The Jasper Project Presents Cait Maloney in the Nook Gallery at Koger Center for the Arts

The Jasper Project is pleased to present artist Cait Maloney in our Nook Gallery at Koger Center for the Arts with an opening reception Friday March 20th from 5:30 - 7 pm.

From her engaging color pallet to her nostalgic and evocative imagery, Cait Maloney has made her mark all over Columbia, SC and beyond. The Jasper Project is thrilled to work, once again, with Maloney by featuring her in our Jasper-curated gallery space, The Nook, at the Koger Center.

Cait Maloney - photo by Cait Patel

In her Artist’s Statement Maloney writes, “I help businesses and individuals visually communicate through thoughtful, engaging and effective design.

I have had a passion for visual communication and carbohydrates as long as I can remember. Growing up in a small town in upstate New York, I was one of few with a serious interest in art and design, but I knew I could make a career of it when one of my early works were stealthily heisted from a maximum security bulletin board in high school. I went on to navigate the waters of art school and earned a BFA in illustration from Syracuse University.

I’m currently based in Columbia, South Carolina, working as senior art director for Flock and Rally while also doing specialty illustration, design and mural projects; creating new things every day and slowly sweating to death.

When I’m not brainstorming a new brand concept or inking a drawing, I’m working on art for myself, reading a magazine on the beach or seeing some live music.”

Maloney has worked nationally and internationally with clients like Abita Brewing Company, Diesel Fragrance, the YMCA, TD Bank and PGA Junior League Golf and locally with clients like the Central Midlands Council of Government, The City of Columbia, Charleston County, and the South Carolina Asphalt Pavement Association. Cait serves on the board of the Columbia Design League, an affiliate of the Columbia Museum of Art. Her mural, “Lady Vista,” was commissioned by the Congaree Vista Guild and is located on the east wall of 916 Gervais Street in downtown Columbia, S.C.

Join The Jasper Project at the Nook Gallery on the second tier of the Koger Center for the Arts for our opening reception where you can meet and chat with the artist, and view and purchase her work.

See you there!

Koger Center Announces Music Series Line-Up & Jasper Will Be There for All the Concerts!

The Jasper Project is delighted to partner with USC’s Koger Center for the Arts and all our amazing neighborhood arts groups on this lovely free concert series!

The Koger Center for the Arts has set the headliners for the first Levitt AMP Columbia Music Series, a series of free outdoor concerts sponsored in part by the LevittFoundation. The concerts will take place on the Plaza Stage on the Koger Center’s front lawn from 5 - 7 p.m., with the rain location being indoors in either the Black Box Theater or second floor lobby. 

The full lineup features ten concerts split between the spring and fall seasons. All concerts are free, open to the public and will have opportunities for off stage community engagement (that’s Jasper, y’all!) for the audience. The schedule is as follows: 

 

Spring

Saturday, April 18: River Shook Duo

Saturday, April 25: Sunny War

Saturday, May 2: Five OHM

Saturday, May 9: Carolyn Wonderland

Fall

Thursday, September 10: Admiral Radio

Thursday, September 17: Black Nerd Mafia

Thursday, September 24: Molly Martin

Thursday, October 1: Kuf Knotz & Christine Elise

Thursday, October 8: Sam Morrow

Thursday, October 15: Making Movies

 

Each concert will feature a local Midlands based opening act! The Levitt AMP Columbia Music Series is dedicated to uplifting Columbia as a cultural hub and destination for accessible entertainment. The series is supported by a variety of community partners, including the Jasper Project, ONE Columbia, ColaJazz, South Carolina Philharmonic, University of South Carolina Student Life, Black Nerd Mafia, the South Carolina Commission for Community Advancement and Engagement, the City of Columbia, the Columbia Chamber, and the Vista Guild. 

Geared to towns and cities with populations under 250,000, Levitt AMP grantees reflect the three goals of the LevittAMP Music Series program: Amplify community pride and a city’s unique character; enrich lives through the power of free, live Music; and illustrate the importance of inclusive and vibrant public Places. From rural Alaska to Appalachian Main Streets and Midwestern locales, Levitt AMP is a catalytic opportunity for towns and cities across America to realize a shared mission—building community through music to create a healthy and thriving future for all. Columbia is the only Levitt AMP location in South Carolina.

Columbia residents are encouraged to follow along with the development of the series over the next three years by visiting www.KogerCenterForTheArts.com, and following @LevittAmpColumbia and @KogerCenterForTheArts on Instagram.

Jasper Welcomes First Thursday Artist LUCAS SAMS to the Gallery at Sound Bites Eatery

Jasper is so happy to still have a home for First Thursdays at Sound Bites Eatery, and we’re thrilled to welcome our March First Thursday Artist, Lucas Sams!

The title of Sams’ new exhibition is Drawn & Quartered. In explanation Sams writes, “This show marks my return to my first and favorite medium, drawing. As I learned from my favorite art teacher in college, everything can be drawing, and everything goes back to drawing. Before entering the world of ‘fine arts,’ I was a comic and manga artist. Learning that painting was just drawing with paint helped me become a ‘fine artist,’ but the core was still drawing. Everything is abstraction; all representation is cartooning. It has brought me infinite joy returning to simple tools at this scale, and a challenge to build the biggest worlds I can in the span of a sketchbook page.”

Lucas Sams is a multi-disciplinary visual artist and experimental musician with works exhibited locally and regionally in major art festivals, galleries, and alternative spaces; he has been featured in Jasper Magazine, The State Newspaper, Garnet and Black Magazine, and the Timber Journal of the University of Colorado, Boulder. Born and raised in Greenwood, SC Sams spent most of his life in SC until his freshman year in college, when he studied painting in Tokyo, Japan and became heavily influenced by contemporary Japanese Pop Art. A graduate of the SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities and the University of SC, his post-graduate work continues explorations of postmodern abstraction and figuration with far-ranging influences, encompassing everything from religious art, alchemy, and the unconscious- to science fiction and anime. He is currently pursuing a graduate degree as an MLIS candidate at the University of SC.

Please join us this Thursday March 5th from 5:30 - 8:30 pm at Sound Bites Eatery at 1425 Sumter Street, just one block off Main. And come hungry! Sound Bites has a delicious menu of sandos, soups, snacks, and salads as well as good beer and wine. Plus, all the cool kids hang out there, so you’ll be right at home!

