Statewide Arts Conference in Columbia is Tuesday

The South Carolina Arts Commission is hosting its Statewide Arts Conference on Sept. 15 at the Columbia Conference Center in Columbia.

The one-day seminar is for artists, arts organizations and others who are interested in arts-intensive professional development.

With the theme, "Arts Be Nimble: Navigating Tough Terrain," the conference is designed to help artists and arts organizations develop the skills they need to thrive in today's economic reality and prepare for the future.

View the schedule online at www.SouthCarolinaArts.com/statewide to read about more than 20 sessions that will take place throughout the day.

National, regional and state experts will cover such topics as community engagement, cultural tourism marketing and capital campaign development.

Attendees can register online at www.SouthCarolinaArts.com; the cost is $105. For more information, call 803-734-8696.

Palmetto Portraits at MUSC

The Medical University of South Carolina, in partnership with the Halsey Institute, will be unveiling the fourth and final installment of the multiyear collaboration, Palmetto Portraits Project.

The opening reception will take place 5-7 p.m. Sept. 16 in MUSC's new James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine, 29 Bee Street.

Charleston Fire Chief Thomas Carr and MUSC President Dr. Raymond Greenberg will provide a special tribute to Charleston firefighters at 5:45 p.m. during the reception. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 953-5680 or visit www.halsey.cofc.edu or palmettoportraits.musc.edu.

"The project commissioned noted and emerging photographers

from throughout the state of South Carolina to focus on portraying South Carolinians in the Lowcountry, the Piedmont and the Upstate; reflecting the full range and diversity of the state's citizens, occupations, and recreational activities," says Rebecca Silberman of the Halsey.

"In creating a permanent collection of art to display within MUSC's educational and clinical buildings, the university hopes to remind students, faculty, staff, and visitors of those they serve at MUSC and throughout South Carolina.

"At the conclusion of the inaugural year, each of the six photographers recommended a respected colleague to create the second series for Palmetto Portraits. This ongoing method was repeated for Series III and Series IV."

MUSC and the selected photographers have broadened the impact of the project by donating an identical set of photographs to the permanent collection of the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia.

To conclude the four- year project, a comprehensive exhibition of the complete works by each of the 24 photographers will be presented at the South Carolina State Museum in April 2010.

Palmetto Portraits III photographer Julia Lynn made a portrait of two Charleston Firefighters for the project. This photograph has since been given special placement within the building as a memorial to the firefighters who lost their lives in the Sofa Superstore blaze in June 2007.

This year's photographers were Jeff Amberg, Brett Flashnick and Andrew Haworth of Columbia; Squire Fox of Mount Pleasant; Molly Hayes and Stacy L. Pearsall of Charleston; and Chris M. Rogers of Johns Island.