The Jasper Zeitgeist Award is presented to the participating and eligible artist in Jasper’s Degenerate Art Project II whose work best exemplifies the socio-political spirit of the times while also exhibiting proficiency in execution, originality, and strong engagement with the viewer.
The Jasper Zeitgeist Award will be presented at 7 pm on Saturday February 28th during Jasper’s Degenerate Art Project II Closing Party at Stormwater Studios, 413 Pendleton Street in Columbia SC.
The Jasper Project is indebted to our esteemed panel of Jasper Zeitgeist Award Jurors for sharing their expertise with us and the more than 40 participating artists in the Jasper Degenerate Art Project II.
They are Harriett Green, Peter Chametzky, and Xavier Blake.
Harriett Green
Harriett Green is a visual arts consultant with over 32 years of experience in arts administration. Green was the visual arts director for the SC Arts Commission from 1993-2021. Currently, she serves on the advisory committee for the 701 Center for Contemporary Art in Columbia, SC, which she co-founded in 2006. Additionally, she is a member of the board of trustees for the Columbia Music Festival Association, American Craft Council, and Central Carolina Community Foundation. Green has curated or co-curated exhibitions in both SC and New York City. From 1980-1988, she was the registrar and assistant curator at the Columbia Museum of Art. Subsequently, she was the project coordinator for collaborative efforts with other state arts agencies and arts organizations across SC for the two-year project, Views from the Edge of the Century. Furthermore, she produced a multi-state arts agency partnership exhibition entitled Thresholds: Expressions of Art & Spiritual Life, and for the SC Arts Commission 50th Anniversary Visual Arts & Craft Fellows exhibition in 2017-18.
Peter Chametzky
Peter Chametzky is Professor of Art History and has been on the SVAD faculty since 2012. His research focuses on 20th and 21st century German art and culture. From 1998 to 2012 he taught at Southern Illinois University, first as Associate Professor and then as Professor, and served as Director of the School of Art and Design on the Carbondale campus from 2008-12. He served as Director of the USC SVAD from January 2013 to January 2018. From 2022 to 2024 he served as Interim Director of USC’s School of the Earth, Ocean, and Environment. Previously, he taught at Adelphi University (1990-98), the School of Visual Arts, New York (1984-88), and in the School of Continuing Education at New York University (1986-88). He earned his Ph.D. in Art History from the City University of New York Graduate Center in 1991. His B.A., also in Art History, is from Cornell University. He has also studied in Freiburg iBr, and Stuttgart, Germany.
Xavier Blake
Xavier Blake has spent more than 20 years championing arts, culture, and public media through his work with SCETV, the Nickelodeon Theater, and WMHT in New York, collaborating with artists to amplify diverse voices and support emerging talent. A native of Bamberg, SC, he is a frequent INPUT Conference participant and holds a B.A. in Communication from Newberry College, a Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from the University of South Florida, and fellowships from the BIPOC Leadership Program and WESTAF Leaders of Color.
Photos courtesy of the subjects.