Announcing the Winners of Jasper's Degenerate Art Project Artist's Awards

Jasper’s Degenerate Art Project II is a wrap!

Janet Kozachek - Pufferfish

Jasper is excited to officially announce the winners of the Degenerate Art Project Artist’s Awards presented Saturday, February 28th at the exhibition’s Closing Party at Stormwater Studios in Columbia.

In a night that included verboten swing dance demonstrations and lessons by Columbia’s Richard Durlach and Breedlove, the launch of Ed Madden’s new book, I Asked Him What He Needed, with a sweet little surprise chapbook titled, My Students Want to Talk About Ice: Political Poems, the reading of a banned children’s book by our favorite Drag King Marty McGuy, freshly spun tunes from Scotty Tempo, and an amazing menu by MidiMarc, the presentation of the awards was an appropriate addition to the fun.

Ivan Segura with Untitled

Congratulations to Ivan Segura for winning the Jasper Degenerate Art Project II ZEITGEIST AWARD for his painting Untitled, presented to the artist whose work best exemplified the socio-political spirit of the times while also exhibiting proficiency in execution, originality, and strong engagement with the viewer.

The Adjudicators for the Zeitgeist Award included Peter Chametzky, Harriett Greene, and Xavier Blake.

Cam Moore with Heavy

Congratulations to Cam Moore for winning the Jasper Degenerate Art Project II ARTISTS’ CHOICE AWARD for his painting HEAVY. The winner of the Artists’ Choice Award was determined by the participating artists, each of whom cast a single vote for their favorite contribution to the show.

In addition to framed certificates the winning artists also received cash prizes made possible by the generosity of our sponsors Bill Schmidt and Muddy Ford Press.

Nolan Wright - Resilient Standing Strong

Ginny Merrett - 100 Worry Dolls

Stephen White - No More Closets

Kirstin Dow - Artist

Janet Kozachek - Liberty Snakes

Thank you to everyone who came out for the Degenerate Art Project II, and thanks to Maya Smith and the welcoming artists at Stormwater Studios for hosting us. Thanks to Curiosity Coffee for keeping our thirsts at bay and to MidiMarc for feeding us so well and to WeCo Bottle & Biergarten for donating the bubbles we used to celebrate our opening night.

Thank you to our Zeitgeist judges: Xavier Blake, Harriett Greene, and Peter Chametzsky.

Sadly, it is highly likely that we will need to do this again in 2027, so please be thinking about ways to make the third iteration different and unique unto itself while still engaging with artists from all disciplines and their patrons.

WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR IDEAS!

Hit us up at info@jasperproject.org

The Jasper Project Welcomes Trahern Cook -- "Easel Cathedral" -- to the Nook Gallery at Koger Center

Born in 1970 in Columbia,  SC, Trahern Cook, aka Easel Cathedral, has been drawing and painting and telling stories his entire life. In 1992, Cook graduated from the Ringling College of Art and Design with a focus on Illustration and worked as a full-time freelance illustrator from 1993 until the 2000s. When he moved back to Columbia in 2006, he took his easel outside and has been painting all over the southeast and abroad ever since. His work is shown in private galleries, homes, and businesses throughout the country. 

Dubbing his style of painting as relational and experiential, Easel Cathedral has coined himself a “Jam Painter” given that so much of his subject matter is musicians from various genres performing everywhere from small taverns to large outdoor festivals, exploring brush strokes and colors, and matching the rhythm of the music he hears. 

As a “live painter” of events and weddings, Cook creates visual stories of his surroundings in his own unique painterly style, marrying a free folk recklessness with a trained and practiced deliberateness. This performance shares the space with everyone in attendance, enhancing the moment and using the moment to inform the painting itself. 

As The Jasper Project’s featured Third Thursday artist for the month of February, Cook’s art will be exhibited from Thursday February 19th until the third week of March in Jasper’s Nook Gallery on the 2nd tier of the Koger Center for the Arts.

An opening reception will be held Thursday February 19th from 5:30 - 7 pm. The event is free and open to the public.

Columbia-based Artist MICHAEL KRAJEWSKI Partners with CORIN WIGGINS to Present METAPLASIA: A CONTEMPORARY PERFORMANCE OF BUTOH & PAINT

The Jasper Project is excited to help spread the word about a new project presented by Columbia-based visual artist Michael Krajewski and theatre/performance artist Corin Wiggins, who returns to Columbia, SC after a ten-year absence. METAPLASIA: A Contemporary Performance of Butoh and Paint – A Ten Year Homecoming will be presented on Saturday, February 7th, at 7:30 PM at Gemini Arts, in Columbia, SC.

Krajewski, who has earned a reputation as a bravely experimental artist, has a history of engaging in painting as performance, often partnering with dancers and other performing artists. This time he will be partnering with Corin Wiggins who has mastered the Japanese art of Butoh Dance. According to the Butoh Institute of New York, “Butoh is an avant-garde art form born in Japan in the 1950s. Butoh developed at the height of the Japanese Counter Culture Movement and was influenced by surrealism, neo dada, French mime techniques, ballet, flamenco, Neue Tanz (German Expressionist dance) as well as French and European literature.”

Traditionally performed in white body makeup, butoh is considered an avant garde dance form and typically involves hyper-realized, grotesque imagery, and “slow and arrhythmic body contortions expressing a confluence of anguish and rapture, and a dedication to form and improvisation that is deeply connected to the nature of being.” https://japanobjects.com/features/butoh) Many practitioners and patrons of the artform consider butoh to be more of a dance experience than a performance, often saying the experience is undefinable.

In the press release for this event Wiggins states that, “METAPLASIA represents more than just a performance; it is a compelling fusion of visual and performing arts. Following a decade-long journey away from his hometown, Wiggins returns to Columbia for this significant homecoming event. Notably, this performance is poised to be the first professional butoh performance in South Carolina’s history, showcasing the depth and evolution of this unique art form.

“The term "Metaplasia," derived from Greek, signifies "change in form," reflecting the transformative processes that occur in nature and art. The performance will delve into themes of nonconsensual existence, chaos and control, cryptobiosis, and mindfulness in contemporary society. Accompanying the performance will be an original musical soundscape, meticulously crafted by Wiggins, enhancing the immersive experience for the audience.”

