festival Foundation
Project Title: AfroSouth Film Festival – Voices of Black Southern Filmmakers
Project Director: Ricky Taylor
Awarded: $5,000; Cost-share: $8,698
The AfroSouth Film Festival will take place Thursday, November 2 – Sunday, November 5, 2023 in Charleston. The festival includes screenings, panels, workshops, youth programs, and music. There will be a panel on “Voices of Black Southern Filmmakers” on Saturday, November 4 which will feature Dr. Karen Chandler as moderator, Julie Dash, and two other filmmakers. Panelists will show clips of their films and discuss their work and careers. There is a $20 general admission fee to the Saturday panels and screenings.
Sponsoring Organization: Columbia College
Project Title: Multicultural Mindfulness Institute’s Community Conversations
Project Director: Ahmet Aksoy
Awarded: $2,500; Cost-share: $6,350
Columbia College will host a Multicultural Mindfulness Institute on October 26-27 as part of Diversity Awareness Month. The goal is to explore and celebrate diverse communities and promote educational initiatives that support diversity literacy. The program will start on Thursday evening with a film screening and discussion of “The Unveiling of God/A Love Letter to my Forefathers” by Nia June, an “operatic visual poem that celebrates the Black men in the artists’ lives.” The introduction and discussion will be led by Curtis Peterson of the Luminal Theatre. The Friday schedule includes a panel on integrating diversity into syllabi, a presentation by Preach Jacobs about the impact of the humanities on his life as an artist, an exhibit, and a presentation of multicultural dances. The programs are intended for educators, students, and the general public.
Sponsoring Organization: Latino Community Development
Project Title: Coco, Community, and Conversation
Project Director: Tanya Rodriguez-Hodges
Awarded: $3,585; Cost-share: $3,585
In honor of Dia De Los Muertos, Latino Community Development will be hosting a film screening of the Disney Pixar animated film Coco with a scholar-led community discussion on Thursday, November 2 in Columbia. The evening event will include a screening of the 1 hour 45 minute film and a 30 minute discussion featuring Ivan Segura, Director of Multicultural Affairs at the SC Commission for Minority Affairs; Lydia Carnesale, Multilingual Engagement Coach at the SC Department of Education; and Dr. Aracelis Hernandez-Laroche, USC Upstate Professor of Modern Languages. The goal of the program is to foster cross-cultural understanding and help attendees gain a deeper appreciation for Latin culture in America.
Fast Track Literary Grants
Sponsoring Organization: Coastal Carolina University
Project Title: South Carolina Creative Sociology Writing Competition
Project Director: Dr. Lisa Winters
Awarded: $2,000; Cost-share: $7,119
Coastal Carolina University is planning a “Creative Sociology Writing Competition” which will invite submissions of poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction that align with the theme “Empathy and Science.” The contest will be open to all graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in a South Carolina college or university. The competition will be announced in Spring 2023 with a final submission deadline of September 1, 2023. A virtual reading event and celebration will take place in late October 2023. The goal is to help those studying and practicing sociology engage with nonacademic audiences and practice in a more public, interdisciplinary format.
Sponsoring Organization: York County Library
Project Title: YCL YA Library Con 2023
Project Director: Luanne James
Awarded: $3,000; Cost-share: $10,250
York County Library will coordinate a Young Adult Comic Con event on May 19, 2023. The event is an annual celebration of comic books, manga, science fiction, fantasy, and cosplaying. There will be at least three featured authors, tentatively Mary Alice Monroe, Brendan Reichs, and Tracy Deon. There will also be food trucks and vendors, like a local bookstore and game store. The event is free and open to the public.
Sponsoring Organization: Spartanburg Community College Foundation
Project Title: 2023 Wonders of Writing Symposium
Project Director: Nettie Watkins Brooks
Awarded: $2,500; Cost-share: $4,080
Spartanburg Community College will host their biennial “Wonders of Writing Symposium” on September 26 – 28, 2023. The 2023 event will feature two authors of short story collections: Emily Pease and Andrew Siegrist. The authors will participate in programs for faculty and students, such as a master class, and will be featured in a public reading and reception on Thursday, September 28 ant the Evans Downtown Campus. Spartanburg Community College will partner with Hub City Writers Project to promote the event and to sell books.
