Free Concert Series Returns to the Koger Center THIS FRIDAY with Black Nerd Mafia -- And What's Happening This Week at The Koger Center!

The Koger Center for the Arts is bringing back its free outdoor concert series, Live Outside, for a third consecutive year. This time, as opposed to Sunday evenings, the concerts will be on Friday evenings starting at 5 p.m., allowing you to kick off your weekend with a lowkey yet exciting concert! All concerts will be on the Koger Center Plaza Stage.

The season starts on Friday, August 22, with a star-studded lineup of South Carolina-based talent curated by Black Nerd Mafia. The lineup features performances from Dem Boyz Good, Death Ray Robin, Milah, JB SamSon, Dooozy, Kuntry, and Kenya Spinz.

Come early and check out The Jasper Project’s Gallery Space — The Nook — on the 2nd tier of the Koger Center Lobby. The featured artist for August is Lori Isom!

The full season schedule includes the following performances:

        September 5: Longtooth, featuring an opening act from The Transonics

         September 12: She Returns From War

         September 19: John Hollier

         October 3: J Roddy Walston & The Automatic Band

         October 10: The Ramblers

         October 17: Indianola

Concessions will be available for purchase at each concert. Grab a bite to eat and bring your chair or blanket to the Koger Center front lawn, and start your weekend right!

For more information about the Live Outside series and the Koger Center Presents programming, visit www.KogerCenterForTheArts.com.

COLUMBIA REPERTORY DANCE COMPANY RETURNS TO THE KOGER CENTER BLACK BOX AUGUST 16TH AND 17TH

August 16th  at 7:30pm and August 17th at 3pm

in the

Koger Center Black Box Theater 

Ticket price: $35

Cola Rep Dance Co returns to the Koger Center Black Box Theater, bringing professional dancers and choreographers together to explore the journey of becoming our better selves through times of transition. Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer Stephanie Wilkins is joined by creatives Christopher Aldeguer, Angela Gallo, Amanda Ling, and Olivia Waldrop as they guide the audience through an evening of dance aimed at finding what we are made of.

The organization continues their partnership with Lauren Sherr of Sherr Productions for lighting design and will once again transform the downstairs space of the Koger Center for the Arts into a venue for dance.

The program features nine works from six choreographers performed by a company of eleven dancers and apprentices. One new work, choreographed by Amanda Ling, exists as a second part to the “Fire in the Belly” dance film produced in 2024 with the Power Company Collaborative, and features a sound score that is an original composition made in collaboration with Chris Johnson. The creation of the sound was funded in part by a grant from the SC Arts Commission who receives funding from the NEA.

Wilkins’s work “The Only Way is Through” will be featured in ArtsUp SC’s inaugural Storyline Series Prologue Performance: New Chapters on August 22nd in Greenville, SC and “The In-Between Place,” which premiered at this year’s Live on Lincoln  event, was performed by the company as part of the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston in June.

This program is supported in part by H-tax funding from the City of Columbia and by the South Carolina Arts Commission which is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and collaborates in its work with the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and South Arts.
 
 


The Columbia Repertory Dance Company’s mission is to broaden the experience of
professional dance artists and patrons in Columbia, SC through multidisciplinary
collaborative performances year-round. We aim to retain the talents of South Carolina
dance artists and provide a spectrum of professional opportunities while inspiring and developing a broader and deeper understanding of dance in Columbia and surrounding
areas.


For more information and tickets, https://www.colarep.com/events  contact Managing Director Bonnie Boiter-Jolley; Phone: (803)622-6879 E-mail: colarepdanceco@gmail.com or follow on Facebook and Instagram
 

Koger Center and SoulHaus Partnering for a Brand-New Artist Talk Series

By Emily Moffitt

The Koger Center for the Arts and SoulHaus Gallery are excited to bring new arts programming to the Columbia community within the walls of the Gallery at the Koger Center. SoulHaus Sessions with Preach Jacobs is an upcoming series that features local creative minds from a variety of artistic disciplines in conversation with Jacobs.  The first session with Nikky Finney and Dre Lopez is scheduled for August 20, 2025 at 5 p.m. The evening will kick off with Preach Jacobs spinning vinyl, followed by a conversation with Finney. Lopez’s artwork will be on display easels throughout the gallery, and available for purchase.

Preach Jacobs

Preach Jacobs is a prolific DJ and two-time South Carolina Press Association Award Winner for column writing for “Fight the Power,” his column in the Free Times and Post & Courier Columbia. He is the owner of SoulHaus Gallery, and aims to bring the SoulHaus experience out of the former brick and mortar into the community, sharing the wonder of art through affordable and accessible means. He is the co-curator of the new SoulHaus Gallery at the Koger Center, a rotating exhibit space on the third floor of the Koger Center.