Krajewski will paint as Wiggins performs.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to enjoy thought-provoking performance art ephemerally created amongst the visual art exhibited at Gemini Arts. Tickets are only $10 and may be purchased in advance via Eventbrite. Doors open at 7:10 and the performance begins at 7:30.

For more information about what to expect, please visit the Eventbrite site.

Click here to learn more about Butoh.

About Michael Krajewski: Michael Krajewski is an artist-in-residence at Gemini Arts Collective. He is a self-taught artist described as neo-expressionist, although he is less concerned with labeling than with creating from an authentic, mindful space and expressing what he is feeling and experiencing in the moment. He works in various mediums including painting, drawing, clay, and video.

Krajewski has been commissioned to provide artwork for film and art festivals, set design for Trustus Theatre, and art for the Columbia City Ballet. He painted a mural in the Greenville Children’s Museum, and a mural in the Columbia Museum of Art, one of only two artists ever invited to paint on the walls there.

Of his many contributions to the culture of Columbia and greater South Carolina is Michael’s freehand composition on the walls of Black Rooster, a restaurant in West Columbia, where he is using the entire restaurant as his canvas to create a one-of-a-kind installation that so far is four years in the making.

About Corin Wiggins: Corin Wiggins is an actor, director, and deviser of theatre. Their training and performance experience encompasses forms from the entirety of theatre history, with particular emphasis on classical verse, contemporary realism, commedia dell’arte, butoh (舞踏), and new devised work.

Raised in Columbia, South Carolina by a family of civil engineers, Corin first discovered the stage at age eight through the Columbia Children’s Theatre. Growing up in community musical theatre and child actor film agencies, including work undertaken on and off stage at both Town Theatre and Trustus Theatre, Corin began their professional actor training at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities Drama program. They hold a B.F.A. in Physical Theatre from a joint program between Coastal Carolina University and the Accademia dell’Arte in Arezzo, Italy.

Alongside a national presence, Corin has lived and travelled extensively outside the United States and has created and performed in Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Czechia, Kazakhstan, and for audiences from all over the world via numerous international festivals. To date, they have contributed to well over one hundred projects, collectively seen by tens of thousands.

The liberation of the human is the primary goal behind Corin’s work. Corin’s original performances generally concern themselves with humans and human relationships, the conscious vs. subconscious vs. superconscious mind, and dark psychedelia.

Corin has booked work throughout the United States in 2026, as well as a butoh performance tour of Japan in the latter half of the year.



From the Print Issue -- A Prayer for Every Stitch – Memory and Empathy Through the Eyes of Staci Swider By Emily Moffitt

A quick trip down memory lane with a gorgeous Southern night sky and the subtle buzzing of insects. A brief respite from the metaphorical weight a person carries with them. The beauty within Staci Swider’s work goes beyond the visual aesthetic; it encompasses the intentions of the artist, and the potential for powerful conversation with anyone who stops to admire her work. 

Art has been in Swider’s DNA since she was little. Learning how to sew from her grandmother, who happened to work in a children’s clothing factory, she was surrounded by knitting, needlepoint, fabrics, and anything craft oriented. “Growing up in the late 60s and early 70s, that was the resurgence of it as a craft form people were engaging with,” says Swider. “I have started to see artists start to crochet and sew again in our community nowadays, but that was what life was like back then!” Swider then went to school for fabric design and got into the workforce designing home furnishings. What she learned in school and during her career did end up shaping a lot of her practices and principles in terms of creating original work, along with the words of her grandmother: “a prayer for every stitch.” Finding the act of weaving to be very meditative, Swider subconsciously reflects on every loop and stitch beyond what it is creating in the physical plane. “Sometimes it isn’t about the finished product,” said Swider. “The act of doing is the real work. It gives you something to quiet your mind.” 

Swider’s background in textiles taught her to be attuned to finer details. She works with anything and everything fiber: yarn, thread, and fabric, then incorporates other materials like wire into the design to create both two-dimensional and three-dimensional works. These are not the only building blocks, however; Swider finds the exploration of contrast to be a major key in her work. “Contrast is not always just light and dark,” Swider says. “Sometimes, contrast in art focuses on the smooth versus rough, the busy and quiet, and finding the balance within a pair.” Weaving lends itself to be an optimal method of creating contrast, especially through Swider’s mastery of color work. She says, “On the surface, the color work appears as a quick snapshot that you take in, but when you come upon it and look closely it reveals itself further. You must look for the little things, like a piece of pink duct tape or cobalt silk that really sticks out in a section of one of my pieces.” 

The visual building blocks of contrast, color, and the technical skills required of fiber arts all coalesce in works that capture the key theme of spirituality in Swider’s portfolio. Swider’s lens of the world is rooted in introspection and metaphorical conversation. "I express myself through a visual alphabet of symbols,” said Swider. “Not just runes or anything like that, but the actual images themselves in my work, and a lot of artists who tend to work metaphorically do something similar.” One notable example of the symbology is the arc shaped vessel in many pieces of Swider’s art. One may attribute it to being a literal boat at first glance, but the deeper meaning within the symbol goes beyond; rather, it is a vessel for everything one feels and does, a well of experience carried along a path in the work. It functions as a vessel for the other subject in the work as well as the viewer and are aptly referred to as “soul sleds.” 

Conversation is integral to Swider as she aims to evoke a response in the viewer that they may or may not be able to articulate in words. Colors and images like a moody blue against a stark background may evoke a moody or contemplative feeling in the viewer. For Swider, “an image like a quiet night sky brings me to sitting in my backyard and listening to crickets.” As an empathic artist who feels a great sense of tension within her inner person, the imagery that Swider conveys in her work is a way for her to return to a specific moment and take a mental pause, allowing for a clear opportunity for introspection on how to proceed and respond to that tense feeling. The conversation with the viewer still continues through that introspection; after all, the viewer might be feeling the exact same way. 

Having this exchange with the viewer completely remotely is exciting to Swider and feels as rewarding as if they were speaking face to face. “Whether or not a person likes the artwork I make or does not, they are still thinking about the work itself,” says Swider. “Whether they realize it or not, we are having a conversation about the work that way, which is a really beautiful thing to think about.” 

