SOTA Highlights

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Art History Department and Historic Preservation & Community Planning Program Highlights

College of Charleston Art Historian Inducted Into Society of Antiquaries of London and Received $80,000 Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies

College of Charleston’s School of the Arts is proud to announce that Matthew Canepa, assistant professor of Art History, was inducted into the Society of Antiquaries of London, in March 2009. In company with the Royal Academy, the Linnean Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Geological Society of London and the Royal Astronomical Society, the Society of Antiquaries of London is the world’s premier learned society for heritage.
 
The Society’s 2,500 Fellows include many distinguished archaeologists and art and architectural historians holding positions of responsibility across the cultural heritage. Fellows gain membership through nomination and election by current fellows. International in its reach, fellowship is regarded as recognition of significant achievement in the heritage field.
 
In addition, Canepa was awarded the Charles A. Ryskamp Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) for 2009/2010. The Fellowship is one of the ACLS’ most prestigious awards and also one of the most competitive, with nearly 200 applications for the twelve awards. The Fellowships, generously funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in honor of Charles A. Ryskamp, literary scholar, distinguished library and museum director, and long-serving trustee of the Foundation, support advanced assistant professors and un-tenured associate professors in the humanities and related social sciences whose scholarly contributions have advanced their fields and who have well-designed and carefully developed plans for new research.
 
Canepa will take a leave to use the fellowship ($80,000 salary and research funds) to research and write a book entitled "Iran between Alexander and Islam," which explores the global idea of Iranian Kingship in the Hellenized and Iranian Near East, South and Central Asia. University of Oxford's Merton College will host Canepa for the summer and fall semesters, where he will be a visiting research professor. He will conduct field research in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and work in several research libraries and libraries in the U.S. and Europe for the rest of the award period.

Professor Canepa earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. A specialist in the art and cultures of the late Roman/early Byzantine Empire and Pre-Islamic Iran, Canepa’s research focuses on cross-cultural interaction in the pre-modern world. His forthcoming book entitled “The Two Eyes of the Earth” (University of California Press) will be the first to analyze the artistic, ritual and ideological interactions between the Roman and Sasanian empires in a comprehensive and theoretically rigorous manner. His current projects include an exploration of Middle Iranian art and the global idea of Iranian Kingship and an edited volume that studies the phenomena of cross-cultural interaction between the Mediterranean, Iran, and China. He has been the recipient of numerous research grants including the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (2002-2003), the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut (2007), and the Archaeological Institute of America (2008).  He has taught in College’s Department of Art History since 2005 and is currently serving as the president of the South Carolina Society of Archaeological Institute of America.

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Arts Management Program Highlights

MULTI-PLATINUM MUSICIAN MARK BRYAN TEACHES ARTS MANAGEMENT COURSE

Mark Bryan, lead guitarist and founding member of Hootie and the Blowfish, began teaching the Arts Management Program’s Introduction to Music Management course at the College of Charleston’s School of the Arts this fall. The curriculum was conceptualized due to music and non-music students expressing an interest in understanding the workings of the music industry and the process involved in producing music.

Arts Management major/Music minor Clair Long states, “The music industry has always interested me, and the combination of arts management and music in this class is perfect. The class reinforces a lot of what I’ve heard about music management – that it takes a lot of hard work, timing, connections and luck.”

When approached by Arts Management Program Director Scott Shanklin-Peterson, Bryan viewed the teaching opportunity as a way to give back to the community. Bryan explains, “I have been very fortunate with my career in music so far, and it feels right to give back where I can.  Teaching this class is a way for me to relate 20 years of experience in the music industry to aspiring students, from an artist's perspective.” His commitment adds to his growing list of enrichment projects exploring the process of writing, producing and recording music. Recently, this includes his position as Chairman of the Board of Carolina Studios, a non-profit, after school music recording and technology program for kids, ages 8 to 18.

At the college level, Bryan teaches his students how to work within the industry starting with the actual music, then the production process and gaining music rights, publication of the music, and finally representation, marketing, and touring. The semester course follows a “real world” format; at the beginning of the week class discussion on a specific industry topic takes place. At the end of the week, a special guest related to the topic addresses the class. Bryan expounds, “Obviously as an artist, I never spent time day to day with booking shows, or publishing, etc.  That is why I've invited those who have, to be guest speakers on those topics.  It gives us first hand knowledge of every part of the industry.”

