CALL FOR ARTS at Richland Library

Richland Library is seeking submissions for our Spring Pop Up Art Shows. The exhibition series will be held March through May 2023.

Pop-up Art Shows are intended to highlight the work of local BIPOC, LBGTQ+ or otherwise underserved artists and their unique personal ties to the specific communities where the libraries are located. They are looking for work that speaks to the community's roots, culture and citizenry.

Up to 2 artists will be selected to exhibit on each of the following dates: 

  • Saturday, March 11 from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. at Richland Library Wheatley

  • Thursday, April 6 from 6 - 9 p.m. at Boyd Plaza *This will be a Special Exhibition in partnership with the First Thursday on Main event.

  • Saturday, May 20 from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. at Richland Library Blythewood

The application deadlines are Wednesday, March 1 to exhibit at Richland Library Wheatley, First Thursday on Main and Saturday, April 15 to exhibit at Richland Library Blythewood.

If you're interested in sharing your work samples, please review the submission guidelines and complete the application by clicking here.

Conceived and co-organized by local visual artist Jeff Rivers, this project seeks to expand the social and economic participation of underserved artists and communities.

Learn more about Jeff by clicking here.

For questions, please contact Kimberlei Davis at 803-351-5616 or kdavis@richlandlibrary.com.

 

A Message from Cindi: 37 Issues of Jasper Later and Thanks for Everything

Thank You!

This is the image that popped up in my Facebook memories this morning.

It’s a bundle shot of our second issue of Jasper Magazine released this week in 2011. The cover art is by Thomas Crouch and was designed by Heyward Sims, our art director when we started Jasper Magazine. A small magazine, it featured a piece on Crouch, one on Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School—Ashleigh Rivers was the president of the Columbia chapter, our centerfold was Chris Bickel, articles on Dre Lopez, Caroline Lewis Jones, Bobby Craft, Lee Ann Kornegay, and a story about the 2011 Biennial written by Jeffrey Day. Mayor Steve Benjamin wrote a guest editorial at the back of the book in which he praised the opening of the new Tapp’s Arts Center on Main Street. His editorial was accompanied by an assemblage of the mayor created by Kirkland Smith.

Sigh.

Time goes by so fast.

When this mag came out I had just turned 53 and was realizing that my 50s might very well be the best decade of my life. It was. And for that I am grateful. I’m even more thankful that, 11 years later, someone stills needs me and feeds me now that I’m 64. And I’m particularly thankful for the artists, staff, board, readers, and supporters who made this most recent issue of Jasper—released on Friday night with a lovely little soiree at Kristian Niemi’s Bourbon Courtyard—possible.

This is a photo of artist Wilma Ruth King by Brad Martin holding the image our art director Brian Harmon made into the cover of the magazine we just released.

This is a big fat magazine full of stories about Columbia-based artists and the films they’ve made—Thaddeus and Tanya Wideman-Davis, Monifa Lemons, Dustin Whitehead and his USC crew, Arischa Connor and her list of TV credits, a big piece on jazz by Kevin Oliver, a centerfold story written by Will South about neighbor artist from Conway, Jim Arendt, and another by South on the Elizabeth Catlett exhibition at the CMA. There’s poetry by Monifa and Jonathan Butler, a review of Carla Damron’s new book by Eric Morris, smaller pieces on exciting people and innovative projects—like Amy Brower, Jamie Blackburn, Seitu Amenwahsu, Steven Chapp and Jerred Metz, and Libby Campbell, record reviews of Jump Little Children and Todd Mathis and really, too many subjects to mention here.

I am thankful for this issue of Jasper Magazine and all it represents. An evolving and maturing art community full of grown-ass people who are living the lives they always imagined they’d live, or better. Some of them are stars. Some of them go on brief rides on starlight. And some enjoy basking in the combined and accumulated glow they and their colleagues in the community emit when they make their art and see it received by their fellow humans.

All of this is good.