The life that Swider has lived and the years of unique or shared experiences finds ways to express itself in her work. This experience lends itself to the key piece of advice Swider gives to any of her students or fellow artists who experience any sort of creative block: go back to the last place they felt artistically comfortable. Lessen the anxiety of creating something brand new and unfamiliar to themself by letting the creativity flow within familiar territory, like a flower arrangement for an artist who focuses on painting flowers. Set the mind at ease before attempting a new challenge, and the art block is much easier to overcome. 

A life as an educator and full-time artist has paved the way for Swider to express her creativity in a multitude of ways beyond the visual arts. “At this point, my creativity leaks out into everything, like cooking and gardening,” said Swider. “I love to surround myself with beautiful things in my home, and to find beauty in anything and everything.” Living with intention and slowing down in an increasingly fast-paced world appeals greatly to Swider and has impacted her drive to continue interacting with things in her day-to-day life that makes her smile or feel uplifted. 

The uplifting energy in her life carries through and feeds her creativity for the next piece Swider creates. The newest exciting opportunity to come Swider’s way is a grandiose exhibit at the Burroughs Chapin Museum in Myrtle Beach. Seizing the opportunity to work on her art and voice simultaneously, Tide Carriers, as Swider has named the project, focuses on three connected storylines that incorporate many of her new and old techniques along with exploratory discoveries she has made in other new projects, like her Unbuilt Rooms series. 

"This maturity I have as a human and an artist, how does that get reflected in my work?” Swider asks. The optimal way to explore this was to create the three storylines: an expansion of the Unbuilt Rooms, the Soft Architecture of Rain, and the Songs of Becoming. The storylines follow a chronological reflection of Swider’s life, her evolution and where she finds herself now as a woman in her 60s in 2025. Starting with the Unbuilt Rooms, Swider explains these pieces as “the selves and dreams we carry within us but have not been realized.” These are not meant to be opportunities for the viewer to dwell on past choices that have been made, but rather, beacons of hope for them as they realize that their future still holds a great expanse of choices and dreams that can still be made and had. 

The second piece of the narrative puzzle, the Soft Architecture of Rain, heavily incorporates the soul sled image, reiterating the weight of your hopes and dreams, longing, and baggage that they carry. This specific image joined Swider’s rotation in 2020 and is depicted both in two-dimensional and three-dimensional space. The incorporation of the vessels also enables Swider to express her attunement to her own empathy and operate as a moment of self-reflection both in the creation and viewing of the piece. 

The odyssey concludes with the Songs of Becoming, where Swider maintains her agency as an older woman in a society that is so focused on the eternally youthful and naive. “Once upon a time, women of a certain age like me became the elders and leaders of a community,” says Swider. “They were the ones with the knowledge to pass on to the younger members in their community.” Swider poses the question of how she wants to be remembered through this section, and how she can embrace where she finds herself in the present day. The images in this section are filled with symbols of feminine power, such as extravagant headdresses that can even be worn when depicted in three dimensions. Swider’s art is 100% who she is now and continuously nurtures her identity; this dedicated exhibit brings all those feelings to the forefront for audiences to understand and perhaps empathize with. 

Swider’s work must be seen to be fully understood. The intricate interplay of varied colors and materials creates a truly unique presence in the fiber arts realm. It is easy to get lost in the delicate rhythm of each piece, to drift into a long time behind you yet somehow still unfolding before you.

This article originally appeared in the Fall 2025 issue of Jasper Magazine.

 

Jasper Welcomes Jewelry Designer Clayton King to the Tiny Gallery

Jasper is excited to kick off 2026 in our Tiny Gallery with handcrafted jewelry created by Midlands area artist Clayton King. According to King, whose jewel-art is offered under the title Inspired Chaos Studio, he is “a jewelry artist based in Columbia, SC, whose work resides where fluid lines meet thoughtful structure. Inspired Chaos was born when King ran the art and jewelry gallery, Artizan, in which he offered bespoke fan pulls and crystal sun catchers. The line was expanded to include wearable jewelry and is now offered online. His creative process is guided by the quiet movement found in nature and the Gestalt principles that reveal the beauty of negative space—how what isn’t there can shape what is.

“Clayton is also a performing artist, most notably singing in cabarets and on various Midlands stages. A Texas transplant, he pursues both jewelry and performing as a holdover from his major in Theatre Performance, as well as his years as a gallery owner. Both creative outlets are soul-feeding in different areas of creativity.”

To shop from King’s collection of original artisan jewelry just click here and make your choices!

From the print issue: Kwasi Brown Sits Down with Afrofuturist and Arts Educator Dominique Hodge - AKA Jakeem Da Dream