Past guest speaker and singer-songwriter Danielle Howle discussed the process of song creation. One of the upcoming speakers is Richard Gusler, attorney for Hootie and the Blowfish, who will address the class about record deals, loyalties and licensing.

Mark Bryan received his bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from the University of South Carolina. He spent the last 20 years recording and touring as a founding member of Hootie and the Blowfish. He also recorded two solo albums. In addition to producing five full-length albums, Bryan has co-written and produced countless songs for other artists and was instrumental in developing the College of Charleston radio station. Recently, he formed Chucktown Music Group in order to release the material he is writing, producing and recording, and to help promote the Charleston music scene.

Bryan will continue to teach during spring semester, however vital financial support is needed to progress the program by attracting and hiring more faculty; bringing in guests, performers and speakers; and acquiring recording studio equipment for specialized classes. For more information or to contribute please call (843) 953-5348.

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SCOTT SHANKLIN-PETERSON RECEIVES THE MEDAL OF HONOR IN THE ARTS

Congratulations Scott Shanklin-Peterson for receiving the Medal of Honor in the Arts by Winthrop University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. The Winthrop University Medal of Honor in the Arts recognizes those who have made significant contributions to the arts, as well as those who have positively affected the quality of cultural life in South Carolina communities. Established in 2001, this award honors those who have encouraged the arts and inspired others through their distinguished achievements, artistic excellence, patronage, or support.

Scott Shanklin-Peterson is the former Senior Deputy Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, former Executive Director of the South Carolina Arts Commission, and current College of Charleston Arts Management Program Director.

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Music Department Highlights

SPANISH PIANIST TO PERFORM IN INTERNATIONAL PIANO SERIES 20th ANNIVERSARY SEASON

College of Charleston alumnus Roberto Berrocal will perform in the College’s International Piano Series.  The performance will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. at the College of Charleston Sottile Theatre, 44 George St.  Berrocal will perform Joseph Haydn’s Sonata in C Major, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Six moments musicaux, Franz Liszt’s Spanish Rhapsody and Manuel de Falla’s Fantasia Baetica. Individual tickets are $20, and College of Charleston students and those under 18 years old are admitted free of charge. Credit card reservations and more information are available by calling (843) 953-6575, or by visiting ww.internationalpianoseries.org.
 
Since its founding in 1990, the International Piano Series has featured well over 100 performers from over 30 different countries.  It has hosted legendary keyboardists like Leon Fleisher, Earl Wild, Abbey Simon, Ann Schein, and Jorge Luis Prats, as well as other notable pianists like Anne-Marie McDermott, Andrew von Oeyen, Stephen Prutsman, and Yuja Wang.  The 2009-2010 season will feature an array of local and international talent, including a much-talked about local prodigy and many of Founder and Director Enrique Graf’s previous piano students.
 
Spanish native Roberto Berrocal made his debut as a soloist at the age of eighteen, performing the Liszt Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Metropolitan Community Orchestra. After his debut, Berrocal won First Prizes in the 1997 Henry Janiec Piano Competition, the 1998 Southeastern Community College Piano Competition, and the 1999 Arthur Fraser Piano Competition. He was a finalist in the 1998 and 2000 Princess Cristina National Piano Competition in Spain and a semifinalist in the Hilton Head International Piano Competition. He was also one of three winners in the Blütner Foundation Piano Competition. His concerto performances are extensive including the Liszt Concerto with the Greater Spartanburg Philharmonic, Mozart Piano Concerto No. 25 and Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Greenville Symphony, Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 and the Liszt Concerto with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 and Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1 with the South Carolina Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Community Orchestra. Berrocal has also performed throughout the United States, Uruguay, England, and Spain.
 
Berrocal began his piano studies at an early age, attending the Santurce School of Music and Conservatory of Bilbao in Spain. He holds degrees from the College of Charleston and the New England Conservatory of Music, receiving several student awards at both institutions. He has also worked for the Florida Grand Opera Ensemble as a pianist and coach. In 2007 he accepted his current faculty position at the New World School of the Arts as a piano professor and vocal coach. He also holds a position with the Music Ministry at Saint Hugh Catholic Church in Coconut Grove. Berrocal was personally selected by Placido Domingo to join the National Opera in Washington, DC as a pianist. However, he decided to remain in Miami and continue his successful career.

