Columbia Museum of Art April 2024 exhibitions and events calendar

EXHIBITIONS

Darrel Ellis: Regeneration
On view through May 12, 2024
Over the course of his career, Darrel Ellis developed a distinct studio practice that merged the formal vocabularies of drawing, photography, painting, and printmaking to redefine Black male identity and family within the constructs of art history and mainstream culture.

Ellis was influential during his life, inspiring the work of other artists and participating in more than 20 group exhibitions in New York and Europe before his career was cut short in 1992 by his death at the age of 33 due to an AIDS-related illness. To produce his groundbreaking images, Ellis shifted across a wide range of media, employing painting, printmaking, drawing, sculpture, and collage to generate endless variations on a single image. This often involved projecting photographic negatives onto sculpted reliefs and re-photographing the results.

This exhibition examines the full arc of Ellis’s career through approximately 55 works on paper, including a historically significant body of work that captures the experiences and public perceptions of Black men living with the AIDS virus, as well as an expansive group of portraits of his family members that offer a record of Black domestic life.

Darrel Ellis: Regeneration is co-organized by the Baltimore Museum of Art and The Bronx Museum of the Arts. Silver Sponsors: Dr. Suzanne R. Thorpe and Dr. John W. Baynes. Bronze Sponsors: Councilwoman Allison Terracio, Richland County Council; Colonial Life. Friend Sponsor: Hotel Trundle. Patron Sponsors: Barbara B. Boyd; Joseph Bruce; Haynsworth, Sinkler, Boyd; Suzi and Robert Clawson; Beth and Matthew Richardson; Cool Care Heating, Air, Plumbing & Refrigeration; Prisma Health; Lefkowitz Plastic Surgery and Aesthetics; Cathy and Mike Love. Grantors: City of Columbia; Experience Columbia SC; Richland County Government; South Carolina Arts Commission; Discover South Carolina.

Interior Lives: Modern American Spaces, 1890–1945
On view through May 12, 2024

Through the lenses of interior scenes and material culture, Interior Lives explores the ways everyday Americans lived, worked, played, and evolved their identities in the first half of the 20th century. Homes, workplaces, and the spaces between were newly envisioned in response to socioeconomic and technological shifts. American artists, many of whom continued to work in a representational style, bore witness to the inception of a modern world and interpreted it as it manifested before them. The works on view in this exhibition — primarily portraits, genre scenes, and still lifes — are often modest in scale and humble in subject yet penetrating in their cultural and psychological implications.

The exhibition takes the 1890s as its starting point, a decade that encompassed the late Gilded Age and saw the beginnings of the Progressive Era reform movement. It extends through the end of World War II, when the United States entered a new period of global influence and when abstraction took over as the dominant artistic style. Over the course of these six decades, the widespread implementation of the telephone, the building of mass transit systems, and the proliferation of industrially manufactured goods inspired a new, rapid pace of life.

Interior Lives features more than 50 paintings, photographs, works on paper, and decorative arts, and is organized into four thematic sections: “How the Upper Half Lives,” “Labor, Leisure, and Liminal Space,” “Objects and Personas,” and “Faith, Family, and Community.” This multi-lender exhibition includes works by Milton Avery, Cecilia Beaux, Hilda Belcher, William Merritt Chase, Walter Gay, Edwin Harleston, Childe Hassam, and Richard Samuel Roberts, among others.

Interior Lives: Modern American Spaces, 1890–1945 is organized by the Columbia Museum of Art and presented through the support of our generous sponsors and grantors. Silver Sponsors: Hannah and Ron Rogers; Dr. Suzanne R. Thorpe and Dr. John W. Baynes. Bronze Sponsors: Councilwoman Allison Terracio, Richland County Council; Joyce and George Hill; William Bodine; Colonial Life. Friend Sponsor: Hotel Trundle. Patron Sponsors: Haynsworth, Sinkler, Boyd; Suzi and Robert Clawson; Beth and Matthew Richardson; Barbara B. Boyd; Dr. and Mrs. Benjamin M. Gimarc; Joseph Bruce; Cool Care Heating, Air, Plumbing & Refrigeration; Prisma Health; Lefkowitz Plastic Surgery and Aesthetics; Cathy and Mike Love. Grantors: City of Columbia; Experience Columbia SC; Richland County Government; South Carolina Arts Commission; Discover South Carolina. Additional support from The Nord Family Foundation.