I first saw Jakeem Da Dream’s art at the former Noma Warehouse in Columbia a few years back, and I’ve been a fan ever since. There’s something about his work—the bright colors and unmistakably Black characters—that immediately pulled me in. Coming out of Sumter, SC, Jakeem Da Dream has built a style rooted in Afrofuturism, reimagining what our future looks like through a lens of culture and pride. His art has popped up across Columbia and all over South Carolina, but his most important work is in the classroom where he provides kids in rural areas lessons in art and a role model they wouldn’t be getting otherwise. He isn’t just an amazing artist he’s an amazing person.

~~~~~

Kwasi: How did you come up with your artist name?

Jakeem: My artist name is not tied to my real name at all. It's a name I came up with in high school. Jakeem is actually an acronym for Just A King Enjoying Everyday Moments. It just kind of dawned on me because I looked at it from the perspective of the name we're born with is one that is given to us, but at some point, we have to define who we are. And I felt that name personified who I was.


Kwasi: Can you talk about the evolution of your style and how you got to where you are at this point in time?

Jakeem: I loved animation. I loved cartoons, comics, manga, and all of that. So I started off just replicating what I saw. I would draw Dragonball Z. I would draw Pokémon and Digimon. I started creating my own characters, probably around middle school. I would make small comics in notepads, before I knew about sketch pads and before I had access to professional art materials. ... I went into high school doing the same thing. My artistic voice didn't start really forming until probably around college, when I was exposed to African American art and Instagram, honestly, like, OG Instagram was a space that connected you with all these different artists. And I'm like, oh, god, look at all these amazing Black artists creating Black artwork. And from there it was, It spoke to me like, I want to create stuff that looks like me, because I didn't know you could do that. So, like I said, once I ran across that it was rapid, even like what I work on now, being in the genre of Afro futurism, I realized that what I've always done has always been in that genre before I even knew what that meant. I currently refer to it as Afro Alchemy. I'm taking both past, present, future pain, suffering, joy, happiness, and transforming it, transmuting it into something brand new, and it just, it shows us in a positive light. And I love it when people see my work and it’s just bright eyes kids excited to see it. It's an amazing feeling.

Kwasi: What exactly is Afrofuturism? In your own words, how would you describe it? 

Jakeem: Afrofuturism, in my opinion, is looking at the African diaspora, for example, understanding that we as African descendants are part of the past, present and future. Like a lot of time, we look at time from a linear standpoint, but time exists all at one time. So like the past, present, and future, they're happening all at once. We only perceive them bit by bit. One of the earliest Afrofuturistic concepts I came across was, if you look at something like Star Wars, Star Trek, stuff that takes place in the future, you'll see how you have all these different aliens and robots, but then there's always an absence of Black people, right? And the question was proposed, like, how could you have aliens in the future. You could have flying cars in the future, but somehow, Black people don't exist in this future. No, there should be a much more balanced appearance, because we're in the future, we're in the past, we're here now. So for me, Afrofuturism is really just examining the fact that we are multidimensional, and we're spread out across time, and we always will be.

 

Kwasi: Are there any specific visual artists by which you were/are inspired? 

Jakeem: Absolutely, Hayao Miyazaki is one. He created Spirited Away and he owns Studio Ghibli, an amazing animation studio based in Japan, where they actually still do hand drawn illustrations. Nowadays, a lot of animation is done digitally, but at Studio Ghibli they still hand draw their work, and it creates this very nostalgic, beautiful feeling. He's been a major influence. Artists like Guillermo del Toro, who is a phenomenal director, who created the Hellboy franchise. His style is so unique. Mike Mignola, who actually created the Hellboy comics, and they worked together on the first Hellboy movies. And Cedric Umoja and Thomas Washington are local artists who inspired me that I actually know.

 

Kwasi: Do you have a favorite piece of art that you created and is there a fan favorite piece of work? 

Jakeem: My Puny Humans piece is definitely my favorite, as well as most people's favorite. And what's fascinating about that piece is that it’s the second version of it, the first one I did back in 2016. It was titled simply puny humans. This one that's popular now is Puny Humans the second coming, and I want to expand upon that as a series and do more in it.  

Kwasi: You're also a teacher and you work with children. How did that come about?  

Jakeem: Teaching called me. I did not set out to be a teacher. If you had told me when I graduated high school that I'd be working with kids, I would have laughed in your face. So what happened was, I was invited to do a live painting at the Black Women’s Expo. The painting I did I got to present it to Vivica A Fox which was really cool. While I was there, one of the liaisons for the Auntie Karen foundation--her name is Lisa—saw me and told me about a teaching program and got my information. Maybe a month later, I had an interview with her and Karen Alexander Banks, who's the creator of the foundation, and I've been teaching ever since. Since 2018 I've  been in schools and the program, we're primarily involved with rural area schools, due to the fact that there are a lot of schools in South Carolina that do not have art and music. So we come in and put artists and musicians in these positions to teach, you know, to educate these kids. So I taught at my first school in Hardeeville, South Carolina. Currently I'm in King Street  Kindergarten Leadership Academy. I've been there for six years now. And I have to say, teaching is amazing. I genuinely enjoy it. It's a very fulfilling thing. In my opinion, teaching is the ultimate way of giving back, … especially when I think of how many kids, especially in our rural areas, mostly Black children, who don't have positive male role models. A lot of them have never had male teachers. For me, being able to be that positive role model for them is a really big thing. … I've been working with kids most of my adult life now, looking back on it. Before, I was working with the foundation, I worked at a studio in Sumter, where I painted kids. I was doing after school and summer programs with kids. I've always worked with kids. I work with the Sumter art gallery now, over the summer, during the fall time, I do classes. So I've literally always worked with kids, even though that was never something I set out to do. It's just kind of what I've been called to. So I say, yeah, being a teacher is definitely a calling, there's something inside you that's a love for kids, and also you want to impart something to these kids. 

 

Kwasi: This has been a very interesting and informative interview, before we get out of here do you have anything coming up that we should be looking out for in the future from you? 

Jakeem: It’s still in the early stages now but I may have a solo exhibit at an Art Gallery coming up at the beginning of 2026. So I'm really excited about that one. It's a couple of series I'm working on that I'm looking to put out, and really, I just want to see where things go. At Roc Bottom Studios. I'm stepping into the world of character design work, so I'm really excited about that, as well as skill training. …  Aside from that, I'm just looking to create and see what comes naturally.