Nikki Finney

Nikky Finney was born in Conway, SC and raised in Sumter. She left South Carolina after high school with her eyes and heart set on becoming a writer. After living and studying primarily in the south, she moved to Oakland, CA then Lexington, KY to teach at the University of Kentucky. In 2013, she became Professor Emeritus at the University of Kentucky and accepted the John H. Bennett, Jr. Chair in Creative Writing and Southern Letters here at USC. She has authored five books and is on the Board of Directors for the Ernest A. Finney, Jr. Cultural Arts Center in Columbia. She is the author of several poetry collections including Head Off & Split, and On Wings Made of Gauze.

Dre Lopez

Dre Lopez has been working as a professional in the illustration and graphic design field for 14+ years as both a freelancer and in-house designer. He is self-taught, versatile, and can adapt his skillset to just about any requirements, be it from the subject matter or the type of client. He has worked with clients from all over the country and in Europe. His paintings and illustrations have been published in magazines and papers as well as shown in art exhibitions across the United States: Columbia, Charleston, Greenville, Charlotte, Asheville, Atlanta, Detroit, L.A., and Chicago, just to name a few!

Tickets are available on EventBrite here. Get yours today and don’t miss out on this extraordinary lineup!

Emily Moffitt is the visual arts editor for Jasper Magazine, secretary of the Jasper Project Board of Directors, Curator of Art for the Koger Center for the Arts.

Gallery Exhibit Reception Double Feature at the Koger Center

The Koger Center for the Arts has been dedicated to rejuvenating its building with brand new art on the walls during the lull of summer break. On Thursday, July 17, from 5:30 – 7 p.m., they are hosting a large art reception for the newest exhibits: in the Nook in collaboration with Jasper, Virginia Russo will be exhibiting brand new work during the month of July. In the Gallery at the Koger Center, the winners of their annual call for art are exhibiting in the group show “The Koger Center Project Winners’ Exhibition.” This exhibition features Kelley Pettibone, Staci Swider, Jordan Dantzler, Jean Lomasto, and Marion Mason. The reception is free and open to the public.

To learn more about the featured artists in the Koger Center Project Winners’ Exhibition, visit the Koger Center website here. This exhibit will be on display through September 12, 2025.

Kara Virginia Russo is a mixed media abstract artist working with watercolor, ink, collage, pencil, and embroidery to create works with layers of meaning and symbol. After recieving her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Converse College in Spartanburg, SC, she lived in Asia and Europe before returning with her husband and two children to settle in Greenville, SC. Her work portrays the essence of things, bypassing realism and portraying what cannot be seen.

Free Artist Talk with Jakeem Da Dream at the Koger Center - July 1st from 6 - 7 pm

Due to the success of our latest Third Thursday Art Night with Jakeem Da Dream, the artist is coming back to the Koger Center on July 1 to give a free artist talk! Join the Jasper Project on Tuesday from 6 to 7 p.m. to learn more about the artist, Afrofuturism, and what drives Da Dream to create.

Prints of Jakeem Da Dream’s art will be for sale along with all pieces included in the exhibit. Join us in the Nook for an exclusive educational opportunity that is not to be missed!

Follow Jakeem Da Dream (Dominique Hodge) on the following channels:

Instagram: @dadreamdesigns
Facebook: Da Dream Designs

Christopher Lane’s Whimsical Works Land in Jasper's Nook at the Koger Center

by Emily Moffitt

For the month of May and in celebration of Third Thursday, the Jasper Project’s Nook Gallery at the Koger Center welcomes the wonderous paintings of Christopher Lane on its walls. Celebrate the opening of this new exhibit by stopping by the opening reception on Thursday, May 15, from 5:30 – 7 p.m. Light refreshments will be served, and the event is free and open to the public.

Christopher Lane uses fantastic imagery to turn life experiences into visual stories that primarily focus on people and their relationships with one another. Lane is passionate about social justice to protect the environment and inhabitants of our planet, and paints about both as one can’t exist without the other. Employing flora and fauna, his paintings often feature historical, political, or spiritual narratives as he is passionate about these subjects. He is a modern surrealist and storyteller. Each painting can usually be broken down into several scenes yet are cohesive in theme. He uses vivid colors, lush symbolism, and double imagery to illustrate divisive topics, allowing viewers to see them through a new, perhaps softer lens.

He has created unity themed oil and acrylic paintings and presented them in multiple prominent group and solo exhibitions nationally and internationally. Lane’s work, Woodland Pond Owl, won first prize in the Fine Arts Division at the 2023 South Carolina State Fair. His current solo exhibition, “Circle of Life”, which illustrates how we are all interconnected, recently exhibited at the Sumter County Gallery of Art, and he is presently participating in numerous group exhibitions across the United States.