Sergio Hudson: Focused on the Fit
On view through June 30, 2024

This exhibition showcases the remarkable moments of a designer who fell in love with fashion at 4 years old while living in Ridgeway, South Carolina, and has become one of the biggest names in the industry. Sergio Hudson’s high-profile clients include Beyoncé, Michelle Obama, Serena Williams, Jessica Chastain, Rihanna, Kamala Harris, Blake Lively, Kendall Jenner, Issa Rae, Rachel Brosnahan, and Keke Palmer, a close friend whom he has called a muse.

Hudson’s philosophy is that fashion should be for everyone and include everyone. He designs to empower the wearer and often includes a nod to the ’90s of his youth. See eight signature garments from key moments in his revolutionary career alongside more than 20 sketches and drawings exploring his career from the early days winning Bravo’s Styled to Rock in 2013 up through the present day.

Sergio Hudson: Focused on the Fit is organized by the Columbia Museum of Art, South Carolina, in partnership with Sergio Hudson Collections, LLC and Community Curator Megan Pinckney Rutherford. Bronze Sponsors: First Citizens Bank; Dr. Suzanne R. Thorpe and Dr. John W. Baynes. Patron Sponsors: Gina Trippi and John Kerr; Barbara B. Boyd; Friends of African American Art & Culture; Midlands Medical Wellness Center, LLC; Columbia Design League; The Rutherford Law Firm. Friend Sponsors: Hotel Trundle; Representative Todd Rutherford. Grantors: City of Columbia; Experience Columbia SC; Richland County Government; South Carolina Arts Commission; Discover South Carolina; and a grant from the Coastal Community Foundation at the request of CMA member Bonnie Adams Kapp.

PROGRAMS AND EVENTS
To purchase tickets or register for classes, visit columbiamuseum.org or call 803-799-2810.

Book a Tour and Save
Gather some friends and enjoy discounted admission as you get an inside look at our exhibitions or collection with a docent-led tour. Details at columbiamuseum.org/tours.

Touch Tours
Touch Tours provide an opportunity for visitors who are blind or have low vision to experience the diverse 3D work in the CMA Collection. Explore the galleries with a skilled museum educator trained to provide detailed verbal description of the work on view, while experiencing a selection of objects through touch and other senses.

Touch Tours are available to visitors who are blind or partially sighted in groups of 5 to 10. These 90-minute tours take place when the galleries are closed to the general public and require four weeks’ advance notice to schedule. To book a tour call 803-343-2163 or email [email protected].

Yoga in the Galleries
Mondays, April 1 and 15 | 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Embark on a transformative journey of self-discovery and holistic well-being with a unique class that seamlessly integrates yoga, movement, and sound healing. Led by experienced instructor Dre Drummond, this class offers a harmonious blend of ancient practices and modern insights, creating a space for profound connection and rejuvenation. Mats provided, but guests are welcome to bring their own mats and props. Ages 13 and up. No unaccompanied minors. $15 / $12 for members.

Drummond is a dedicated and highly experienced yoga facilitator with over 700 RYT hours of comprehensive yoga training and a versatile skill set encompassing prenatal yoga, Bikram yoga, vinyasa, trauma-informed, yoga course creation, and teacher training facilitation. Drummond has worked with major brands such as Nike, Lululemon Athletica, Peerspace Inc., and Bud Light. Drummond invites individuals from all walks of life to embark on a journey of holistic well-being and self-expression.