Afrofuturism is a cultural movement that blends art, science, and technology with African culture and African diasporic history. It reimagines the Black experience and manifests a future via art, film, tv, writing, and music in which systemic racism no longer or never existed.

 

Poet Phillis Wheatley’s poem “On Imagination,” written in 1773 was a precursor of Afrofuturism, as was W.E.B. Dubois’s 1920 short story, “The Comet.” Famous jazz musician Sun Ra (1914-1983), funk musician George Clinton, science fiction writer Octavia Butler (1947 – 2006), visual artist Ellen Galagher, graphic artist Manzel Bowman, and Nigerian illustrator Suleiman Gwadah are all examples of Afrofuturism across arts disciplines. 

 

CALL for ARTISTS! IN THE MAKING: CONTEMPORARY CRAFT FROM SC a component of HANDWORK 2026: CELEBRATING AMERICAN CRAFT!

From our friends at SC State Museum —

CALL FOR ARTISTS! 

In the Making: Contemporary Craft from South Carolina is a juried exhibition organized by the South Carolina State Museum as part of Handwork 2026: Celebrating American Craft, a nationwide initiative led by Craft in America.  

This exhibition will highlight up to 12 South Carolina-based artists working in fiber, ceramics, wood, metal, glass, mixed media, and other fine craft media. Selected through a statewide open call, participating artists will present newly made works alongside recent creations, offering a look at the breadth and vitality of craft practices in the state today.

Artists for this exhibition will be selected based on the strengths of their submitted portfolios by a panel of jurors. Final works will be chosen during studio visits, with the possibility for the artist to create new pieces specifically for the exhibition. Final selections for the exhibition will be the decision of the curatorial staff of the museum. 

Since opening in 1988, the South Carolina State Museum has celebrated the creativity and craftsmanship of artists working across the state. In the Making: Contemporary Craft from South Carolina continues this legacy as part of Craft in America’s Handwork 2026 national initiative. Artists selected through this open call will represent the depth and diversity of South Carolina’s contemporary craft community.

All submission materials are due on or before Sunday Feb.1, 2026, at 5 p.m. 

Exhibition dates:  Friday October 16, 2026 – April 24, 2027

Opening reception: Thursday October 15, 2026

 

Interested in applying?
Artist Application(opens in a new tab)

 


Two Events Coming Up Celebrating GENERATIONS: 100 Years of Arts at the University of South Carolina

The University of SC’s School of Visual Art and Design is having a birthday - and it’s a big one!

Established in 1925, USC’s School of Visual Art and Design (SVAD) is celebrating it’s 100th birthday this year with two events coming up next week at Columbia Museum of Art’s The Loft, as well as at McKissick Museum on the campus of USC.

On Friday, December 5th you’re invited to help celebrate this auspicious occasion by attending a reception in honor of the museum’s exhibition of art from alumni and professors, current and contemporary, titled Generations: 100 Years of Arts at The University of South Carolina. Curated by students under the direction of Susan Felleman and Lana Burgess last spring. The reception is from 4 - 5:30 and is free.

Later, you may join celebrants at our Columbia Museum of Art’s The Loft (1515 Main Street) for an even bigger bash from 6:30 - 9:30. The evening includes live music, food, drink, opportunities to purchase art, and a short talk by Deborah Solomon, New York art critic and authorized biographer of the artist, former Lake Murray resident and USC student Jasper Johns, the artist for whom our little magazine was named. Tickets are required for this event and may be purchased by clicking this link. Please note: there is a sizeable reduction in ticket prices for artists who are self-employed. (Kudos to the event planners for giving this much-appreciated financial break to working artists!)

Jasper congratulates and honors all the members of the SVAD family!

Last Week for Jasper's November Tiny Gallery Featured Artist YYUSRI

Thinking about a Christmas present for the art lover in your circle? Check out the work of YYUSRI, Jasper’s featured Tiny Gallery artist for November. But don’t wait too long! YYUSRI’s art is only up for one more week. And the best part? You can grab this art up without ever having to leave your house. Remember — Art from Columbia’s LOCAL ARTISTS make some of the best presents you’ll ever find!

Read more about YYSURI below —

In the artist’s own words —

I’m based in Columbia, SC, but my home is where the art is. I create to tell stories. As a storyteller, I’m drawn to many forms of expression. It may look like I wear many hats, but it’s really one hat with a very wide brim. Whether I’m illustrating, painting, animating, or producing music, I’m doing the same thing; telling stories.

Stories come in countless forms: pictures, comics, songs, films, or even a voice by the campfire. Growing up, I was captivated by how stories could transport and transform us, revealing new possibilities. Through my work, I aim to show (and teach) that what you can imagine, you can create.

As a full-time artist, every artwork that finds a home brings me closer to realizing my dream project: Our Sun is a Star, an animated coming-of-age story about loss, healing, and escape.

To purchase any of these pieces (and many more not pictured) visit Jasper’s Tiny Gallery as easily as clicking here!

Last Week to Enjoy the Art of JUDY MAPLES - Jasper's Featured Artist at Sound Bites Eatery

This is the last week to check out the art of Judy Maples in the Jasper gallery space at Sound Bites Eatery, just a block off Main Street on Sumter. Maples artworks are beautiful abstractions created using a lovely color palette that almost seems to jump off the walls.

Below, we share the artist’s own words as she reflects on her paintings.

 

What do these things have in common: soil, puff pastry, music, and my abstract paintings?

Layers.

My painting process is based on instinct, intuition, and emotion. The layers in my abstracts reflect my life experiences and the stories I carry with me. When I start a new canvas, I don’t have a clear plan or a specific image in mind. I allow the painting to evolve naturally, letting each layer guide me to the next. This approach allows me to be fully present in the moment, to respond to the colors and textures as they emerge, and to create something that feels authentic.

The first layer often consists of random marks and strokes of bold colors applied with a sense of freedom and spontaneity. Then I add layers and textures that overlap to create depth and complexity. One of my favorite techniques is to apply a layer of paint and then scrape most of it away, revealing glimpses of the layers beneath. As I add layers, I refine the composition to add depth, complexity, and emotion.

My abstract paintings continue to evolve in the eye of the viewer. Each person sees something different, finds their own meaning in the layers, and adds their own story to the painting. Only then is the painting finished.

My abstracts, with their many layers and textures, have depth and a sense of history, leaving the viewer to think, “I wonder what’s under that top layer?”

 

Maples’ work will remain up for viewing through Saturday morning, November 29th.

Congrats to Columbia's Koger Center for the Arts - A Grantee of the Levitt Music Series!

Huge Congrats to the Koger Center for the Arts for being a Levitt Music Series Grantee! The Jasper Project is proud to be among the SC organizations that partner with the Koger Center to make it more than just a performance venue, but a true center for the arts. Every Third Thursday patrons can join Jasper on the center’s second tier at our Nook Gallery space where we feature the work of a Midlands-area visual artist as part of The Vista’s regularly scheduled Third Thursday programming. The intimate space offers patrons the opportunity to meet and chat with our featured artists, share a snack, and often hear our artists speak about their work. This is always a free event and we typically go from 5:30 - 7 pm, but it’s always a good idea to check the Koger Center calendar to be sure a performance doesn’t result in a change in time.

