Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art

Former name	Halsey Gallery
Established	1983
Location	161 Calhoun Street Charleston, South Carolina 32°47′06″N 79°56′14″W / 32.7851°N 79.9373°W / 32.7851; -79.9373
Type	Art Museum
Owner	College of Charleston

The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art (also called "the Halsey") is a special art center in Charleston, South Carolina. It's part of the School of the Arts at the College of Charleston. The Halsey is a non-profit place, meaning it doesn't aim to make money. It also doesn't collect art to keep permanently.

Instead, the Halsey focuses on showing new and exciting art by artists who are just starting out or are in the middle of their careers. It's located in the Marion and Wayland H. Cato Jr. Center for the Arts. This building is right in the middle of downtown Charleston. The Halsey has two main gallery spaces where art is displayed. Together, these spaces cover about 3,000 square feet.

The Halsey also offers many other cool things besides art shows. They publish books about art and host talks by visiting artists. They have a membership program, a library for research, and even show movies. They also have programs to teach kids and students about art.

Discovering the Halsey's Past

The Halsey Institute started in 1983. It was first called the Halsey Gallery. The gallery was named after a famous artist from Charleston, William Melton Halsey. He was known for his modern art. His work was shown in big museums like the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

William Halsey was the first person to teach art classes at the College of Charleston. He started teaching there in 1964. When he retired in 1984, the art teachers decided to name the gallery after him. This was to honor his important work in the arts in Charleston. William Halsey passed away in 1999. That same year, he received a special award called the Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Award.

Meet Corrie McCallum

William Halsey's wife, Corrie McCallum, was also a talented artist and teacher. She was the first person to teach printmaking at the College of Charleston. She helped create the first art appreciation program for public school students in Charleston County. This program was held at the Gibbes Museum of Art.

Corrie McCallum worked at several art places, including the Telfair Museums and Newberry College. She always spoke up for visual arts. In 2003, she also won the Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Award. She passed away in 2009.

Growing into the Halsey Institute

Since 1984, the Halsey gallery has shown art from local, national, and international artists. In 2005, the gallery changed its name to the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art. This new name showed that they were doing much more than just showing art. They were creating a wide range of art programs.

The Halsey Institute now hosts about five to seven art shows each year. These shows feature contemporary art by new and rising artists. All the exhibitions come with educational programs. The Halsey also works with artists from all over the world. These artists come for special visits, talks, and exhibitions.

In 2009, the Halsey Institute moved to a bigger gallery space. This new space is on the first floor of the Marion and Wayland H. Cato Jr. Center. In 2012, the South Carolina Arts Commission gave the Halsey Institute the Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Award. This is the highest honor for arts in the state. In 2018, the Mayor of Charleston, John Tecklenburg, announced March 14th as William Halsey and Corrie McCallum Day.

What You Can See and Do

The Halsey Institute offers many exciting programs for visitors.

Amazing Art Exhibitions

The Halsey often shows art by new artists, those in the middle of their careers, and even some "oddly overlooked" artists. Over the years, the Halsey has put on more than 275 exhibitions. They have shown art from over 2,000 different artists!

They often make videos that go behind the scenes of an exhibition. These videos give you a deep look into the artist's life and how they create their art. Most of the Halsey's exhibitions start there. Sometimes, they work with other art places. Many Halsey exhibitions even travel to other cities across the country after they open in Charleston.

Southbound: Photographs of the New South

In the fall of 2018, the Halsey Institute showed a photography exhibition called "Southbound: Photographs of and about the New South." This show was put together by Mark Sloan and Mark Long from the College of Charleston.

"Southbound" featured the work of fifty-six photographers. They showed what the South looked like in the early 2000s. Some of the photographers included were Shelby Lee Adams, Mitch Epstein, and Burk Uzzle.

Artists from Around the World

The Halsey Institute hosts an artist-in-residence program every year. Artists come and stay for a few weeks or even several months. During their stay, artists get to work right there at the Halsey. They create new art pieces that will be shown in the gallery.

These artists also get involved with the local community. They give talks, lead workshops, and host other public events. This helps people understand the artist's life, their work, and how they create things. The Halsey often makes videos about each artist and publishes books about their exhibitions.

Chen Long-bin's Book Sculpture

In 2013, the Halsey Institute asked Taiwanese artist Chen Long-bin to create a special sculpture. It was for an exhibition called "Rebound: Dissections and Excavations in Book Art." Chen used old magazines, phone books, and other paper items he found in the community.

With help from College of Charleston students and teachers, Chen created sculptures that looked like a traditional Zen garden. They nailed thousands of books together. Then, Chen carved these book forms into shapes that looked like stones and other natural things. The finished artwork, called "Set in Stone: Zen Garden," was placed in the Addlestone Library at the College of Charleston. This exhibition was part of the 2013 Spoleto Festival USA.

Tiebena Dagnogo's Memory Speaks

In 1998, the Halsey hosted Tiebena Dagnogo for 45 days. He was an artist from Ivory Coast. His exhibition, "Memory Speaks," showed art that mixed sculpture, painting, and traditional African styles. Dagnogo's work used old and new wood to create panels. He saw old wood as "full of history." He gave both old and new wood a new story through his art.

Eames Demetrios's Kcymaerxthaere

Eames Demetrios, an artist who calls himself a "Geographer-at-Large," was the Halsey's artist-in-residence in 2011. Demetrios created an imaginary world called Kcymaerxthaere. He said it was like an "illuminated manuscript where every page is in a different location."

His Kcymaerxthaere world has over ninety art installations in eighteen different countries. This exhibition was the first time Demetrios showed his project in a gallery. It included photos, maps, and a list of special words. After hearing stories from Kcymaerxthaere, African women embroidered fabric squares based on the scenes. Three permanent plaques from his project were also placed around Charleston, including one underwater in the Charleston Harbor!