Gladys’ Gang Toddler Edition: Around the House
Wednesday, April 3 | 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.

What makes a home? People! But houses are also filled with things — from clocks to socks and chairs to stairs, houses have all kinds of objects inside. See what you can spy as we explore featured exhibition Interior Lives together and then make ourselves at home in the studios. Key topic: houses. This program is specially designed for 2- to 3-year-old participants and their adult companions to explore art through movement and play. Gladys’ Gang includes story time, gallery exploration, and a creative studio activity related to the art exploration theme. Siblings welcome. Free. Registration required for all participants as space is limited.

Shutter Stories: A Student Photography Workshop
Wednesday, April 3 | 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.

The USC Center for Civil Rights History and Research and the Columbia Museum of Art partner on this hands-on photography workshop for middle-school aged students. Participants learn about the work of esteemed photographer Richard Samuel Roberts, whose work from the 1920s and ’30s is featured in the Our Story Matters Gallery exhibition Intersections on Main Street: African American Life in Columbia as well as the CMA-organized exhibition Interior Lives: Modern American Spaces, 1890–1945. Following a tour of the galleries, students learn more about the art of composition and practice portrait photography in a recreation of Roberts’ Washington Street studio, with instruction led by photographer and CMA Communications Assistant Victor Johnson. Participants provide their own digital camera; all other equipment provided. Free with registration courtesy of Columbia SC 63: Our Story Matters.

A self-taught photographer, Victor Johnson considers himself a visual storyteller and capturer of memories. He can remember documenting family vacations and moments with friends with disposable cameras during his adolescent years and began to take serious interest in photography once purchasing a camera in late 2014. While enjoying different genres of photography, Johnson has primarily focused on candidly documenting people and moments while creating visual stories. Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he collaborated with local artists, models, and other creatives in sharing their stories and worked alongside nonprofits including Our Next Generation, Unity in Motion, and Project Kindred to document and assist with photography-based community building programs. Johnson became a Columbia resident in 2022 and works at the CMA as communications assistant with a major role in media production. He has also worked with CMA affinity group Friends of African American Art & Culture as well as the USC Department of African American Studies. Johnson’s work has been published in Obsidian Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora Magazine volume 46.2.

Free First Thursday at the CMA
Thursday, April 4 | 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Enjoy free admission and extended hours. Take a guided tour of featured exhibitions Darrel Ellis: Regeneration and Interior Lives: Modern American Spaces, 1890–1945 at 6:00 p.m. Last gallery entry at 7:30 p.m. Be on Boyd Plaza in the evening for live music, food vendors, and a beer garden. Free. Plaza events by First Thursday on Main. Free admission courtesy of Dominion Energy. Generous support provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program.

Public Tour: Darrel Ellis and Interior Lives
Thursdays, April 4 and 18 | 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 14 | 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

Take a guided tour of two featured exhibitions that explore identity, domesticity, and family through various lenses. Darrel Ellis: Regeneration features an underrecognized but innovative artist, a Black man living with AIDS in the 1980s who experimented with new multimedia techniques. In Interior Lives: Modern American Spaces, 1890–1945, artists from the turn of the century to World War II examine both psychological and physical interiors in a changing world. Free with membership or admission.

CMA Chamber Music on Main
Monday, April 8 | Happy Hour and Galleries at 6:00 p.m. | Concert 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

For the final program of the season, artistic director Andrew Armstrong advises concertgoers to expect the unexpected. Consider these questions: what happens when a jazz alto saxophonist also plays classical and composes music at the intersection of the two genres with the added inspiration of Hindustani ragas? What happens when that same saxophonist picks up a flute to reveal she plays it equally well? What happens when a giant of 20th-century late Romanticism pulls back from the public one of his great works, so that it is only reborn in the music world 81 years later, in 1999? What does the sound of the double bass do to the more standard piano quintet instrumentation, and what depths and extremes of emotional narrative does it make possible? This far-ranging program explores these questions and other surprises.

