Nominations for Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award due Dec. 15
December 6, 2016
The South Carolina Arts Commission and the University of South Carolina’s McKissick Museum invite nominations for the 2017 Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award. Guidelines and nomination forms are available at www.SouthCarolinaArts.com. Nominations are due by Dec. 15, 2016.
Created by the legislature in 1987 to recognize lifetime achievement in the traditional arts, the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award is presented annually by the South Carolina General Assembly to practitioners and advocates of traditional arts significant to communities throughout the state. Up to four artists and one advocate may receive awards each year. Nominations are accepted in two categories:
Artists: South Carolina artists who have dedicated their lives to the practice of art forms that have been passed down through their families and communities and who have demonstrated a commitment to keeping their tradition alive. Past awards have recognized art forms such as basket making, gospel singing, fiddling, hammock making and boat building.
Advocates: South Carolina individuals and groups that have worked to further traditional culture in the state. Those who are not traditional artists, but who have provided service that helps to sustain and promote South Carolina traditions, are eligible for the advocacy award.
One hundred and nine South Carolinians have been honored with the award, which was renamed in 1997 in memory of the late Jean Laney Harris, a member of the S.C. General Assembly and an ardent supporter of the state’s cultural heritage.
For more information about the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award, visit www.SouthCarolinaArts.com/folkheritage, or contact Laura Marcus Green, 803-734-8764.
About the Folklife and Traditional Arts Program
The Folklife and Traditional Arts Program is designed to encourage, promote, conserve and honor the diverse community-based art forms that make South Carolina distinct. The major initiatives of the program serve both established and emerging cultural groups that call South Carolina home.
About the South Carolina Arts Commission:
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 works to increase 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, by the federal government through the National Endowment for the Arts and other sources. For more information, visit www.SouthCarolinaArts.com or call (803) 734-8696.
About McKissick Museum
The University of South Carolina’s McKissick Museum fosters awareness and appreciation of the diversity of the American South’s culture and geography, attending particularly to the importance of enduring folkways and traditions. It accomplishes these aims through original research about Southern life, material culture, natural science, and decorative and fine arts by holding exhibitions, issuing publications and by public programming. For more information, visit http://artsandsciences.sc.edu/mckissickmuseum.
