Lander Graduate Lands Emerging Artist Grant

Lander University alumna Jordon Mack, of Orangeburg, is one of six South Carolina residents chosen to receive an emerging artist grant this year.

The grants, awarded annually by the South Carolina Arts Commission, are intended to foster artistic excellence and encourage career growth by providing project funding and professional development opportunities.

Mack, who graduated from Lander last year with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, describes herself as a mixed media artist whose “work speaks about life experiences, time, and change.”

Although primarily a 2D artist, she is also “interested in exploring the boundaries and limits of painting surfaces. Recently, I have taken interest in 3D textile installations. There are so many possibilities to them,” she said.

Mack became a serious artist in high school, “after learning to use oil paint for the first time.”

During her time at Lander, she said, “I was able to explore material and find what interested me most.” She said that Professor of Art Elizabeth Snipes, in particular, “encouraged a lot of the risks I took with my work, and it made a big impact on how I approach my work today.”

Mack described her grant project as “a combination of two-dimensional painted elements highlighted and blended with textile pieces.”

In the future, she hopes to do more in the sphere of public artwork.

“It’s really nice seeing your work in galleries, but I think it would be interesting to see how my work would stand publicly,” she said.

Photos Courtesy of South Carolina Arts Commission