With selections from Rachmaninov and Ralph Vaughn Williams, Armstrong welcomes featured artists Abigél Králik and Karl Stobbe on violins, Joan DerHovsepian on viola, Marguerite Cox on double bass, Ani Aznavoorian on cello, and Alison Shearer on alto saxophone and flute. Presented by April C. Lucas and John J. Stucker. $46 / $39 for members / $5 for students.

Read With Art: Silent Book Club at the CMA
Thursday, April 11 | 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. | Silent reading hour 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Join Jemia Williams, avid reader and Columbia’s Silent Book Club official host, for an evening celebrating literature and art. Whether you’re seeking solitude for quiet reflection or eager to connect with fellow bookworms, this event offers a welcoming space to come together and share your love for the written word. There is no assigned reading — simply bring along your current book and enjoy reading in the museum with art. Take the first half hour to settle in with light refreshments and then spend the next hour in silent reading. During the last half hour, attendees are welcome to continue reading, explore the galleries, socialize, or take a look at some CMA staff picks to find a new read connected to the visual arts. Free. Registration required as space is limited. Gallery admission included.

A grant from the Knight Foundation Fund at Central Carolina Community Foundation supported this project. Generous support provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program.

Arts & Draughts
Friday, April 12 | 7:00 – 11:00 p.m.

Celebrate spring with your favorite museum party! Groove to live music from Powder Horns and Daikaiju, sets from DJ VooDoo Child, a silent disco featuring sets by Maya Wang, and Debbieoke (karaoke hosted by Deborah Adedokun). Take a Unique Perspective Tour through Darrel Ellis: Regeneration and Interior Lives: Modern American Spaces, 1890-1945 with photographer and Experience Columbia SC Ambassador Crush Rush. Go on a scavenger hunt through the CMA Collection with prizes from Mast General Store. Check out live screenprinting from Turn90 of the official Arts & Draughts t-shirt designed by Cait Maloney. Plus take part in art activities including a diorama design station inspired by Interior Lives and a printmaking station with USC Printmaking inspired by the experimental work of Darrel Ellis. Food for purchase from Cheese and Thank You, Los Chicanos, and Babcha Korean Food. Cash bar with beer and wine from Weco Bottle and Biergarten featuring selections from Creature Comforts Brewing Co. $15 / $8 for members. Join or renew membership that night or volunteer for a short shift and get in free. Sponsored by Weco Bottle & Biergarten, Mast General Store, Prisma Health, and WXRY 99.3 FM.

The Last Saturday in America: Book Launch with Ray McManus
Sunday, April 14 | Reading and Conversation 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. | Reception 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Celebrate National Poetry Month and the release of Ray McManus’ newest work, The Last Saturday in America, with a lively reading and reception. McManus reads from his collection confronting the long shadow of Southern masculinity, then holds a conversation with USC professor and former Columbia poet laureate Ed Madden. Reception and book signing to follow. Books available for purchase courtesy of All Good Books. Free; gallery admission not included.

The Last Saturday in America is set in a nation on the precipice of great change. Through examinations of suburban neighbors, bullies, gun violence, and vasectomy appointments, McManus draws a portrait of American masculinity in the face of political division, pandemic, and cultural warfare. McManus’ speaker is caught between the way he was raised and the future he wants to see for who he is raising. He can no longer rely on what he thought he knew, nor does he know what to do about it. The man rendered in these pages is a father, a son, a Southerner. And he is willing to burn it all down and start something new, only to see that the new start he is looking for has been with him the whole time.

McManus is the author of four books of poetry: Punch., Red Dirt Jesus, and Driving through the country before you are born, and a chapbook called Left Behind. He is the co-editor for the anthology Found Anew with notable contributors with South Carolina ties. His poems have been published in numerous journals such as Crazyhorse, Prairie Schooner, and POETRY magazine. McManus teaches for USC Sumter and serves as Writer-in-Residence for the CMA.