While the Koger Center has been offering a program of free events in the lobby and on the outdoor stage for a while now, director Nate Terracio says this is the first time the organization has been awarded a Levitt Music Series Grant. “The grant provides 3 years of support for free outdoor concerts in 2026, 2027 and 2028,” Terracio says, explaining that, “We have hosted both local talent such as: Longtooth, Prettier than Matt, The Ramblers, CammWess, David Rodriguez, and members of the Black Nerd Mafia,” as well as regional and national acts including Claudette King, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, J Roddy Walston, John Hollier, She Returns From War, and Indianola.

“The Koger Center for the Arts is beyond excited that Columbia has been chosen as the first city in South Carolina to be recognized and funded by a Levitt Music Series Grant and we are thankful to the community and individuals that supported our efforts and took the time to vote for us,” he continues. “We look forward to expanding our free outdoor concert series through this grant to include spring and fall concerts.  As Columbia’s center for the arts, we want everyone to feel welcome and hope to bring the whole community together through music both inside and outside.”

For more about the grant please refer to the press release issued by the Levitt Foundation: “The Levitt Foundation, a national social impact funder supporting the largest free outdoor concert series in America, today announced the largest number of Levitt Music Series grant recipients in its history—providing 66 communities with multi-year grants, up to $120K each.

Levitt Music Series Grants are an exciting, multi-year matching grant program bringing the joy of free, live music to towns and cities across the country. Each Levitt Music Series location presents 7-10 free outdoor concerts per year, injecting new life into underused public spaces and creating joyous, inclusive community destinations. Reflecting the Foundation’s commitment that all Levitt projects be community-driven, the top 50 finalists were selected through public voting in September 2025 (via online and text to vote). The Levitt Foundation then conducted a comprehensive review process of all finalists to determine the Levitt Music Series grant recipients.

The Levitt Foundation will be awarding over $7 million dollars over three years to the nonprofits presenting Levitt Music Series, supporting 34 new grantees and 32 returning grantees to bring free outdoor music to their communities in 2026, 2027, and 2028. Also new this grant cycle are funding partnerships with state agencies—in Tennessee and Mississippi—to bring even more free outdoor concerts to their communities.

“The Levitt Foundation is thrilled to announce the communities across the country receiving Levitt Music Series grants, and we congratulate all the new and returning Levitt grantees. We know from decades of supporting free concerts in public spaces how the power of free, live music brings friends, families, and neighbors of all ages and backgrounds together, strengthening the social fabric and economic vitality of communities,” said Sharon Yazowski, President & CEO of the Levitt Foundation. “We are also excited that our partnerships with Tennessee and Mississippi are supporting additional communities in those states—a model we hope will inspire other states throughout our nation for future collaborations to bring free, outdoor concerts to their towns and cities.”

From the print issue: Jasper Presents Ceramicist Megan Tapley at Coal Powered Filmworks for Vista Lights!

Tapley’s work always falls into the category of being socio-political in some aspect. She sees the art scene as a proper catalyst for change, with their art being a factor in facilitating it.

Jasper is once again proud to participate in the 2025 Vista Lights celebration and, this year, our featured artist is ceramicist Megan Tapley. A resident artist at Gemini Arts, Tapley will be setting up shop at Coal Powered Filmworks (home of Jasper’s filmmaker extraordinaire and board of directors president Wade Sellers) offering some great items to help you tackle your Holiday gift-buying list. The festivities get under way at 6 pm and Coal Powered Filmworks is located at 1217 Lincoln Street, a couple down from Mike Brown Contemporary and across the street from the Blue Marlin.

Read our article below about Megan Tapley, written by Emily Moffitt, which originally appeared in the fall issue of Jasper Magazine which is on newsstands now.


An Unconditional Approach to Life with Megan Tapley

By Emily Moffitt

 

Following a traditional lifestyle has never been in the cards for Megan Tapley. Living life to the fullest for them means living a bit unconventionally, but that never stood in the way of them pursuing their own aspirations: making a career out of art.

Megan Tapley, pronouns she/they, graduated from Clemson University in 2024 with a B.F.A. in Ceramics. This was not always their medium of choice, though. “I grew up in many accelerated art programs, which introduced me to ceramics at a young age,” says Tapley. “However, I did not pursue ceramics until college.” Tapley finds that her artistic practice is best when they balance their time between multiple disciplines, so they also engage in collaging, filling out their sketchbook, and building sculptures when not focusing on their ceramics. They are inherently driven to be creative, and as such they find any outlet they can to express their creativity.

However, regardless of the medium, Tapley’s work always falls into the category of being socio-political in some aspect. She sees the art scene as a proper catalyst for change, with their art being a factor in facilitating it. Much of Tapley’s portfolio revolves around femininity, thus leading to a body of work that focuses on the female form, reproductive rights, and the role of women in the South. Tapley says, “I feel led to make this work because of my own personal identity as a woman in the South, but I also feel led to make this work to open the conversation up.” The conversations she references are meant to be inviting rather than polarizing, especially among women. Her senior exhibition included a wide variety of vessels that represented different female forms and the desire for bodily autonomy, in a socio-politically charged statement. These differences in form, shape, and size are all meant to bridge gaps and spark up conversations of intersectionality and change as according to Tapley, “I chose to make my work inviting rather than polarizing in hopes that we can all find common ground amongst the issues we face as women.”

Tapley was born and raised in Irmo and found themself returning to the Midlands after finishing their undergraduate degree. The excitement of being a Gen Z artist in a growing community allured her, creating in them a sense of confidence in seeking out a “riskier” life, separate from the stable, 9-to-5 lifestyle other generations seem to encourage the next generation to pursue. “I think being a young artist in a growing community is a good thing,” says Tapley. “I’ve been able to gain a lot of opportunities in the last three months by being willing and able to help grow and foster the arts community here.”

Despite just starting their post-grad career, Tapley has already made great strides by becoming a resident artist at Gemini Arts and has been elected as the inaugural Gemini Arts President. The position comes with a heavy workload but is an optimal role to produce cool opportunities for her fellow artists in the studio. Making the effort to involve themself in the community is the kind of advice that Tapley offers any other young artist trying to participate in Columbia’s creative landscape. “My biggest advice is to apply to everything,” says Tapley. “The worst someone can tell you is no, and you never know where an opportunity will lead you.” Of course, Tapley also warns of the problems with saying “yes” to everything, and that it is okay to only pursue chances that are in your best interest and push your career further forward.

