James Island Arts
James Island Arts was the brainchild of newly elected town council member Mary Beth Berry, a professor of theater at College of Charleston, and fellow activist Katherine Williams. In 2013 they asked the James Island Pride committee to undertake a silent art auction as a way to celebrate what they saw as a vibrant but indistinct cultural community. This subcommittee organized five annual auctions at Town Hall. and sponsored the development of Poetry at McLeod.
incorporated as a council Ten years on, James Island Arts is seeking a new home.
Annual Silent Art Auction
2018 Art Auction
and Student Art
Competition
February 24, 2018
The Fifth Annual Silent Art Auction raised enough to donate $350 to each of our eleven island art classrooms.
Teachers of most subjects can do outside fundraising, but fundraisers for art supplies are prohibited by law. The need is real, as art teachers spend personal funds to stock their supply closets.
This event attracted nearly three hundred people! We are looking forward to holding next year's celebration in the new town hall, and to incorporating as an arts council. Thank you for helping us get up and running!
2017 Art Auction and
Student Art Competition
February 25, 2017
The 2017 auction was the most successful fund-raiser yet. Roughly the same as last year, 106 works art were donated by 64 artists. Attendance was hard to measure since Island Bazaar displayed the High School art, but it was at least 200. The total raised from art purchases was $3546, a new record, reflecting market growth and making us less reliant on grants. Each classroom was given $275.
Teachers say the student show and sale creates great excitement, motivating students all year long to do their best, and winners are very proud to have their work on local display. The donation is “a godsend,” coming late in the year when their supply closets are near-empty, and teachers specifically thank the artists for their generosity.
2016 Art Auction and
Student Art Competition
February 27, 2016
Our third auction, of 96 works of visual, literary, performing and culinary art donated by 68 artists, mostly from James, Johns, and Folly islands, drew three hundred attendees.. The auction and raffle netted our target gift of $300 to twelve classrooms, now including the elementary school students, whose art was just precious. This year we tried out letting the students offer their work for sale and nothing terrible happened, so we will do it again next year.
2015 Art Auction and
Student Art Competition
February 28, 2015
Our second auction was twice the success of the first! About 200 folks packing the place. Thirty-nine artists doubled the number of works donated to 59, and of these, 40 were sold. We raised about $1900 from the bids, and an additional $700 from the raffle, and presented about $240 to six classrooms after splitting bids with the artists.
2014 Art Auction and
Student Art Competition
February 22, 2014
The Town Hall parking lot was filled with cars&mdashfor the barbecue at Smoky Oak. Everything else looked dark and quiet. Our hearts sank: our first event was an epic fail.
But the Town Hall entrance was bright with paintings for the juried student show, kids were singing within, and nearly a hundred folks were browsing art and filling their plates and glasses at the splendid table. This was success beyond expectation!
The schoolchildren’s shows in art and music were charming. Island teachers did a great job showcasing their students’ abilities.
Minimum bids caused some sticker shock, and respect for what artists do, but bidding was brisk and nearly every item sold. Some of our buyers were knowledgeable collectors, and some had never bought art before in their lives.
Two dozen artists donated work, and $296 was raised for four classrooms. Funds went to the framing required for a congressional contest, provide oils in the classroom, and take a field trip to the Gibbes.
Thanks to our sponsors
Poetry at the VA is funded in part by grants from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the South Carolina Arts Commission.
PSSC receives generous support from the Dubose and Dorothy Heyward Memorial Fund, the John and Susan Bennett Foundation through the Coastal Community Foundation, and PSSC members.