Art Class: Artistic Journaling
Saturdays, April 13 and 20 | 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Push the boundaries of journaling by adding color, texture, patterns, doodling, and collage to your pages. Explore various ways to create a hand-bound journal and learn to use mixed-media techniques and materials to embellish the pages of your newly created book — or art journal. Since there are no rules to art journaling, a playful attitude is recommended! Taught by Marlena Crovatt-Bagwell. All materials and equipment provided. Ages 15 and up. $120 / $96 for members.

Marlena Crovatt-Bagwell, a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, is an accomplished graphic designer with more than 30 years of experience. In the face of the pandemic, she discovered the power of art journaling and meditation as a leveling creative outlet. Crovatt-Bagwell has since filled dozens of journals, finding balance, harmony, and peace of mind within them.

Art Class: Framing 101
Tuesdays, April 16 and 30 | 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Participants learn the basics of framing two-dimensional works and frame their own artwork or document. This two-day class covers basic mat cutting, assembly, and hanging for a proper frame job. No prior framing experience required — perfect for beginners! All supplies and equipment provided. Ages 15 and up. Taught by artist and conservator Laura Garner Hine. $200 / $160 for members.

Hine resides in Columbia, South Carolina. Her art education consists of degrees and certifications from the University of South Carolina, the Rijksuniversiteit in Groningen, the Netherlands, and Accademia Riaci in Florence, Italy. Her work has been shown in numerous locations both nationally and internationally. Hine holds memberships with the American Institute for Conservation (AIC), the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN), the Southeast Regional Conservation Association (SERCA), and the Contemporaries of the Columbia Museum of Art. She currently serves as a board member for the nonprofit arts organizations Bullets and Bandaids and The Jasper Project. Aside from her passion for cultural heritage and fine art in general, she enjoys traveling, the outdoors, cooking, gardening, and strumming the ukulele.

Gladys’ Gang Preschool Edition: Around the House
Wednesday, April 17 | 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.

What makes a home? People! But houses are also filled with things — from clocks to socks and chairs to stairs, houses have all kinds of objects inside. See what you can spy as we explore featured exhibition Interior Lives together and then make ourselves at home in the studios. Free with registration. Key topic: houses. This program is specially designed for 4- to 5-year-old participants and their adult companions to explore art through play and inquiry. Gladys’ Gang builds skills for kindergarten readiness through story time, gallery conversations, and a creative studio project related to the art exploration theme. Siblings welcome. Free. Registration is required for all participants as space is limited.

Art Class: Fashion Illustration
Saturday, April 20 | 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Learn the basics of fashion illustration while taking inspiration from featured exhibition Sergio Hudson: Focused on the Fit. Taught by Diko Pekdemir-Lewis, founder and designer of Anton & Maxine, a handmade slow fashion brand based in Columbia. Pekdemir-Lewis holds an apprenticeship degree in bespoke tailoring and a bachelor’s in fashion arts at Modeschule Schloss Eller in Duesseldorf, Germany. Ages 15 and up. All supplies and equipment provided. Some familiarity in drawing is recommended but not required. $120 / $96 for members.

Stroller Tour: Featured Exhibitions
Saturday, April 20 | 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.

Take a tour of featured exhibitions Interior Lives: Modern American Spaces, 1890 – 1945 and Darrel Ellis: Regeneration with infants in tow. Bring your little ones along for the ride on a stroller-friendly tour for caregivers with babies up to age two. Fussy, crying, or wiggly babies welcome! Baby wearing is encouraged. Free with membership or admission. Registration required as space is limited.

Accessible Yoga in the Galleries
Monday, April 22 | 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Head to the CMA for a gentle, slow, and mindful movement practice for those who want to enjoy yoga that’s accessible to everybody and everybody. The class can be taken on a mat or sitting in a chair; both are provided. Students are welcome to bring their own mats and props. The session takes place in the CMA Collection galleries. Taught by Kate Murphy, a local yoga teacher with training in accessible yoga and mindful resilience for trauma recovery. Ages 13 and up. No unaccompanied minors. $15 / $12 for members.