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ROBERT IVEY BALLET : A SEASON TO CELEBRATE

Robert Ivey Ballet presents its fall performance in its 33rd season at Sottile Theatre November 13 & 14 at 8 p.m. and November 15 at 3 p.m.  Also in the performance which features Jazz and Modern dance will be the Robert Ivey Youth Ballet on the Sunday matinee. Call 556-1343 for ticket reservations.
 
Opening the performance will be a ballet created originally for the World’s Fair in 1982.  “The Hive” choreographed by Robert Ivey. It will be staged by Lori Hull and Douglas Smoak.  This piece has music by Corigliano.  It is a ritual, designed to depict the desire, and anguish associated with the life of the Queen bee.  It is one of Mr. Ivey’s favorite works.  It has been staged several times and has always been received with great success.  It is described as a dance kaleidoscope, sensual and defining the sexes.
 
Mr. Ivey was a member of Chicago’s Ruth Page Ballet, when Rudolph Nureyev made his American debut and later performed with him in the Royal Norwegian Ballet in Swan Lake. Mr. Ivey is restaging a pas de deux from Swan Lake that was choreographed by Nureyev when he was the director of the Paris Opera.  It was Nureyev’s last choreographic effort and I am thrilled to have Angela Agudo and Tony Roe dance this elegant pas de deux.  Nureyev’s choreography avoids the clichéd stereotype of this celebrated masterpiece.
 
Utilizing the resources of the College of Charleston, the performance will include student choreographers and new works by professor’s Eliza Ingle, Gretchen Mclaine, and Ashley Stock.  Both professors Ingle and Stock joined Mr. Ivey at the College of Charleston’s School of the Arts ten years ago and have worked with the Robert Ivey Ballet for the past 10 seasons.
 
The closing half of the evening features a ballet choreographed by artistic director Robert Ivey and associate director Ashley Stock; “Concerto” music by Dimitri Shostakovich. It seems that finally at the close of the twentieth century Shostakovich the artist has outlasted the political demons that tormented him throughout his life.  Certainly he was under the scrutiny from Soviet commissars for most of his career.  Serving that political pressure it is the latter music, his Piano Concertos where we hear the melodramatic extremes. What matters is that, like the best of Shostakovich’s music is that time let politics slide into the past and we take full measure and pleasure in his art. So inspired were both directors that the entire second half of the evening is a lovely tribute to the elegance and whimsy that has made his piano concertos so popular. Depicting the black and white keys of the piano, the dancers dressed in formal ballet attire, black and white, create an impressionistic interpretation of his inspiring concerto number 2.  The use of the entire company of thirty dancers creates the effect of opulence and sophistication.

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COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON PIANO VIRTUOSO WINS A COVETED VENDOME PRIZE

College of Charleston Artist Certificate music student Sean Kennard won the title of Vendome Virtuoso in the Vendome International Piano Competition in Lisbon, Portugal, July 2009. An international jury chaired by famed conductor Jeffrey Tate awarded Kennard a $10,000 prize and a recital at the Salle Cortot in Paris, France on December 8, 2009.

Kennard, a student of Enrique Graf at the College of Charleston’s School of the Arts, will appear as soloist in the Third Piano Concerto by Ludwig van Beethoven with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and David Stahl at the Gailliard Auditorium on October 17, 2009.

The purpose of the Vendome Prize is to seek out, reward, support, and guide future professional artists who are technically perfect, magnetic, original, and ambitious, in possession of a large repertoire and willing to endure the rigors of performance on tour. Fourteen pianists were chosen to compete live from over 2,000 who auditioned in New York City and nominated by major music conservatories and universities over the past three years.

Previously, Kennard was the first prizewinner of the 2007 Dr. Luis Sigall International Music Competition in Viña del Mar, Chile and has also won top prizes in the Hilton Head International Piano Competition, National Chopin Competition, Sendai International Music Competition, and Iowa Piano Competition.