The Jasper Project’s Nook Gallery Space is on the second level of the Koger Center for the Arts at the Orchestra-Right entrance to Gonzales Hall. Lane’s work is for sale and may be purchased by scanning the QR code of the painting you’d like to see in your own home. Lane’s art will be exhibited through mid-June. To follow the exhibition schedule for the Nook go to the Jasper Project website and click on Galleries.

Philip Mullen: A Few of His Favorite Things -- Art at the Koger Center for the Arts

The Koger Center for the Arts is honored to present a new exhibit of work by Philip Mullen in the Gallery at the Koger Center. The exhibit, Philip Mullen: A Few of His Favorite Things, is a collection of paintings, sketches, and prints from various points in Mullen’s career. The exhibit will be on display from April 28 through June 30, 2025.

According to Mullen, “This is an exhibit of works that have never or rarely been shown. Many of the works are borrowed from private collections.” Some works have not been shown because the artist chose not to sell them previously. The works on paper were not exhibited in his commercial gallery exhibitions because the galleries preferred to sell the more expensive works on canvas. 

Two Rains was last exhibited in 1975 at the Whitney Museum in New York. Petaluma was such a good example of making the air and light stronger than the objects that the artist wanted it as a reference for future works. Bhutan and Bhutan #2 are a rarity because the artist only had access to two sheets of handmade paper from Bhutan. 

While the earliest work in the show was done in 1969 and the most recent in 2025, reflecting when the artist has lived in South Carolina, it is not really a retrospective because the period of time represented in the permanent collection at the Koger Center is only lightly covered.

In lieu of an opening reception, Mullen and the Koger Center for the Arts are offering guided gallery tours on May 13, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. and May 18, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. To sign up for one of these tours, call the Koger Center Box Office at (803) 251-2222. The Box Office is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m."

Jasper Welcomes Thomas Washington to Our Nook Gallery at the Koger Center

The Jasper Project and Koger Center are eager to welcome Thomas Washington to exhibit his work in the Nook for the month of March. We invite you to join us for the opening reception of his show on Thursday, March 20, from 5:30 – 7 p.m. The reception is free and open to the public.

Perhaps the most important pursuit of an artist is the facilitation of Escapism. Perhaps each project is the equivalent of a Narnian door...or that lamppost beyond, coaxing a wanderer into another realm. Thomas Washington, Jr. (thomas the younger) functions on that premise. Since his childhood, he has produced multitudinous works in this vein—from being hired out of high school to illustrate in a local graphic anthology, he has subsequently striven to bring stories in every medium; to breathe life into the fantastical by imbuing it with the familiar...and of course, to find fun and fulfillment along the way.

Recently, he took the leap of emerging in his local scene. He has sat on panels, joined the instructor roster for community arts centers, partaken in various shows, founded a website, and essentially joined the dialogue of Art’s Place in Society.

Congratulations to Jasper Project Board President Wade Sellers for Being Honored as a 2025 Recipient of the SC Governor's Award for the Arts!

CONGRATULATIONS WADE!

The SC Arts Commission announced today that the Jasper Project’s own president of our board of directors, Wade Sellers, is the 2025 recipient of the South Carolina Governor’s Award for the Arts in the individual artist category!

Wade Sellers (Artist Category) is an independent filmmaker in Columbia who produced his first film within months after graduating from USC in media arts. As the South Carolina Arts Commission’s first media intern, Sellers assisted with the Southeastern Media Institute where he later became an instructor. He became an in-demand lighting director and gaffer on commercials and corporate projects. His short film Gordon’s Ride was featured at the Independent Feature Film Festival. Sellers co-founded the non-profit Hybrid Films in 2002 to function as fiscal agent for underserved filmmakers in the region. Hybrid Films’ largest accomplishment was the Beg and Grovel Film Festival, the first true independent film festival in Columbia. His first Southeastern Emmy Award nomination came with South Carolinians in World War 2, a project he was commissioned to direct for South Carolina ETV. Sellers formed his production company, Coal Powered Filmworks, collaborating with local filmmakers and promoting independent filmmaking in South Carolina. In 2013 he founded the 2nd Act Film Project, helping 84 films be created by S.C. filmmakers solely for screening at 2nd Act. He has supervised more than 25 interns from USC and Benedict College since 2008, lectured and taught in the USC media arts department and was named a distinguished alumnus from the USC School of Visual Arts and Design in 2020. He has served as the board president for The Jasper Project since 2019.

