Pacolet Milliken invests in South Carolina’s young visual artists
June 12, 2023
Greenville-based investment company Pacolet Milliken donated $10,000 in support of the SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities Visual Arts Department. This generous gift funded a student art exhibition and awarded six scholarships to visual arts seniors.
With these funds, students completed “Working from Tradition: Landscape Studies of Reedy Falls Park.” These paintings are based on studies of landscape paintings made by master artists from the 19th to early 20th century. Working outdoors on location had a distinct influence on the students’ work, resulting in a collection of painting sketches that would later become full-scale paintings on canvas. The original sketches now hang in the offices at Pacolet Milliken in downtown Greenville.
“We are so grateful for the continued financial support of Pacolet Milliken, which provides scholarships to students, upgrades to our visual arts studios, and allows us to offer unique programming,” said David Gerhard, visual arts department chair. “We are proud to be a part of Greenville’s thriving downtown and arts community.”
Pacolet Milliken, a longtime supporter of the Governor’s School, has donated over $40,000 over the last five years. These annual gifts showcase the strong partnership between the two organizations and the importance Pacolet Milliken places on providing arts education to students and teachers across South Carolina.
“Pacolet Milliken is delighted to continue our partnership with the Governor’s School,” said William Crawford, CEO and President of Pacolet Milliken. ”We believe that the arts are an essential component to a successful community. Whether visual, performance or literary, the arts strengthen communities socially, educationally, and economically. We are honored to support arts education now so that our community can continue to benefit well into the future from all the richness that the arts provide.”
The SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities Foundation is a nonprofit organization that raises money to support the Governor’s School. The foundation uses its resources to increase access to the school for students who need financial support, aid the school’s efforts to provide arts education in under-resourced counties, and bridge the gap between state funding and the unique needs of South Carolina’s premier public arts school. To learn about partnering with the Governor’s School Foundation, visit SCGSAH.org/give.