Kennard was born in 1984 and began playing at age ten. In 1995 he made his recital debut, and since then he has appeared as soloist with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Yamagata Symphony Orchestra, Sendai Philharmonic, Deutches Kammerorchester Frankfurt am Main, Orquesta Sinfonica de Chile, Orquesta Filarmónica de Montevideo, Orquesta Filarmónica Regional, Orquesta Sinfonica de Universidad de Concepción, Sinfonia Perugina, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, Hilton Head Orchestra, Sioux City Symphony Orchestra, and Florida International University Orchestra. Kennard has also performed at the Chopin Society in Warsaw and in Carnegie Hall as part of the Hawaii Music Awards. Recently he gave his debut performance in Japan's Tokyo Opera City Recital Hall.

Kennard began playing the piano in Hawaii with his first teacher Ellen Masaki and while he was her student gave a recital at the Academy of Arts in Honolulu performing the 24 Chopin Etudes. Three years after his first piano lesson he was accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He studied with Eleanor Sokoloff at the Curtis Institute of Music and graduated in 2004. In his final year there, he won the piano department's Sergei Rachmaninoff Award, given to one graduating pianist each year. Currently Sean is working with Enrique Graf, first prizewinner of the William Kapell International Piano Competition and Artist-in-Residence at the College of Charleston.

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COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON PIANIST WINS INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

Sean Kennard, an Artist Certificate student of Enrique Graf at the College of Charleston’s School of the Arts, won First Prize in the XXXIV “Dr. Luis Sigall” International Piano Competition. The event took place in Viña del Mar, Chile, November 3-10, 2007. The competition is the only one in Latin America that is a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions. Kennard received $10,000, a medal and 2008 engagements with the National Symphony of Chile in Santiago and at the Frutillar Summer Festival, plus recitals in several cities throughout Chile. He was also awarded the prize for “Best Interpretation of the Required Piece” written by Chilean composer Jorge Pepi.

Nineteen pianists from fourteen countries had been pre-selected to participate in the three-round competition, which culminated on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2007 at the Municipal Theatre of Viña del Mar. On that occasion three finalists performed one of two concertos for piano and orchestra selected by the contestants and the jury two days prior.

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Studio Art Department Highlights

STUDIO ART PROFESSOR IS A FINALIST IN COMPETITION BY THE SMITHSONIAN’S NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery has selected the artists whose work will be included in the “Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2009.” Of 3,300 entrants, College of Charleston Studio Art Professor Cliffton Peacock was selected as a finalist.

The Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition is a triennial event that invites figurative artists to submit entries in all media to be considered for prizes and display at the National Portrait Gallery. The endowment from the late Virginia Outwin Boochever has enabled the museum to conduct a national portrait competition and exhibition that encourages artists to explore the art of portraiture.

The competition received 3,300 entries in a variety of visual arts media, from digital animation and video to large-scale drawings, prints and photographs and a plethora of painted and sculpted portraits. It was open to artists working in the United States who had created portraits after Jan. 1, 2007, in any visual art form. The juried exhibition includes 49 finalists’ works (paintings, sculpture, drawings, photographs, and video) that will be on view from Oct. 23, 2009 through Aug. 22, 2010.


CLIFFTON PEACOCK

Cliffton Peacock received his M.F.A. degree from Boston University in 1977. His teachers there included: James Weeks, John Wilson and Philip Guston. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including three National Endowment for the Arts grants; three Massachusetts Artist Fellowship awards; an Englehard Foundation grant; a Louis Comfort Tiffany Fellowship; and Awards in the Visual Arts grants, sponsored by the Equitable Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the national Endowment for the Arts and the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art; the Prix de Rome from the American Academy in Rome; a South Carolina Individual Artist Fellowship; a 2001 fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation; and most recently, a 2007 grant from the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation, Inc.

Peacock has exhibited his paintings nationally many times since 1980 and has had one-person exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; the Greenville Museum of Art, Greenville, SC; and the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, NC.

His work is in the collections of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Hood Museum of Art, among others. He has been a Professor of Fine Arts at he College of Charleston’s School of the Arts since 1996.

