Penn Center and UGA  partner to launch artist-in-residence program

Anina Major and Tamika Galanis

A partnership between Penn Center and the University of Georgia (UGA) is bringing artists to Beaufort.

The Ties That Bind: The Paradox of Cultural Survival Amid Climate Events is an art exhibition that explores notions of life in the Sea Islands of South Carolina and the Bahama Islands, through ceramic sculptures and photography by artists-in-residence Anina Major and Tamika Galanis.

The exhibition features bodies of work that examine cultural identity and sustainability through environmental relationships. It will be on view at the York W. Bailey Museum at Penn Center from July 14 to Sept. 23.

The artist residency at Penn Center is one of the many public programs that comprise Culture and Community at the Penn Center National Historic Landmark District, a partnership initiative between Penn Center and the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts at the University of Georgia.

“Our introductory week at the Penn Center and on Saint Helena Island was transformative for me,” artist-in-residence Tamika Galanis said ina release. “Having the opportunity for ideas that we knew to be true in spirit alone to materialize through fellowshipping with the community, grounding ourselves in the landscape, and getting really excited about the idea of an exchange between the two cultures and what that would look like or mean has been an enriching experience.”

Culture and Community at the Penn Center National Historic Landmark District is a partnership between Penn Center and the University of Georgia Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, funded by a grant from the Mellon Foundation.

The project is centered around three major programs: Annual artist residencies; summer research residencies for students at UGA and partner institutions throughout the southeastern U.S.; and public conversations on issues of relevance to the communities of the Sea Islands region.