Tapley knows that the path of an artist is not always the easiest to take. Facing the reality of the “starving artist” narrative that many peers still harbor helped Tapley understand the importance of having true allies in your corner, ones that do support you and your craft unconditionally. Tapley says, “I feel that having people around me who question my career choices is just something that will always be an obstacle, so my way of overcoming this has been to unconditionally believe in myself.” Adopting an unwavering sense of confidence is key advice for anyone trying to break into the art scene, especially younger artists. Tapley has proven through their growing role at Gemini Arts and consistent booking of arts exhibitions that they have internalized key experiences and connections and utilized them to further their career.

In-progress art from Megan Tapley

They say, “I have learned to take feedback from those who have pursued a career in the arts, rather than giving too much attention to those who do not understand the life and career I have chosen to lead.”

Tapley is an active member of the Gemini ceramics community, and a staple in bringing awareness to the power of political commentary through art, especially for women of all ages.

From the print issue -- DEGENERATE ART PROJECTS I & II

“We proudly reclaim our art—protest art in defiance of the current administration’s attempts to remove, censure, and redefine art and its purpose—"Degenerate Art” in solidarity with both historical and contemporary artists who work or have worked to maintain our first amendment rights of freedom of speech and expression.”

Degenerate Arts—Entartete Kunst—I and II

By Cindi Boiter

 

Sometimes you just have to say what you’re thinking. You have to get it out there, one way or another. You have to express the fire of frustration, anger, and disappointment that can rage within you, as well as those still-hanging-on, deep-rooted beliefs that it can be better. It has been better. Our country has been better and can be better again. These sensations are complex and difficult to manage for all of us.

Luckily, we have artists.

Art is the tool we humans use to attempt to reconcile our profound and complicated responses to a world that doesn’t always give us the peace we crave. The peace we once took for granted. The process of creating art, be it dance, theatre, or music, visual art, or the written word, not only soothes the artist but it helps the recipient of the art, the viewer, the reader, feel seen and heard as they wrestle with the same conflicts an unbalanced world stirs inside them. It helps the recipient to better comprehend where we are right now, as a culture, and it helps us know that they we not alone.

This is why the Jasper Project originated the Degenerate Art Project in the summer of 2025 at Stormwater Studios, and it is why we’re bringing this unique project back in January 2026 at Gemini Arts.

Degenerate Arts II offers an open call for visual artists as well as performing or written word artists who want to propose programs that they would like Jasper to help implement.

Why do we call it “degenerate art?” In his essay printed in the current issue of Jasper Magazine, professor and Jasper Magazine poetry editor Ed Madden identifies the similarities between Hitler’s purge of art that did not represent the cultural ideology he promulgated—an ideology we now recognize as fascist—and the current administration’s attempts to dictate, control, and suppress art via a “politics of culture.” As Madden writes, in July 1937, “Nazi culture warriors had searched 32 of Germany’s public museums, determined to purge them of any work they considered undesirable because they were incompatible with Nazi values.” Hitler and Goebbels called the exhibition of this “undesirable” art “Degenerate Art,” or “Entartete Kunst” and juxtaposed it against an exhibition of predominantly representative art, of which he approved, and titled “Great German Art” or Grosse Deutsche Kunstausstellung.

We proudly reclaim our art—protest art in defiance of the current administration’s attempts to remove, censure, and redefine art and its purpose—"Degenerate Art” in solidarity with both historical and contemporary artists who work or have worked to maintain our first amendment rights of freedom of speech and expression.

CALL FOR ART FOR DEGENERATE ART PROJECT II EXTENDED UNTIL MIDNIGHT SATURDAY NOVEMBER 22ND!

I’ve always maintained that we don’t fully know the history of an event or a period of time until we know how the artists interpreted it. To that end, we created the first iteration of our Degenerate Arts project to provide a concerted platform for Columbia’s artists to express their responses to our country’s current socio-political situation. We also wanted to bring our local arts community together both physically and in spirit during this challenging time in order to support and encourage one another. And we hoped to preserve for posterity the SC Midlands’ artistic interpretation of this unique and disturbing time in history.

More than twenty visual artists participated in the Degenerate Arts Project in June. It was exciting to see the work, some of it satirical like Robert Airial’s cartoons of the president as a present-day Mussolini and  the same man removing the letters M and E from the word America to simply spell ME. Some was jarring and foreboding, like Eileen Blyth’s found art sculpture of a child’s old doll in a rusty oven. And some of it was incisive and incredibly current like Marius Valdes’ huge painting of a masked ICE agent with a word bubble reading “Just Following Orders.”

Pictured - poet Ed Madden stands before Marius Valdes’s painting “Just Following Orders” during a protest poetry reading in June 2025

Eileen Blyth - Artist

Portrait and assemblage artist Kirkland Smith says, “Being part of the Degenerate Arts project reminded me how powerful art can be in shaping the way we see one another.” She continues, “I appreciated the opportunity to portray a polyamorous group of four beautiful transgender women with quiet dignity, reclaiming a narrative that has been twisted for political reasons. The exhibition created a space for empathy in a world that is forgetting how to listen.”

Kirkland Smith pictured with her painting and her daughter at the Degenerate Art Project I in June 2025

While our first project focused on visual arts, poetry, a little music, and activism opportunities, we plan for our 2026 project to include additional arts disciples and we are excited to hear from dance, theatre, and more literary artists about what you’d like to contribute.

While the 2025 project lasted less than a week, the 2026 project will last three weeks, giving all of us ample time to be seen and heard.

And while the first project was structured as an invitational exhibition, Degenerate Arts II offers an open call for visual artists as well as performing or written word artists who want to propose programs that they would like Jasper to help implement.

For more information on how to submit a proposal for Degenerate Art II please see our CALL FOR ART at the Jasper Project website.

CALL FOR ART FOR DEGENERATE ART PROJECT II EXTENDED UNTIL MIDNIGHT SATURDAY NOVEMBER 22ND!

This article previously appeared in the fall 2025 issue of Jasper Magazine, on newsstands now.

Alex Ruskell & Les Merry Chevaliers Invite You to THE WORLD'S MOST HANDSOMEST ART RECEPTION

Join visual artist Alex Ruskell on Wednesday December 3rd at 6 pm at The Hallway: Community Art Gallery at 701 Whaley for the opening reception of his exhibition.

Special LIVE performance by Les Merry Chevaliers!

The artist Alex Ruskell with Les Merry Chevaliers