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MICHAEL TYZACK’S WORKS FEATURED IN SOLO EXHIBITION

The late Michael Tyzack, whose dynamic work and engaging personality enlivened the Charleston art scene for decades, was a leading British-born abstract painter. He did much to push boundaries in the 1960s and early 1970s alongside names such as Bridget Riley, John Hoyland and Michael Kidner. Moving to the United States in 1971, he relinquished a measure of renown fashioned in England to forge a fresh and equally daring reputation in America.

Now he's "going home."

London's Portland Gallery, recently selected to represent his estate, is holding the first solo exhibition of Tyzack's works in Great Britain in 38 years. Having opened Wednesday, the show runs through June 12 with the aim of restoring Tyzack to his rightful place in the history of late-20th-century British art.

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/may/31/artists_image_gets_lift84266/?print

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COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STUDIO ART PROFESSOR CLIFFTON PEACOCK RECEIVES $25,000 GOTTLIEB GRANT

Cliffton Peacock, studio art professor at the College of Charleston’s School of the Arts, was awarded a $25,000 Individual Support Grant from the prestigious Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation, Inc. Of 462 grant applications, Peacock was one of twelve recipients selected, based on the quality of work and dedication to painting, sculpting and/or printmaking.

Artist Adolph Gottlieb began his artistic career in New York City in the 1920s and became known as a prosperous Abstract Expressionist. Upon his death in 1974, he left instructions in his will that a foundation be created to benefit “mature, creative painters and sculptors.” His widow Esther, having helped to conceive the idea, saw to the fruition of the endeavor and bequeathed the major part of her estate to the Foundation when she died in 1988. Each year the Foundation selects a group of five artists and other art professionals, who are not affiliated with the Foundation, to serve as advisers to the Foundation and also select the grant recipients.

Cliffton Peacock received his M.F.A. degree from Boston University in 1977. His teachers there included James Weeks, John Wilson and Philip Guston. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including three National Endowment for the Arts grants, three Massachusetts Artist Fellowship awards, an Englehard Foundation grant, a Louis Comfort Tiffany Fellowship, and Awards in the Visual Arts grants, sponsored by the Equitable Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, the Prix de Rome from the American Academy in Rome, a South Carolina Individual Artist Fellowship, and most recently, a 2001 fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation.

Peacock has exhibited his paintings nationally many times since 1980 and has had one-person exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, the Greenville Museum of Art, Greenville, SC, and the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, NC.
His work is in the collections of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Hood Museum of Art, among others. He has been an Associate Professor of Fine Arts at the College of Charleston since 1996.

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SOUTH CAROLINA ARTS COMMISSION AWARDS $5,000 VISUAL ARTS FELLOWSHIP TO COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON PROFESSOR HERB PARKER

The South Carolina Arts Commission has announced its 2008 Individual Artist Fellowship awards. College of Charleston studio art professor Herb Parker will receive one of two fellowships in the Visual Arts category. Each Fellow will be given $5,000 in recognition of his or her superior artistic merit. Fellows and alternates are selected through a competitive, anonymous application process based solely on a review of work samples.

Currently teaching sculpture at the College of Charleston’s School of the Arts, Parker was born in Elizabeth City, N.C. He received a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture from East Carolina University in 1983. Parker served a tour in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam conflict and two years as a Peace Corps volunteer. He also served as a visiting artist and/or instructor at universities in both the U.S. and abroad.

 Parker has created more than 40 site-related installations in the environment since the early 1980s, and his work has been commissioned throughout the United States and in Canada, Italy, Japan and Sweden. He has received several honors, including being a recipient of the “Awards in the Visual Arts XI,” which was hosted by the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art. He was also named a South Carolina Arts Commission Artist Fellow in 1993.

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 focuses on 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.
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Theatre Department Highlights

THEATRE TO PRESENT CONTEMPORARY PRODUCTION THE LAST DAYS OF DON JUAN

The Department of Theatre in the College of Charleston’s School of the Arts will present “The Last Days of Don Juan (or The Trickster of Seville and the Stone Guest),” a play by Tirso de Molina, adapted by Nick Dear. Not to be confused with Spoleto Festival’s 2009 production of “Don John,” Nick Dear’s adaptation of the play was commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and published in 1990. This adaptation still centers on the famous character Don Juan and his numerous seductions and deceits, yet updates the language, while remaining true to the original time period of the early 17th century.