Sponsoring Organization: Arts Council of York County
Project Title: One Word Poetry Festival
Project Director: Angelo Geter
Awarded: $2,300; Cost-share: $2,900
The One Word Poetry Festival will take place in Rock Hill from April 27 – April 30, 2023. Designed to celebrate the power of poetry, the festival is coordinated by Angelo Geter, the Poet Laureate of Rock Hill, and it will include readings, workshops, open mic opportunities, a poetry slam, and a culminating poetry brunch. The workshops and events will serve all ages, including children, teens, and adults.
Sponsoring Organization: Town of Atlantic Beach, SC
Project Title: Change Gonna Come, Envisioning the New Atlantic Beach Gullah Geechee Festival
Project Director: Patricia Mallett
Awarded: $3,000; Cost-share: $3,900
The Town of Atlantic Beach will sponsor the “Atlantic Beach Gullah Geechee Festival” on June 23 -25. The festival will include an opening ticketed event on Friday, June 23 featuring Ron Daise and Cecil Williams. Free events will take place on Saturday and Sunday, including another reading by Ron Daise, vendors, performances, literacy activities with two K-12 summer programs, and a concluding beachside guided writing meditation and poetry reading. The Town of Atlantic Beach is partnering with Coastal Carolina University and the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor.
Sponsoring Organization: Charleston Library Society
Project Title: Author Book Signing and Lite Brunch
Project Director: Laura Pelzer
Awarded: $3,000; Cost-share: $22,850
The Charleston Library Society will host a book signing event on Friday, September 20 featuring approximately 20 authors. The event will be free and open to the public, and it will include timed ticketing. Confirmed authors currently include: Ace Atkins, Cinelle Barnes, Jay Bergen, Buzz Bissinger, Lydia Fitzpatrick, Denise Kiernan, Frances Mayes, Ron Rash, Jane Smiley, and Wright Thompson. Light refreshments will be served.
Cultural Literacy: Caribbean Culture in Writing and Music
Sponsoring Organization: Florence 1 Schools
Project Director: Christina Welch
Project Title: Cultural Literacy: Caribbean Culture in Writing and Music
Awarded: $2,693; Cost-share: $2,693
Carver Elementary Magnet School in Florence will host an artist residency with author and musician Kimberly Roberts. Roberts has written an informational book about the Caribbean titled Jammin’ Geography – Caribbean Cruise. The residency is primarily for 5th grade students, but the whole school will participate in a concert given by Roberts. There will also be a creative writing contest open to all students. The residency will conclude with the Fifth Grade Arts Night on March 14, 2024, where winners of the writing contest will showcase their work.
Sponsoring Organization: Charleston Southern University
Project Title: 2023-2024 Charleston Southern Visiting Writers Series
Project Director: Megan Busch
Awarded: $1,250; Cost-share: $1,550
Charleston Southern University hosts an annual Visiting Writers Series. For 2023-2024, they plan to host poet Lauren K. Carlson in November and poet Ray McManus in April. The free series is open to students and the community.
Sponsoring Organization: Lander University
Project Title: Lander Writing Series: A Reading and Conversation with Robert Maynor
Project Director: Dr. Andrew Jameson
Awarded: $1,450; Cost-share: $1,450
Lander University will host a public reading with author Robert A. Maynor, who won the 2022 South Carolina Novel Series from Hub City Writers Project. He is also a 2012 graduate of Lander University. He will present a reading and discussion on November 1, and he will also conduct a workshop for students and visit several Lander classes on November 2.
For more information about the Grants Program or any of SC Humanities’ funded projects, please contact Theresa (T.J.) Wallace, the Assistant Director, at 803-771-2477.