I’m also thankful for all of you who came out this week to help Jasper celebrate by joining us at Vista Lights.

Jasper Project Board President Wade Sellers at Vista Lights Columbia may, in fact, be Santa.

I’m thankful for all of you who joined us Friday night at Bourbon to welcome this new issue of Jasper to the world.

This is me with Kimber Carpenter and her mom Pat Gillam - both artists - at the Fall 2022 magazine release reception on Friday, November 18th.

I’m thankful for our sponsors, who so generously continue to support Jasper because they recognize it as a gift of art given to the community—not necessarily as just a method media to get the word out about what they alone have to offer. We had 16 sponsors back when issue #2 came out. This issue, we have only 6 — the Palmetto Opera, who have an upcoming concert of Madame Butterfly on January 29th; Harbison Theater who will welcome Tom Papa on January 20th along with a show of Michael Krajewski’s work and who are currently showing an exhibition of David Yaghjian’s work, both sponsored by the Jasper Project Galleries; Trustus Theatre, which opens Hurricane Diane on December 2nd and Mr. Burns, A Post Electric Play on January 20th; CMFA who hosted the Jasper Project’s Play Right Series performance in August; arts activist Eric Tucker’s KW Palmetto Realty, and our truly beloved Columbia Museum of Art who has advertised with us and sponsored us since the very beginning.

I’m thankful for our Jasper Guild Members who, with incredible generosity, trust the Jasper Project with their funding to create a magazine, a literary journal, a film festival, and more, knowing that every penny they give goes right back out to the artists, with no one on our end being paid for their volunteer talent and energy.

Thank YOU for indulging me in this lengthy message, and for reading Jasper Magazine and supporting the many facets of The Jasper Project. From all of our houses, to all of yours —