It is a little known curiosity of theatrical history that the man who first brought the legendary seducer Don Juan to the stage was a Mercedarian monk Tirso de Molina. His play had an enormous impact on western culture, influencing Mozart, Byron, and Shaw. Many adaptations and performances have been made since the story’s creation in the 17th century.  The College of Charleston will perform a contemporary adaptation by Nick Dear that stays true to the original - a racy, yet entertaining play of morality. It is a devilish romp through towns and women, complete with shipwrecks, swordfights and oaths of marriage. Don Juan ravishes and ravages everything in his wake, making a profession of seducing women, while maintaining that there’ll be plenty of time to repent before it’s time to die. In the end a surprising visit from the statue of the murdered father of one of his victims teaches him otherwise.

Director Todd McNerney states, “As an audience member, it is difficult for us to believe that even though Don Juan is charming and alluring, so many people can be fooled by his lies and his complete disregard for others.  We dislike him and yet we also "admire" him - which is oddly how our contemporary culture still embraces the myth.  Even today we label individuals as a "Don Juan" and it is often both a moniker to which to aspire, as well as one to avoid….Molina's point (and after all he was a monk) is that while it may seem desirable to pursue everything that we want, of course we should never do so to the selfish extremes of Don Juan and that we should be prepared for our end – even if we believe we have a lifetime before us.”

The designs of the play capture elements of light and dark - good and evil, while supporting multiple locations in Spain and Italy and maintaining a loose sense of the period of the Spanish Golden Age. Visiting Assistant Professor of Scenic Design Edward Matthew Walter, a professional from Chicago, designs the wonderfully evocative set.  The opulent costume design is by Assistant Professor (and College of Charleston alumnae) Janine McCabe with a dynamic lighting design by College of Charleston senior Chris Koenig.

The cast of twenty-four includes College of Charleston seniors Sam McCalla as the Marquis of Mota and Anna Freeman as Catalina. Junior Emily McKay plays Tisbea and freshman Steven Moskos portrays Don Juan.

The play will run Thursday, November 12 through Tuesday November 17 in the Emmett Robinson Theatre in the Simons Center for the Arts, 54 St. Philip St. All curtain times will be at 8 p.m., except Sunday, November 15, which is a matinee performance at 3 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the Box Office or by telephone (843) 953-5604. Admission is $15 for general admission and $10 for College of Charleston students, faculty and staff and senior citizens 60 and older. The “Talkback” discussions with the cast and crew will take place opening night following the performance.

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON THEATRE STUDENTS ADVANCE IN PRESTIGIOUS NATIONAL FESTIVAL

The Department of Theatre at the College of Charleston’s School of the Arts distinguished itself with two regional awards at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) Region IV, Feb. 6-10 held in Americus, Georgia. Michael Smallwood won first prize for his short play “Talk” and Linda McClenaghan won first prize for The Critics Institute. Smallwood will also have a reading of his play at the Kennedy Center, and McClenaghan will be given an intensive experience in play criticism at the same venue. “Talk” was written in Dr. Franklin Ashley's Playwriting II class and will be performed at the College next January and will then open next year's KCACTF festival to be held at Clemson in 2008.
 
The KCACTF is a national theatre program involving 18,000 students from colleges and universities nationwide. The Kennedy Center’s founding chairman Roger L. Stevens started it in 1969 in order to encourage, to recognize and to celebrate college theater. The program takes place year-round in eight geographical regions throughout the United States. Several productions are chosen from each region to compete at their regional festivals for the opportunity of a final showcase at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Works by student designers, student critics and student playwrights are also selected for presentation at the regional and national festivals. There is no other national forum that highlights student theatre works.
 
The KC/ACTF honors excellence of overall production and offers student artists individual recognition through awards and scholarships in playwriting, acting, criticism, directing and design. The College of Charleston’s School of the Arts extends its congratulations to the honored faculty and students of the Department of Theatre.