Film Screening: Liquor Store Dreams
Tuesday, April 23 | Reception at 5:00 p.m. | Film Screening and Discussion 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

The CMA and South Carolina ETV and Public Radio team up for a screening of Liquor Store Dreams followed by a discussion. In this 2022 documentary, two Korean American children of liquor store owners reconcile their own dreams with those of their immigrant parents. They confront the complex legacies of L.A.’s racial landscape — including the 1991 murder of Latasha Harlins and the 1992 uprisings sparked by the police beating of Rodney King — while engaged in current struggles for social and economic justice. Free with registration. Run time: 1 hour 22 minutes.

UnFramed Art: The Spit Hits the Fan
Saturday, April 27, and Sunday, April 28 | Seating starts at 2:00 p.m. | Play 2:30 – 3:15 p.m. | Reception 3:15 – 4:00 p.m.

What do you get when you mix up visual art, two wacky playwrights, and five performers with too much time on their hands? You get UnFramed Art: The Spit Hits the Fan, a short original adult comedy brought to you by the Stars of Politically Correct Theatre (SPIT) Players. It’s a bizarre companion piece to Interior Lives: Modern American Spaces, 1890-1945, loosely inspired by works in the CMA-exclusive exhibition. The zany cast of characters — performed by Nick Good, Emily Harrill, Tiffany James, Perry Simpson, and Kathy Sykes — comically interprets how the art speaks to them and gives voice to what possibly might be the story behind the art. The 45-minute play is produced by Larry Hembree, cowritten by award-winning playwright Lou Clyde and Perry Simpson, and directed by Emily Harrill. Please note that the production is sponsored by no one. UnFramed Art contains some mature language and themes, so discretion is advised. Arrive early to enjoy the galleries prior to the performance. Beer, wine, and light snacks for sale. Brief reception with light refreshments to follow. $20 / $16 for members.

Public Tour: Carolina in the Collection
Sunday, April 28 | 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

Discover the rich artistic tapestry of South Carolina. See works by artists in our state and treasures that once adorned local homes. Learn about the Charleston Renaissance, Catawba pottery, and artists right here in Columbia while you explore works by Michaela Pilar Brown, Georgia Henrietta Harris, Steven Naifeh, and more. Free with membership or admission.

 

About the CMA

The Columbia Museum of Art is a charitable nonprofit organization dedicated to lifelong learning and community enrichment for all. Located in the heart of downtown Columbia, S.C., the CMA ranks among the leading art institutions in the country and is distinguished by its innovative exhibitions and creative educational programs. At the heart of the CMA and its programs is its collection, which encompasses 7,000 works and spans 5,000 years of art history. Established in 1950, the CMA now welcomes more than 150,000 visitors annually and is a catalyst for community creativity and education, engaging people of all ages and backgrounds. It is the recipient of a National Medal from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a National Art Education Association award for its contributions to arts education, a National Park Foundation Award, and two Governor’s Awards for the Arts for outstanding contributions to the arts in South Carolina. In order to serve even more audiences, the CMA underwent a transformation. Funded by a successful capital campaign, the two-year renovation project garnered new collection galleries with a progressive thematic layout, new studios for artmaking, cutting-edge program and event spaces, and an entrance on Main Street. Overall, more than 15,000 square feet of functional space were added to the building’s existing footprint. To learn more, visit columbiamuseum.org.

General Info:
803-799-2810
www.columbiamuseum.org

Location:
1515 Main Street | Columbia, SC 29201

General Admission:
$13 or less.
FREE for members.

Museum Hours:
Open 6 days a week!
Tuesday – Wednesday, Friday – Sunday: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Thursdays: 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Closed Mondays and major holidays.