Happy Thanksgiving,

Cindi

~~~

Coming Up from Jasper

December 1st - First Thursday at Sound Bites Eatery with Lindsay Radford Wiggins - 6 pm

December 11th - Reception for David Yaghjian at Harbison Theater - 2:30 pm

December 15th - Santa Crawl with Jasper at the Art Bar - 7 pm

CALL for PLAYS - Play Right Series - deadline December 31st, 2022

University of South Carolina and Local Cinema Studios is Seeking Feature & Pilot Scripts for Production

Do you have a feature or pilot script that you can’t wait to see come to life? Are you passionate about collaboration and mentorship? We have a million dollar (okay, realistically ~$100k opportunity) for you!

Local Cinema Studios, with support from the South Carolina Film Commission and the University of South Carolina, is producing their second project in South Carolina during Summer 2023.

They are searching for feature length and pilot scripts that can be shot in roughly six weeks, bringing on professional crews, student interns, mentors, and community members to come together on a professional production.

Entries are due Nov. 1, 2022. View the requirements and submit your script here.

This is an annual initiative that kicked off in 2021 when UofSC and their production team made a feature film called HERO. According to Local Cinema Studios, they see the low budget as an opportunity to problem solve and use passion and grit to get things done on set. They'll also have goals to raise more depending on the script.

Please reach out to Dustin at dwhitehead@localcinemastudios.com with any questions.

CALL for Jasper First Thursday/Sound Bites Artists

Since April, Jasper has been hosting a monthly artist at the restaurant with an opening on First Thursday evenings. Jasper schedules the artist and promotes the art and artist via social media and on the Jasper Project website. We manage any sales and ask that 25 percent of sales go to sustaining Jasper. (As you may remember, Jasper has no paid staff so 100 percent of any income goes directly into service of the Midlands arts community.) The remaining 75 percent goes to the featured artist.

We’re scheduling the next few months of artists-in-residence at Sound Bites Eatery whose work will show throughout the month with a grand opening reception on the first Thursday of the month you are chosen to show.

The gallery space is very small, so we recommend smaller 2-D pieces and easily affordable price points. However, additional art & prints may be brought in for opening night only.

We’re looking for artists whose work is small to medium in format, bright, colorful, and whimsical and is offered at a modest price point.

Right now, we are scheduling for November, December, January, February, and March.

 If interested, please send three examples of the work you’d like to feature along with their prices to JasperProjectColumbia@gmail.com.

Call for Scripts!

From our friends at Local Cinema —

Local Cinema Studios, a local film production company committed to bridging the gap from academia to industry, is launching their second annual Get On Set initiative with the support of the South Carolina Film Commission and the University of South Carolina. Part of the launch includes a script call for the upcoming Summer 2023 project.

“We are excited to bring a screenwriter’s vision to life,” says Dustin Whitehead, Artistic Director of Local Cinema Studios and UofSC Assistant Professor, Theatre and Dance. “Get on Set is about pairing industry professionals with local students to tell a story we believe in. We demonstrated last summer with the feature film Hero that this initiative can work in South Carolina and we are excited to do it again. Local Cinema is all about finding the homegrown stories of the South and bringing them to the big screen.”

Local Cinema Studios is currently accepting feature film or pilot script submissions for a project to be filmed Summer 2023. They are also seeking professional directors and other crew to be part of the “Get On Set” Team. Those interested should apply online by November 1st. The application can be found here:

For more information about Local Cinema Studios or the Get on Set Initiative, contact Dustin Whitehead via email at dwhitehead@localcinemastudios.com.

And watch out in November for our feature print story on Whitehead and the cast and crew of Hero, Local Cinema’s 2022 summer project!

Gotta Catch ‘Em All – Artist Trading Cards with Jasper

There’s no better grouping than free live music, free art, and Jasper!

The Jasper Project will be hosting a tent at the Jam Room Music Festival on October 1! At our table, we will be participating in the artist trading card movement! The artist trading cards have been around since the late 1990s but has recently hit a cultural renaissance. With the return of something so great as Jam Room, we’re doing a test run of the artist trading card project at our tent!

This project is targeted towards audiences of all ages who want to make and collect both their own art and art from others around them. The trading cards are 2.5”x3.5”. After creating your piece of art, you can keep your card or trade it in with another artist’s card from our display wall of completed trading cards. Not feeling artistic? Are you short on time? Do you still want to take home some art? In an exchange for a donation to the Jasper Project, you can choose a trading card from the display to keep; several artists from around Columbia will have made trading cards prior to the festival for us to include in the display and make available for trading.