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Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art Highlights

Halsey Institute Grand Opening Exhibition

School of the Arts 20th Anniversary Event:  Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art presents
Aldwyth: Work v. / Work n.
Collage and Assemblage 1991 – 2009

October 23, 2009 – January 9, 2010
(Halsey Institute will be closed during CofC holidays: Nov. 26-28 & Dec. 22 – Jan. 4)

Opening Reception/Celebration: The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art is proud to open the doors of its new gallery space, located in The Marion and Wayland H. Cato Jr. Center for the Arts with the exhibition, Aldwyth: Work v. / Work n. — Collage and Assemblage 1991- 2009. The exhibition begins with a reception on Fri. October 23rd, 6 - 8 pm and will run through Sat. January 9, 2010. During the reception, at 7 pm the artist, Aldwyth, and curator, Mark Sloan, will lead interested guests on an exhibition walk-through. The first public viewing of the Halsey Institute’s new space will continue with a Hallelujah Chorus performed by members of the Taylor Festival Choir, CofC’s professional choir in residence, as well as a dance performance by local Charleston dance group, Buen Aché. The exhibition opening is the first of many celebratory events for the School of the Arts' 20th anniversary.

Exhibition: This is the first major retrospective of the collage and assemblage artist Aldwyth. Now in her 70s, Aldwyth lives and works in an octagonal house on the edge of a salt marsh on one of South Carolina’s sea islands. Aldwyth: Work v. / Work n. features fifty-two collage and assemblage works created within the past two decades. A film by John Reynolds with commissioned soundtrack by Bill Carson accompanies the exhibition, documenting the artist's interaction with many three dimensional works. The Halsey Institute has also published a full color, 109-page exhibition catalogue including essays by curator Sloan and Boston artist/writer Rosamond Purcell. Aldwyth’s complex, often epic-scaled collages resemble “medieval manuscript pages writ large” says Sloan. Each piece can take years to make. Ackland Art Museum Director Emily Kass says about Aldwyth, "Her remarkable work demands to be seen. It is hard to think of an audience who will not be mesmerized by these extraordinary pieces of art.”

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The Halsey Institute for Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston
announces the award of an $80,000 program grant from the prestigious Andy
Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts for 2009 and 2010.

Established in 1987 in accordance with Warhol¹s will, the foundation¹s
objective is to foster innovative artistic expression and the creative
processes that support artists and their work. The foundation values the
contribution that organizations like the Halsey Institute make to artists,
audiences, and to the community as a whole.

³We are thrilled that the Warhol Foundation will be partnering with us on
our next two years of programming,² remarks Halsey Director Mark Sloan. ³On
their site visit last spring, the Warhol program officers were quite
impressed to see such ambitious programming generated by such a small staff.
This funding comes at a critical time for us, as state funds and individual
giving have been in decline since October 2008. In a very real sense, this
grant is a life-line.²

As the Halsey moves into its new gallery in The Marion and Wayland H. Cato
Jr. Center for the Arts, these funds will provide additional support for its
innovative and thought-provoking exhibitions, lectures, films, artist
residencies, and comprehensive website. Over the next two years, the Warhol
grant will assist the following exhibitions and related programs: Call and
Response: Africa to America<The Art of Nick Cave and Phyllis Galembo; David
Stern: The American Years; Running the Numbers: An American Self-Portrait,
Photographs by Chris Jordan; Leslie Wayne: New Paintings; and Present Tense:
Vestiges of the Civil War in America.

Warhol (born 1928) was one of the most accomplished and multi-disciplined
artists of the twentieth century, and a leader in the avant-garde New York
art scene from the 1950s until his death in 1987. He was a pioneer in Pop
art, photography, print media, film, and publishing<well known for his
images of Campbell¹s soup cans, famous celebrities like Marilyn Monroe,
Elizabeth Taylor, and the Chinese Communist leader Mao Tse-tung.

Currently the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art is located within the
Simons Center for the Arts at 54 St. Philip Street, between Calhoun and
George Streets, but will relocate this fall into a new, state-of-the-art
gallery on the ground floor of The Marion and Wayland H. Cato Jr. Center for
the Arts. Parking is available in the St. Philip Street and George Street
garages. For more information, please contact the Halsey Institute at (843)
953-5680 or visit the website at www.halsey.cofc.edu.

