How quickly the summer of 2017 has flown by at the Museum as we celebrated our 20th anniversary with
Feast Your Eyes | Celebrating the Food of the South
. We all may need to consider dieting after three months of being surrounded by Southern temptations such as a giant-sized slice of crispy bacon; hyper-realistic paintings of hot biscuits smeared with butter and dripping with jelly or honey and pound cake mounded with whipped cream and bountiful berries; a larger-than-life, crystal-covered bottle of Coca-Cola, or a 'mater sandwich slathered with Duke's mayonnaise...and oh-so-much more.
Our gratitude goes out to the many artists-more than 50-from states throughout the South and beyond who so graciously agreed to loan their works for this unique three-month exhibition, as well as to the institutions who participated: The Morris Museum in Augusta, Georgia; Charleston's Gibbes Museum; Columbia's Museum of Art and its State Museum; Hilton Head's Red Piano Gallery; Artfields of Lake City and The Johnson Collection in Spartanburg. We were able to gather 112 works of art in an intriguing array of media which delighted more than 6,000 visitors throughout the summer. As an Alabama visitor shared on TripAdvisor: "...while the beach is great fun, this museum visit is the highlight of my trip. Current big exhibit is of interpretations of Southern Food in many media, and it is worth a drive!"
Our accompanying nine-part lecture series,
Food for Thought
, was filled to capacity each week. With speakers covering a wide variety of southern food topics, both local and regional, attendees were able to consider Southern cuisine from various perspectives. Each lecture was unique, but perhaps a highlight was the visit to Myrtle Beach's new International Culinary Institute, where we all will be able to take part in cooking classes and innovative eating for years to come.
We also delighted in being able to share our passion for this exhibition with docent tours throughout July, August and September. As the weeks went by, our tour numbers grew as mainly area residents joined us to gather insights into the exhibition and the cuisine it celebrates.
Visitors were also very much engaged by photographer Brant Barrett's collection of images featured in
Feast | Local
, a look at off-the-beaten-road eateries in this area, along with markets and food celebrations. We knew temptations were great with all the inquiries about where to find some of the local eateries in Barrett's evocative photographs.
We all join together in thanking this summer's most generous exhibition and lecture sponsors: Burroughs and Chapin, the Chapin Foundation, IBM, the Moglia Family Foundation, SCE&G, South Atlantic Bank, South Carolina Humanities, Susan Stevens and Wells Fargo. These individuals and organizations represent the finest in community building with their strong show of support for the arts in this area.
Now, about that diet...
Karen Olson
Special Projects Coordinator
Special thanks to our generous sponsors for
Feast Your Eyes | Celebrating the Food of the South
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