For the Jam Room table, we will provide alcohol markers and potentially pastels for visitors to use on their trading cards. In the future, we aim to feature different media for everyone to use and keep making art with. This is a project we also intend to bring to other events like happy hours or other low-key happenings.

Jasper Project board members and volunteers will be present throughout the day to talk with interested audiences about our upcoming projects and to answer any lingering questions you may have. Stop by, make some art, grab a Jasper magazine, and listen to the music!

People making cards at Artists Showing Artists (May 2023)

Cards made at the Jam Room Music Festival (October 2022)

Cards made at the Jam Room Music Festival (October 2022)

Jasper Announces Call for Scripts for Play Right Series 2023

Still reveling in the success of Colby Quick’s Moon Swallower, The Jasper Project is pleased to announce the next cycle of the Play Right Series, a collaboration between South Carolina theatre artists and Community Producers, culminating in 2023 with the staged reading of another brand new South Carolina play.

The play submission window is now open; it will close on December  31, 2022 at which time the Play Right Series committee will select a play for the next round of development. 

“Development,” in this case, means round-table readings and discussions with paid professional director, cast, and crew, and attended by Community Producers and other professionals, followed by rehearsals, and a public presentation of a fully realized staged reading.

Read about the 2022 staged reading of Colby Quick’s Moon Swallower, directed by Chad Henderson..

The development process will be facilitated by Community Producers—audience members invested in the development process and supportive of the state’s theatrical and literary talent who exchange a modest financial contribution for the experience.*

A final version of the winning play will be published and filed with the Library of Congress, with copies distributed to the winning playwright as well as industry leaders in the area and beyond.

Professor Jon Tuttle will serve as the Project Manager for the Jasper Project’s Play Right Series again in 2023..

  • Playwrights must be natives or residents of South Carolina.  

  • Plays may be on any topic, using language appropriate to the subject matter, though please: no musicals or children’s plays, and only one submission per playwright.

  • Submissions must be one-act plays, 45-75 minutes in length, typed according to industry-standard format. 

  • Collections of shorter revue sketches on a common theme will be considered.

  • Please include, as a cover sheet, a short (one-page) biography of the playwright and description of the play, and include cast size and any unusual technical demands, bearing in mind that smaller and fewer are usually preferable.  

  • Please submit your play to playrightseries@jasperproject.org

DEADLINE - DECEMBER 31, 2022

*In 2022 CPs each invested $250 tax deductible

JASPER PROJECT INTERNS WANTED!

The Jasper Project is accepting applications for interns for the coming 2022-2023 cultural year.

Jasper Project Interns may be involved in any part of the organization’s machinations dependent upon the applicant’s background, strengths, and interests.

We’re looking for college and post grad students who are interested in developing their skills in:

·         WRITING

·         PHOTOGRAPY

·         GRAPHIC ARTS

·         VIDEOGRAPHY

·         ADVERTISING

·         SOCIAL MEDIA

·         EVENTS MANAGEMENT

Jasper Project Interns know how to both work hard and play hard. They are progressive and innovative thinkers who relish problem solving and being a part of making magic happen. They value time over money and community over prestige. They are flexible, forgiving, intelligent, and kind.

And they believe that Art, in every form, is a sacred thread that connects humanity to history.

Former Jasper Project interns have gone on to become senior editors at NBC in NYC, writers at WIRED, WIRECUTTER, Vogue, Glamour, and VH1, an editorial intern at MTV, a digital marketing expert at WRAY WARD, NYU’s Summer Publishing Institute and more.

Interested?

Introduce yourself to us at JasperProjectColumbia@gmail.com

CALL FOR ART: SC State Fair Fine Art Competition Entry Period is Open NOW Through September 1st

Showcase your talents in our Fine Art Department for individuals 18+.

Divisions include Professional & Amateur 2-D, 3-D and Photography. 

Exhibitor must be a resident of South Carolina or attending a college or university in South Carolina or a member of the Armed Forces stationed in South Carolina.

Fine Art Exhibit Guide

Fine Art Professional Entry Form

2022 General Rules & Regulations

More Information

CALL FOR JASPER FIRST THURSDAY ARTIST RESIDENTS @ SOUND BITES EATERY

********** CALL FOR ART **********

The Jasper Project is looking for 2D artists to show their work on a monthly basis as part of a partnership with Sound Bites Eatery, 1425 Sumter Street.

If YOUR WORK is vivid, whimsical, brightly colored, small-to-medium in format, and offered at modest price points and if YOU are fun, flexible, and chill, You might be a good fit as a Jasper First Thursday Artist Resident!

