The Poskito: South Carolina Photography and Video Conference is a Francis Marion University-sponsored event which will be held on campus from March 6 – 8th, 2014. The conference will include a variety of activities, including workshops, exhibitions, and talks and panel discussions by well-known regional, national, and international photographers, video journalists, and professionals and scholars from related fields. SC Humanities supported this conference with a Major Grant in September 2013.
Sessions will take place on Thursday, March 6; Friday, March 7; and Saturday, March 8, 2014. All of the events listed on the schedule are free and open to the public, although seating is limited. Unless otherwise noted, all talks and panel discussions will be held in Lowrimore Auditorium on the Francis Marion University Campus. Additionally, a first-of-its-kind Downtown Florence Art Stroll will be held on Saturday, March 8th from 11:00 am. – 4:00 p.m.
A sampling of the planned panels and presentations are included below:
March 06 – March 08
Poskito: South Carolina Photography and Video Conference
The Poskito: South Carolina Photography and Video Conference is a Francis Marion University-sponsored event which will be held on campus from March 6 – March 8, 2014. The conference will include a variety of activities, video journalists, and professionals and scholars from related fields.
Location: Francis Marion University, Lowrimore Auditorium (Cauthen Educational Media Center, Room 114), 4822 East Palmetto Street, Florence, SC 29506
Most events are free and open to the public; some seating is limited
Info: 843-661-1680 or http://poskito.com/
March 07 | 10:30 am – 11:30 am
Poskito: South Carolina Photography and Video Conference – Talk: South Carolina Album
Constance Schulz, distinguished professor emerita of history, University of South Carolina, will present her research into a twelve-year photography project to send a number of talented photographers, including Walker Evans, Carl Mydeans, and Dorothea Lange, to photograph daily life of South Carolinians.
Location: Francis Marion University, Lowrimore Auditorium (Cauthen Educational Media Center, Room 114), 4822 East Palmetto Street, Florence, SC 29506
Free and open to the public; seating is limited
Info: 843-661-1680 or http://poskito.com/
March 07 | 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Poskito: South Carolina Photography and Video Conference – Talk: Historical Photographic and Visual Resources
A discussion and presentation about the visual collections of the University of South Carolina. Beth Bilderback, visual archivist for the South Caroliniana Library, will discuss the photography collection of the Civil War diarist Mary Boykin Chesnut and the visual materials collection of Florence County native Amelia Wallace Vernon, author of African Americans at Mars Bluff. South Carolina Digital Library Program Director Kate Boyd will explain the resources available online at the SCDL, as well as the library's future plans to digitize images related to South Carolina and provide the public with free access to them online.
Location: Francis Marion University, Lowrimore Auditorium (Cauthen Educational Media Center, Room 114), 4822 East Palmetto Street, Florence, SC 29506
Free and open to the public; seating is limited
Info: 843-661-1680 or http://poskito.com/
March 07 | 03:30 pm – 04:30 pm
Poskito: South Carolina Photography and Video Conference – Panel: Richard Samuel Roberts
A discussion on the photographer Richard Samuel Roberts by the scholar whose research first Roberts to the public attention, the photographer who restored Roberts' lost glass negatives, and the South Carolina ETV video producer who produced the award-winning video on Roberts for Carolina Stories. Featuring Thomas L. Johnson, librarian emeritus, University of South Carolina; Phil Dunn, distinguished professor emeritus of art; and Dave Adams, senior producer for South Carolina ETV. It will be moderated by Louis Venters, assistant professor of history at Francis Marion University.
Location: Francis Marion University, Lowrimore Auditorium (Cauthen Educational Media Center, Room 114), 4822 East Palmetto Street, Florence, SC 29506
Free and open to the public; seating is limited
Info: 843-661-1680 or http://poskito.com/
March 08 | 07:00 pm – 09:00 pm
Poskito: South Carolina Photography and Video Conference – Panel: Documenting The Civil Rights Movement
Three Civil Rights Movement photographers share their thoughts about the movement and explain the background stories behind some of their photographs. The panel will also discuss photography's role in documenting and publicizing the Civil Rights Movement, and to what extent the photographers of the Civil Rights Movement have shaped the historical narrative of the movement. Featuring photographers Steve Shapiro, James Wallace, and Cecil J. Williams, and moderated by Wesley Hogan, Director of the Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University, and Civil Rights Movement historian.
Location: Francis Marion University, Lowrimore Auditorium (Cauthen Educational Media Center, Room 114), 4822 East Palmetto Street, Florence, SC 29506
Free and open to the public; seating is limited
Info: 843-661-1680 or http://poskito.com/
To see the full schedule or for more information, visit the project website at http://poskito.com/. The conference is co-hosted by the Department of Fine Arts and the Department of Mass Communication at Francis Marion University.
"Poskito" is a Native American word that referes to a Pee Dee Indian ceremony that was performed in the Florence area more than 1,000 years ago. Different tribes would come together to celebrate the corn harvest and leave with embers of the communal fire to take back to their own villages.
The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. SC Humanities programs and initiatives are balanced, reflecting sensitivity to the diversity of ideas, encourage open dialogue, demonstrate integrity, and are ethical in operations.
Image: Copyright Nina Berman; Robert Acosta, 2004, from the Purple Hearts series
