Jasper’s Degenerate Art Project II is a wrap!

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.

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.

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***

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

In the spring 2025 issue of Jasper Magazine the authors and bio-notes for our selected poems were transposed. The poem Children of the Sun, though attributed to Li Hubbard, was actually written by Ivan Segura, and the poem Do Not Tell Me to Flee, though attributed to Ivan Segura, was actually written by Li Hubbard.

Both poems are printed and correctly identified below and will also appear in the fall 2025 issue of Jasper Magazine with the correct attributions. The Jasper Project sincerely apologizes to both poets for this error.

Do Not Tell Me To Flee

by Li Hubbard

This experiment in necrophilia

we call the South

is my home

Here I have debts to pay

trans people to love

fights to lose

ropes to loose

Dialects and state

lines cannot separate my veins

from the delta of blueish blood

The oaks take root in my marrow

the fronds blossom from my pores

the tides stain me red

Borders carved in human skin

a queasy commitment

so easily mistaken for butterflies

Placing my nakedness in the fresh

turned, spit

spotted soil

sinking into the mud

It is the most natural thing

we are so good at dying slow

down here

Li Hubbard is a trans writer, museum guide, and server hailing from Florida. He co-runs Queer Writers of Columbia, a LGBTQ+ collective of creatives building community around craft. Li loves to gab about art and the local coffee scene. Follow him on Instagram: @li.hubbardd | @queerwriterscolumbia

Children of the Sun

by Ivan Segura

They say we don't know

what we want

that we all come from

a faraway land

That we are brown

and speak in tongues

and are in places

we don't belong

We all arrive

for different reasons

We are here to expand

and to become

We come for work

and also love

We are here for fate

or just because

We are the children

of the sun

we roam around

all as one

this ancient land

to all belongs

We move with freedom

stay strong

Are we really a nation of immigrants?

I ponder

Are we not a nation of immigrants?

I wonder

We are the children of the sun

Where we are is where we belong.

Ivan Segura serves as the Director of Multicultural Affairs at the SC Commission for Minority Affairs. He is also the Executive Director of Palmetto Luna Arts, a non-profit organization fostering Latino arts and culture in SC. He has over 20 years of experience in community activism, arts advocacy, and grassroots leadership for Latinos in SC.

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

Jasper’s Degenerate Art Project II is a wrap!

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!

ERRATUM -- Selected Poetry Authors and Bionotes Transposed in Spring 2025 Jasper