Jasper First Thursday Art Residents will hang their work before the first of a new month and celebrate their exhibit opening on the first Thursday of that month with a reception starting at 6 pm. Purchased is processed by the Jasper Project which takes a 25% commission of the price of the art. In return, Jasper promotes the show on the Jasper Project website and social media with articles, press releases, and frequent internet posts. (Humble reminder: the Jasper Project is an all-volunteer, non-profit, grass-roots organization and all incoming funds go directly toward the publication of Jasper Magazine and our many projects promoting and supporting members of the SC Midlands area arts community.)

If you are interested in applying to be a Jasper First Thursday Artist Resident, please send the following to JasperProjectColumbia@gmail.com:

  • Name and contact info

  • 4-5 samples of your work

  • Bio

  • Artist Statement

Previous First Thursday Artist Residents have included:

Next available residency is October 2022.

What? Was that June 30th that just FLEW RIGHT BY? Lucky for us, FALL LINES is FLEXIBLE!

FALL LINES DEADLINE EXTENDED TO JULY 5TH!

At Jasper, we know how hard it is to keep deadlines in our headlights and out of our rearview mirrors!

And while we are thrilled with both the quantity and quality of the submissions we’ve received this summer, we have no reason not to take a deep breath and invite our beloved SC wordsmiths to do the same, take pen in hand once again, and send us even more poetry and prose for Fall Lines volume IX.

That’s right, you have until July 5th midnight to send us your first batch of work if the deadline passed you by.

OR, if you scrambled to get your submissions in on time, we invite you to send us another batch to double your chances of being published this year.

Same rules as the first time around - just an extended deadline.

How’s that for independence?

We Got Your Fall Lines Submission Guidelines Right Here.

Fall Lines Call for Poetry and Prose is Open

Fall Lines – a literary convergence is a literary journal presented by The Jasper Project in partnership with Richland Library and One Columbia for Arts and History.

Fall Lines will accept submissions of previously unpublished poetry, essays, short fiction, and flash fiction from April 1, 2022 through June 30, 2022. While the editors of Fall Lines hope to attract the work of writers and poets from the Carolinas and the Southeastern US, acceptance of work is not dependent upon residence. 

Publication in Fall Lines will be determined by a panel of judges and accepted authors (ONLY) will be notified by October 1, 2022, with a publication date in January 2023. Two $250 cash prizes, sponsored by the Richland Library Friends and Foundation, will be awarded: The Saluda River Prize for Poetry and the Broad River Prize for Prose.

Ø  POETRY: Up to five poems may be submitted with each submitted as an individual WORD FILE.
Include one cover sheet for up to five poems. Submit poetry submissions and cover sheet to FallLines@JasperProject.org with the word POETRY in the subject line.

Ø  PROSE: Up to five prose entries may be submitted with each submitted as an individual WORD FILE.
Include one cover sheet for up to five prose submissions. Submit prose submissions and cover sheet to FallLines@JasperProject.org with the word PROSE in the subject line.

COVER SHEET should include your name, the titles of your submissions, your email address, and mailing address. Authors’ names should not appear on the submission. Do NOT send bios.

ALL ENTRIES SHOULD BE TITLED.

There is no fee to enter, but submissions that fail to follow the above instructions will be disqualified without review.

Simultaneous submissions will not be considered. Failure to disclose simultaneous submissions will result in a lack of eligibility in any future Jasper Project publications.

 __

 The Columbia Fall Line is a natural junction, along which the Congaree River falls and rapids form, running parallel to the east coast of the country between the resilient rocks of the Appalachians and the softer, more gentle coastal plain.

NEW WORK in the Windows at the Meridian Building's Jasper Galleries

Another of our Jasper Galleries that Never Sleep

the Sidewalk Jasper Gallery at the Meridian Building

Virginia Scotchie

Under the direction of Jasper Project board member Bert Easter, the Jasper Project is showing more art than ever before in the windows of our Jasper Gallery at the Meridian Building in downtown Columbia. Located a half block off Main Street on the corners of Washington and Sumter, our gallery that never sleeps is packed with art from Virginia Scotchie, a number of artists from the Scotchie Studio, including Robert DeLyon, Patrick Burke, and more.

Kat West

Virginia Scotchie

Virginia Scotchie

Landscape artist Emily Ward has also brought us seven new paintings.

Emily Ward

For more information on purchasing work from the Jasper Gallery at the Meridian or showing your own work, please contact us at info@jasperproject.org.

Psssst …! Are you interested in getting involved in the work of the Jasper Project? We’re looking for new friends, guild members, and board members and we’re betting you have something we’re looking for!

We’d love to welcome you to the Jasper family.

Learn about all the possibilities here!