General SOTA Highlights

THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON ANNOUNCES ITS NEW MASTERS OF ARTS IN TEACHING IN PERFORMING ARTS

The Graduate School of the College of Charleston is pleased to announce its new Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) in Performing Arts offered jointly by its School of the Arts and the School of Education, Health, and Human Performance. This is a degree designed to meet a critical need in the South Carolina Lowcountry schools which are experiencing significant shortages in teachers qualified to teach choral music, dance and theatre.The M.A.T. in Performing Arts offers three concentrations: choral music, theatre and dance. Applications for the Choral Music concentration are currently being accepted for degree seekers beginning January 2008. The Theatre concentration is scheduled to begin in Summer 2009, followed by the Dance concentration. Specialty coursework required for degree completion in each concentration relates directly to the requirements of the State Department of Education for teacher certification as well as the respective specialty professional association and the national accrediting body, the National Association for the Accreditation of Teacher Education.“For many years, we have been asked why we don’t have a program in performing arts education because there is such a critical need for teachers in the arts, and because we have strong programs in arts and education at the College of Charleston,” said Frances Welch, Dean of the School of Education, Health and Human Performance. “I am thrilled that working collaboratively, we have designed an outstanding program.”Bonnie McCarty, one of two Program Directors for the MAT in Performing Arts explains, “this degree offers the opportunity for accomplished performing artists to become highly qualified teachers. The Schools of the Arts and of Education, Health and Human Performance are excited to provide such a program which will directly enhance the educational opportunities for Pk-12 students in South Carolina.”Information regarding the Graduate School of College of Charleston can be accessed online at www.cofc.edu/gradschool. Further information on The School of the Arts can be found at http://www.cofc.edu/sota/, and the School of Education, Health and Human Performance can be accessed at http://www.cofc.edu/SchoolofEducation.College of Charleston has long been dedicated to providing a high quality, rigorous education with strong emphasis on the liberal and fine arts to students enrolled in both its undergraduate and graduate programs. Its School of Education, Health and Human Performance was reaccredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education in 2005. In addition the music programs in the School of the Arts are fully accredited by the National Association for Schools of Music.

Go to Top | Return to School of the ArtsWAYLAND HENRY CATO JR. GIVES $1.5 MILLION GIFT TO THE COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON

The College of Charleston is proud to announce that Wayland Henry Cato, Jr. has given, on behalf of himself and his wife, Marion Rivers Cato, the College’s School of the Arts a $ 1.5 million gift. The amount is the largest single gift ever given to the College of Charleston School of the Arts. The announcement comes less than a month before the School of the Arts begins construction on a new state-of-the art facility next to the current Simons Center for the Arts building on St. Philip Street. In appreciation of their support of the School of the Arts, the College of Charleston will name the new arts center the “Marion and Wayland H. Cato Jr. Center for the Arts.” Groundbreaking ceremonies for the new facility are scheduled for June 3 at 9:30 AM.
"For many years, Wayland and Marion have contributed significantly to the education and development of South Carolina’s students. Their efforts on behalf of the College of Charleston alone have impacted our state in ways we could not have anticipated, and many of the recipients of their generosity have become outstanding public servants themselves,” says College of Charleston President Lee Higdon. "In their tireless dedication to the arts, Wayland and Marion have demonstrated their recognition of the link between the development of the individual and the stimulation of creative thought in all disciplines. Above everything else, however, Wayland and Marion have shown what it means to be true public servants." Wayland Henry Cato, Jr. is a distinguished business leader, family man and philanthropist whose generous support of higher education, here at the College of Charleston and elsewhere in the Carolinas, has enhanced educational opportunities for hundreds of students. He is the Chairman Emeritus of The Cato Corporation, a chain of women’s apparel stores. . Since 1997 he has been a member of the Board of Directors of the College of Charleston Foundation. Both personally and corporately, he has generously endowed scholarship programs at the College of Charleston.
Marion Rivers Cato is a talented author, dedicated community volunteer and devoted citizen of Charleston. In 1991 Marion Rivers Ravenel published Marie Ravenel: From Childhood to China, an account of a medical missionary in revolutionary China in the 1920s. She authored a biography of her father, Rivers Delivers: The Story of L. Mendel Rivers, which was published in 1995. Marion Rivers Cato is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Historic Charleston Foundation and South Carolina Educational Television, and a member of the Board of Visitors of Converse College. She is a former member of the Board of Directors of Charleston Ballet Theatre and Huguenot Society of South Carolina.

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