Other 2025 honorees include Dr. Gail V. Barnes, professor of music education and director of the USC String Project. The organization Engaging Creative Minds which was established in 2012 as a private-public partnership resulting from a community planning process led by Charleston County School District; the College of Charleston; the cities of Charleston, Mt. Pleasant and North Charleston; the Charleston Regional Alliance for the Arts; the Youth Endowment for the Arts; and Crystal-Barkley Corporation. The Koger Center for the Arts at the University of South Carolina (Government Category) which supports exceptional art by hosting and presenting transformational experiences that enlighten, educate, entertain and inspire.  The Sumter County Gallery of Art (Organization Category), a non-profit, community-based institution formed in 1969, with a mission to present and promote diverse visual arts and artists, to increase knowledge and to provide art education opportunities to Sumter, Clarendon and Lee counties—an extensively rural region of the state, isolated from the major art centers in the U.S. by geography and economics. The SCGA is currently under the executive direction of Karen Watson.

Congratulations to all the award winners!

Jasper is delighted to share this news and we look forward to celebrating with Wade throughout 2025!

Columbia Classical Ballet presents Life Chance 2025 under the direction of Joseph Phillips!

It’s the time of year true ballet lovers eagerly wait for — LifeChance, a one-of-a-kind multi-dancer, multi-company performance so unique that dancers from all over the world clammer to claim their spots on the stage — is coming up on Saturday March 15th at 7":30 at the Koger Center for the Arts!

Columbia Classical Ballet has produced the unique dance benefit gala, LifeChance, to raise awareness and funds for a wide variety of charitable causes for over two and a half decades. LifeChance was originally created by Columbia Classical Ballet Founder Radenko Pavlovich, with the very first LifeChance benefitting the war-torn children of Bosnia, during their troubling conflict over two and a half decades ago! The LifeChance gala brings together some of the best dancers in the world, to share their gifts through a one-night only live performance at the Koger Center for the performing Arts in Columbia, South Carolina.

This year, under the direction of Columbia native, Joseph Phillips, the performance promises to be better than ever. Among the dancers performing are from the American Ballet Theatre, Léa Fleytoux, Jarod Curley, Elisabeth Beyer, and Takumi Miyaki. From San Francisco Ballet, Sasha Mukhamedov and Ruben Citores, and from Ballet Eloelle Grandiva, one of the few all-male comedic dance companies in the world, Walter Battistini and Jonathan Mendez. Joining these stellar performers will be Sakura Oka, previously of Columbia City Ballet, as well as the current company of Columbia Classical Ballet. However, with so many world class international dancers eager to perform in this renown performance, there’s no telling who the audience might find on stage!

As part of Columbia Classical Ballet’s greater mission of outreach, community involvement, and exposure to the artform of ballet, LifeChance gala tickets, like the company’s regular season program tickets, are offered at a fraction of what they would otherwise cost.

Columbia Classical Ballet is excited to welcome Joseph Phillips as its new Artistic Director. Phillips, a celebrated international dancer and choreographer, returns to his hometown of Columbia, S.C., to lead the company into a new era of artistic excellence and dancer development. He assumes the position following the recent departure of former Artistic Director Brooklyn Mack, who replaced Pavlovich a few years before.​

Often referred to as “the Golden Boy of Ballet” due to his winning more Gold Medals in prestigious international competitions than any American male danseur, Phillips brings a wealth of experience and acclaim to the role. He has graced the stages of renowned companies such as San Francisco Ballet, Miami City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet Manilla, and Mariinsky Ballet, Primorsky Stage, where he became one of the few American dancers to ever achieve the rank of principal dancer. He is also widely recognized as an esteemed teacher and choreographer, and currently serves as Artistic Director of El Camino Ballet.​

Deeply rooted in Columbia, where his journey in dance began, Phillips' first ballet school was Columbia Ballet School under the tutelage of Anita Ashley. His first male ballet teacher, Anthony Hampton, a South Carolina native, instilled in him the belief that ballet is for everyone, regardless of gender. His passion for ballet blossomed further when he performed in his first Nutcracker with the Columbia Music Festival Association. He continued to hone his craft, training with Stanislav Issaev at the esteemed South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities in Greenville, South Carolina. Throughout his career, Phillips has maintained a strong connection to his home state, notably as a guest artist with South Carolina Ballet. Over the past two decades, he has also continued to work with the Columbia Music Festival Association, Columbia Ballet School, and Carolina Ballet.​

"I'm excited to bridge my work with El Camino Ballet and Columbia Classical Ballet, creating opportunities for both companies to expand their reach and share their artistry," saysPhillips. "I envision bringing the unique creations of Columbia Classical Ballet to the West Coast, showcasing the talent and creativity that thrives in my hometown."​

"I'm honored to return to my roots and lead Columbia Classical Ballet into its next chapter," says Phillips. "Columbia holds a special place in my heart, and I'm deeply committed to nurturing the talents of our dancers and creating a company that is a source of pride for Columbia and a vibrant contributor to the international dance community."​

In recognition of his contributions to the arts, Joseph Phillips has been awarded ‘THE KEY TO THE CITY,’ declaring July 17 as Joseph Phillips Day in Columbia, South Carolina.

