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.