Gerard Erley's Art at the Koger Center through March 9th

by Liz Stalker

There are still a little over two weeks left to check out Gerard Erley’s breathtaking show, “Sights Unseen,” at the Koger Center’s Gallery! This exhibition, which ends on Sunday, March 9th, features Erley’s stunning landscapes in oil paint, which employ inventive use of light and bold color so effectively that to witness them is a nearly spiritual experience. Jasper was lucky enough to interview Erley, whose responses to our questions were so insightful that they demanded to be presented as written.

Jasper: When and how did you get started as an artist?

Erley: I was drawing (scribbling?) before I could walk. Soon I was imitating the forms my eyes took in - trees, buildings, people. I feel (from where I stand today) that I had a compulsion to explore the world around me through the process of drawing. I came to know the physical nature of things through this process, and was soon aware of the emotional impact these images could have when translated into an artistic form. My precocious skills were noted and rewarded in school from kindergarten on. I believe my path as an artist was set at that point.

Jasper: What draws you to oil painting as a medium?

Erley: The majority of art images I saw reproduced as a kid were oil paintings. The medium survived the test of time for good reason. The quality and variety of the paintings attest to that. The quality was expressed in the exquisite craft and power of the artworks which amazed and delighted me. This instilled in me a strong reverence for art history, and I delved into the books I found in the library like a pig rooting for truffles.

Regarding the variety of the medium, oil paint can be slathered on the canvas in emotional outbursts or built up in painstaking layers in a search to express the inexpressible. It seemed every physical texture could be mimicked. At the same time oil painting could hint at something far beyond the perceivable.

Jasper: The use of light in your work has a huge impact on the tone--is there anything in particular you consider when deciding the role that light will play in your pieces?

Erley: I once was concerned mainly with the forms that light revealed, how light could sculpt objects, pulling them out of space. I have since come to know light itself as my true subject. I am particularly intrigued by light's duality - how it can both reveal and obscure form. It washes over all and becomes the main actor on the stage of my canvas. I am especially drawn to light that is transitional and fleeting - the pulsing warmth of sunset, the mysterious coolness of moonlight, the shafting radiance through a clouded sky. I employ these various types of light to express my changing emotions. Nature offers a vocabulary of visual equivalents which I use to express these sentiments.

Jasper: Your website states that you prefer to paint "from memory and intuition" as opposed to using photo reference. Why do you feel this way? And how do you think this might impact the concept of "realism," thinking of "realism" as both an art style and a reflection of reality?

Erley: A lot of artists are enslaved by photo images. They think what is shown is reality. But this so-called reality is predigested. The camera has determined the composition and the range of values and color. Things are distorted through the lens.

One antidote is the option of painting from life, experiencing nature firsthand in all its glorious variety. This is a wonderful way to learn the vocabulary of art without  imposing filters. Having followed this approach for a number of years, I found myself disillusioned with the process. Although I could produce a reasonable imitation of nature, there was a certain depth I felt lacking. One can get lost in all the details of the natural world and be unable to see the forest for the trees, so to speak. To quote Pierre Bonnard, “It’s not a matter of painting life, it’s a matter of giving life to painting.”

I felt the need to engage another part of myself in the process of art making. Therefore, I chose to work largely intuitively in the studio. And while I incorporate memory, it is never a one-to-one relationship ("I saw that, so I’ll paint that”). It is a loose recollection of various visual impressions. In the end, I believe the inner, emotional life has as much, if not more, validity than the purely perceptual. For me, that is where true reality resides.

Jasper: You mention poetry several times in your artist statement--if you had to pair a piece from this exhibition with a poet, who might you choose?

Erley: I am referring to a visual poetry rather than a literary one. But seeking an equivalent in the realm of words, perhaps Ralph Waldo Emerson fits the bill. He says so much with so little. For him, the divine can be found in the everyday. My hope is that my paintings too point to something greater than the merely observable, taking you to a place more felt than seen.

Be sure to stop by the Koger Center by March 9th to see Erley’s work for yourself! You certainly won’t regret it.

The Jasper Project Welcomes Toni Elkins to The Nook Gallery at Koger Center for the Arts this Third Thursday

The Jasper Project is excited to welcome Toni Elkins to our Nook Gallery at the Koger Center of the Arts this week. The exhibition will run from this Thursday, February 20th until the week of the third Thursday in March when the work of our featured artist for March, Thomas Washington, will be installed.

Toni M. Elkins is a Columbia-based artist who was educated at Boston University and the University of Georgia. She is a member of the Trenholm Artist Guild and the 2023 recipient of the Missouri Watercolor International: J. Richeson Award and a “Top 50 Winner of the artsfortrumpcoalition.com,” the artist says. In 2014 she won the Clark Ellefson Merit Award and in 2013 the Susie and Caroll Heyward Purchase Award, both from the SC State Fair, among other accolades throughout her life.

Elkins says, “My work has taken on a whole new meaning since the death of my husband. I find I am more introspective and more interested in my environment. I actually LOOK instead of SEE. I examine our world in a different way, and I hope to make positive changes in this world through my art.”

Elkins is sponsoring her own personal opening reception for this exhibition at the Nook Gallery at the Koger Center for the Arts on Thursday, February 20th from 5:30 – 7 pm. She is planning to bring her own bartender and beverages for this event. The Jasper Project extends it’s gratitude to the staff of Koger Center for the Arts and Jasper board secretary and Jasper Magazine visual arts editor, Emily Moffitt, for working with the artist on this unique situation.

ESSAY: The Free Times 2024 Power List, A Response by Cindi Boiter

The yearly designation of the Midlands’ most powerful people, provided by our friends at the Post and Courier’s Free Times, always creates ambivalent feelings for me, as well as others, I’ve been told. This year, I was happy to play a small part of the nomination process and see recognition given to many of the folks I nominated. But, as always, I was perplexed by the concept of the project and what its purpose is.

The Free Times Power List 2024, published December 18th, seeks to recognize 30 of the Midlands’ most influential arts, food, and cultural leaders. The criteria for acknowledgement are growth, innovative programming, and bringing national attention to the area, like Lula Drake’s Tim Gardner whose rightful place on the list was established when he won Columbia’s first ever James Beard award and the Kiki and Tyrone Cyrus team at Kiki’s Chicken and Waffles, who also received acclaim in the James Beard competition. Robbie Robinson of City Limits Barbeque was recognized, as well.

Clearly, restaurant owners who frequently put their own financial livelihoods on the line are deserving of praise, especially those like Kristian Niemi who is committed not just to his patrons but also to the local farmers who provide the food for his restaurants. Restaurants are essentially small businesses but they can have a large impact on their communities by providing gathering spaces where we all feed both our appetites and our culture. The team at Transmission Arcade is a great example of a group seeing a city need and addressing it head-on with fun and innovative programming. But missing from this year’s list are the owners of coffee houses, like Greg Slattery and Sandra Moscato of Curiosity Coffee Bar, who provide places where patrons gather to scheme and collaborate on projects that make us better. Slattery and Moscato are absolute warriors for the health and care of their corner of Columbia. Jasper honors them.

Some of the most deserving recipients of this year’s honors were organization leaders like Nate Terracio (Koger Center for the Arts) and Kristin Cobb (Harbison Theatre) who have used their pivoting power to open their stages to local artists and arts organizations and they have done so without slapping their names on the logos of the organizations they represent. Of  late, we’ve seen free concerts and performances on Koger’s new stages and in their lobby. Harbison Theatre has welcomed many local artists and arts groups onto their stage. And both theatres are the homes to Jasper Gallery sites where we are privileged to present the work of exclusively Midlands area artists.

Kudos to Free Times for shining a light on the work and generous spirits of a nice handful of local artists like Ija Monet, Terrance Henderson, Michaela Pilar Brown, Sean Rayford, and the unofficial mayor of the Congaree Vista, Clark Ellefson. The list of powerful artists could have included dozens of names, but I am thankful for what we got and honor those recipients with pride and admiration.

It was also encouraging to read that Dr. Bobby Donaldson was included in this year’s list as perhaps the most deserving recipient of the honor. Donaldson’s accomplishments represent the best example of an individual working for the greater good without asking for anything in return. I’d love to see more folks like Donaldson recognized for their visions for a better Columbia and a better South Carolina.

But how does one separate and compare the work of rectifying history, like Donaldson does,  with that of making menus and making art? Food, arts, and culture, the three areas where Free Times looked for leaders, are overlapping zones in the Venn diagram of community life with food and art being among the most meaningful contributors to culture.

I have other questions.

Does a Power Person have to be well-paid or even paid at all for their work? Where does volunteerism come into play? I ask this because, and I’m only a little tongue-in-cheek here, I personally know an entire board of directors who work the equivalent of part-time jobs and more to support their organizations and the people they serve. I bet you do, too, and I bet you’re not even thinking of the same organization I am. (Yes, I’m unapologetically thinking of the Jasper Project team and how much I love to sing their praises for the tireless efforts they make to nurture the arts.)

Does the Power Person have to do the work themselves or does the work of the minions below them count as their contribution, too? I mean there’s a lot of dollar signs represented by some of this year’s power people. A lot of fur coats, fancy cars, and trips to Mexico, too. Can a Power Person do the exact same job year after year after year and still be recognized? Does it matter if the organization a Power Person represents is a frequent advertiser with the Post and Courier? I hope not, but I’ve heard that rumor, too. And while we’re at it, should a Power Person be recognized for essentially doing the job they are paid to do? How much money do some of these 501c3 Power People make anyway and how much of their salaries comes from the pockets of Soda Citizens?

Finally, what exactly is the point of the Power List? It harkens me back to school days when popularity was weirdly the goal for so many people. I know few people who didn’t suffer at least a little angst about whether they would be accepted or rejected by their peers. I’d like to think most of us have grown out of that by now. Singling out individuals who, if you followed the rules of the popularity pecking order, were even better than their peers via projects like “senior superlatives,” which I see as the seed of projects like the Power List, was an even more stark way of separating the bad from the good and the good from the better. That said, I married a “Most Likely to Succeed” high school senior superlative recipient and, what can I say? He was and is, so what do I know?

To those who deservingly found themselves on this ostensibly elite list of individuals, congratulations and keep it going. We are genuinely proud of and happy for you. To those who found themselves there whether they deserved to be or not, this means we’re watching you and what you do with your power even more. And to those who were completely overlooked, go forward with the knowledge that  your work matters if it matters to you. Arbitrary lists and accolades are less important than the people you affect with your talents, generosity of spirit, and good work.

~~~

Merry Christmas from all of us at the Jasper Project. We love what we do, and we’re trying to grow better without growing bigger so we can stay true to our mission to be public servants of the arts in the greater SC Midlands Community. Thank you for your support and thank you for reading Jasper Magazine and Jasper Online!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

(Full Disclosure: Kristin Cobb, executive director of Harbison Theatre at MTC is a board member of the Jasper Project Board of Directors. There is no financial exchange related to the profits made for artists or Jasper between any of Jasper’s Gallery sites and the businesses that host them. Also, this column was offered to Free Times as an installment in this writer’s regular column, Further Consideration, but was pleasantly and respectably passed on)

An Evening of Art – Opening Receptions for Exhibits by Janet Swigler and Christina Clark at the Koger Center

By Emily Moffitt, Visual Arts Editor, Jasper Magazine

Join us on Friday, November 22, from 5:30 – 7 p.m. for two art receptions at the Koger Center for the Arts. In the Nook on the second floor of the Koger Center, Jasper Galleries welcomes Janet Swigler. On the ground floor of the Koger Center, walls will be adorned with the work of Christina Clark. Both artists work with abstract forms and subject matter, yet in different ways that engage the viewer.

Janet Swigler moved around the United States often at a young age due to her Air Force family upbringing, but this had a beneficial impact on her adaptability, independence, and resourcefulness. She spent several of her pre-teen years living in Japan, which offered cultural aesthetics and philosophies that continue to influence her art and life. This, along with her musical training and experience in music education, created a synergy of artistic disciplines and ideas that transferred easily to the work she creates. Sewing has been a lifelong interest of hers, and her quilt-making studies under Nancy Crow helped her to reach where she is today.

Christina Clark, originally from Austria, descended from a family of artists and musicians. To this day, she surrounds herself with the joyous energy of visual arts and music through her own personal artistic endeavors and her philanthropic service to the University of South Carolina School of Music. Clark carefully considers the viewer’s experience when she starts to put pastel to paper. Recently, Clark created a series of pieces that served as companions to the Parker Quartet’s Beethoven Quartet cycle. Clark embraces the conversation that music can have with her work and is honored to be able to keep that conversation going through her donations.

Both receptions are free and open to the public. They precede the sold-out performance of Koger Center and ColaJazz present: Live in the Lobby Jazz: The Music of Miles Davis. There’s a lot going on in the Vista that night, including a concert at Colonial Life Arena, so be mindful of parking and get to the receptions early!

Jenny Thompson Leads Collaborative “Cut-A-Thon" for Hurricane Relief at the Koger Center

By Emily Moffitt, visual arts editor Jasper Magazine

Have you waited too long since your last haircut? Have you been looking for an opportunity to help out your fellow Carolinians in the wake of Hurricane Helene?

You have the chance to do both at the same time on November 7, from 11 am to 6 pm on the Koger Center Plaza Stage. Jenny Thompson, owner of Bombshell Beauty Studio who shares her heart with both Columbia and Asheville, has led the charge to gather local Columbia-based hair stylists to offer “pay-what-you-can" haircut services, with all payments and proceeds going towards relief programs based in Western North Carolina. The highlighted relief programs are BeLoved Asheville, River Arts District Artists, and ARG Rigging & Rescue. Upon receiving a fresh and new haircut, guests are able to pick which fund they’d like their payment to go towards.

The event will take place rain or shine, but in the event of inclement weather, the haircutting services will move inside to the Koger Center lobby. You can find more information about the event on the Koger Center’s social media, or Jenny Thompson’s instagram (@curlndye)

For more information about the relief funds, check out these links:

BeLoved Asheville

River Arts District Artists

ARG Rigging & Rescue

Jasper Galleries: Ellen Yaghjian, The Newest Nook Resident by Emily Moffitt

As a member of the Vista Guild Association, the Koger Center for the Arts is proud to partner with the Jasper Project in Third Thursday Art Night. A different artist is featured every month in our rotating gallery, The Nook, with an opening reception on the month's Third Thursday. September 2024's featured artist is Ellen Yaghjian. The opening reception is on September 19, from 5:30 – 7 p.m. on the second floor of the Koger Center.

Ellen Emerson Yaghjian was born in Atlanta, GA, and grew up in Larchmont, NY. She received a BFA in sculpture from the University of Georgia and an MMA in media arts from the University of South Carolina. For ten years, Ellen worked in television production, first with South Carolina Educational Television and later as an Associate Producer at Turner Broadcasting. In 1990, she shifted her focus to sculpture. She began by designing commissioned based copper fountains for outdoor gardens and indoor offices across the southeast. In 2000, Ellen began creating figurative works with copper, hammering and heating the metal to produce sculpture reflective of the human body. She enjoys the warmth of copper and the colors that emerge through her process. During the pandemic Ellen took up painting in acrylic. Ellen resides in Columbia, SC with her husband, David.

Ellen’s Artist Statement:

“The focus of my art practice is to bring my attention to one place in time and to explore the ideas that come to mind. Reflecting on the grace and strength of the female form, I am drawn to the medium of copper. I use heat and my hammer to move and shape the metal into subtle lines of the human body. Observations of landscapes and natural elements lead me to my paints. I simplify 3 dimensional elements on paper and panels and in the process find gratitude and wholeness.”

If you can’t make it to the reception, the art will be up through mid-October, and can be viewed from 9-5 Monday through Friday, and an hour prior to any Koger Center event. You can follow Ellen’s work on Instagram (@ellenyaghjianart) and her website (ellenyaghjian.com).

SCETV and USC Press Celebrates Jazz Legend Marian McPartland with Book Launch Event at Koger Center for the Arts


South Carolina ETV and Public Radio (SCETV), in partnership with the University of South Carolina Press, is proud to announce a special event celebrating the launch of Shall We Play That One Together: The Life and Art of Jazz Piano Legend Marian McPartland, a biography by acclaimed jazz historian Paul de Barros. The event will take place on Oct. 1 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Gallery on the second floor of the Koger Center for the Arts in Columbia.

This unique evening will feature live music from a jazz trio led by Mark Rapp of ColaJazz, light refreshments, hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet author Paul de Barros, purchase signed copies of the book, and delve into the life and legacy of one of jazz’s most influential figures- Marian McPartland.

Paul de Barros, known for his extensive work in jazz, has crafted a compelling narrative that chronicles McPartland’s journey from the British novelty circuit to becoming a revered jazz pianist and the voice of jazz in America. Shall We Play That One Together: The Life and Art of Jazz Piano Legend Marian McPartland explores McPartland’s 30-year tenure on her NPR show, Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz, where she introduced tens of thousands of listeners to jazz music through interviews and performances with legendary artists.

The event will also mark the kickoff of a new season of ColaJazz Presents, a series dedicated to showcasing the rich jazz culture in South Carolina, featuring the ColaJazz Trio.


Shall We Play That One Together? Book Launch and Jazz Celebration

October 1, 2024, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

The Gallery, 2nd Floor, Koger Center for the Arts, 1051 Greene Street, Columbia, SC

Free admission; books available for purchase onsite

This event is free and open to the public.



The University of South Carolina Press is a leading academic publisher, dedicated to advancing knowledge and scholarship through the publication of outstanding books across a range of disciplines, including history, literature, and the arts.



CALL for Visual Artists -- Jasper is Accepting Applicants for the 2025 Jasper Galleries Series

We’re looking for a few good artists!

It’s already time for Jasper to plan our schedule for the 2025 Jasper Galleries Series and we want to hear from YOU! Just follow the instructions on the handy graphic above to let us know you are interested in sharing your work with the Jasper Project and your adoring fans.

In addition to our online 24/7 Tiny Gallery, Jasper has gallery spaces at Motor Supply Bistro, Sound Bites Eatery, The Nook at the Koger Center for Arts, the Lobby Gallery at Harbison Theatre, and at the Sidewalk Gallery in the Meridian Building Windows at Washington and Sumter Streets in downtown Columbia.

Application Deadline is October 15th.

We’re looking forward to hearing from YOU!

Special thanks to the good people at Motor Supply Bistro, Sound Bites Eatery, Koger Center for the Arts, Harbison Theatre, and the Meridian Building for supporting Columbia’s visual arts community by opening their walls to the Jasper Project for programming. We encourage you to support these businesses with your patronage. And if the walls need some love in your place of business, please contact our

Galleries Manager, Christina Xan at cxan@JasperProject.org,

to make plans for a Jasper Galleries arrangement custom created for you and your clientele.