Rikuo Ueda's Wind Drawings

Japanese artist Rikuo Ueda was the Halsey's artist-in-residence in 2002. The Halsey asked Ueda to create art using his special machines. These machines use natural elements like wind to help make art. His "wind drawings" were made by devices that capture the wind's energy. This energy was then transferred onto paper or canvas.

One of his sculptures, a two-story bamboo "tea house in the sky," was placed outside the Halsey. Ueda used this tea house to think about his wind paintings. His art helps us see how humans invent ways to understand and control nature.

Motoi Yamamoto's Saltworks

In 2012, Japanese artist Motoi Yamamoto was the artist-in-residence. His exhibition, "Return to the Sea: Saltworks," featured a huge artwork made entirely of salt. Yamamoto carefully created a complex maze-like design inside the Halsey gallery.

In Japanese culture, salt is a symbol of cleansing and sadness. For Yamamoto, salt is very personal. His sister passed away from cancer when she was young. He uses salt to remember her and what he lost. After the exhibition, hundreds of people from the community helped gather the salt. Then, they returned it to the Charleston Harbor, sending it back to the sea. This exhibition traveled across the United States.

Hung Liu's Chinese Laundry

Hung Liu is an artist born in China who lives in California. In 1998, the Halsey Institute asked her to create an artwork about Chinese immigrants in Charleston. Liu found out that many Chinese immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries worked in laundry businesses in Charleston during the 1940s.

Liu changed the Halsey Gallery into a "ghost" 1940s Chinese laundry. She used objects like irons, washing machine models, and clotheslines. She even had handmade Chinese clothes made in China for the show. As an immigrant herself, Hung Liu understands the challenges of moving to a new country. Her art tells the stories of these immigrants.

Kevin Kelly's Hunter's Paradise Found

Canadian artist Kevin Kelly had his exhibition "Hunter's Paradise Found" during his 1999 residency. Kelly created special displays he called "pseudo-natural habitats." He wanted people to think about how natural history museums show nature.

Kelly invited viewers to step into his displays. This made them feel like they were living specimens in the recreated landscapes. His work makes us wonder what happens when we try to recreate nature in an artificial setting.

Patricia Boinest Potter's Maps

In 2015, the Halsey featured artist Patricia Boinest Potter. Her art often looks abstract, but it also defies simple categories. With a background in architecture, Potter creates mysterious three-dimensional maps. These are called "Isomorphic Map Tables" and "1:1 Map Insets."

For her show "Patterns of Place," Potter included six map tables and one hundred map insets. These represented a one-hundred-mile area of northern Alabama, where she lives. The Halsey made a video about her and published a book. This exhibition also traveled around the United States.

Kendall Messick's The Projectionist

In 2007, the Halsey invited photographer Kendall Messick for a residency. His exhibition, "The Projectionist," was a multi-media art show. It included a documentary film that Messick made and directed. It also had photos and the actual movie set from the film.

The film was about Gordon Brinkle, who loved old movie theaters. He built his own theater in his basement using parts from an original theater. This "Shalimar Theatre" was rebuilt at the Halsey for the public to see. Messick photographed Gordon Brinkle for almost six years until he passed away.

Lonnie Holley's Found Art

American artist and musician Lonnie Holley was the Halsey Institute's artist-in-residence in 2015. The Halsey showed many of his artworks. This big project included an exhibition, a concert, a video, and a book about his art.

Holley's art is spontaneous and creative. He started collecting found objects when he was very young. He would turn these discarded items into his own unique creations. Holley grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, and was one of twenty-seven children. His art tells stories about his own life. He reuses everyday objects and trash to make sculptures. These sculptures show new beginnings for art and life.

Lonnie Holley also worked with students from local schools and the College of Charleston. He performed live at the Charleston Music Hall. His music, like his art, mixes different styles like jazz, electronic music, blues, and spoken word. He has even worked with members of famous bands like the Black Keys and Arcade Fire.

Jumaadi's Shadow Puppets

The 2014 exhibition "forgive me not to miss you not" showed works by Jumaadi. He created these during his two-month stay at the Halsey. This was the first time his art was shown in North America. Jumaadi was born in Indonesia and works with many different art forms. These include drawing, painting, sculpture, and shadow puppets.

Jumaadi uses a made-up mystical creature in his art. This creature helps him comment on human and animal nature. During his time in Charleston, Jumaadi taught workshops to high school students. He taught them about shadow puppetry and helped them create their own shadow-puppet theater.

Renee Stout's Juke Joint

The Halsey invited artist Renee Stout for a residency in 1996. Renee Stout created a "juke joint" on the first floor of the Halsey Gallery. It reminded her of one she knew in her hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The "Wylie Avenue Juke" exhibition explored themes of blues music, jazz, and African-American culture.

Renee Stout believed that blues music is a main way that African cultural traditions came into American culture. She also worked with Charleston County high school students. They created a special sculpture together that was placed at the high school.

Richard McMahan's Minimuseum

In 2008, the Halsey Institute welcomed Florida artist Richard McMahan. For over twenty years, McMahan has been building what he calls his "minimuseum." This museum holds tiny copies of famous artworks, each about the size of a baseball card.

At his exhibition at the Halsey, McMahan showed more than eleven hundred tiny artworks. They ranged from cave art to modern art. He told a local newspaper that he uses "100 percent recycled materials: cardboard, paper." He even uses fingernail polish on his tiny paintings to make the colors pop! The Halsey worked with the Clemson Architecture Center to design and build the special walls for his exhibition.

Looking To See Tours

Since 2010, the Halsey has offered free "Looking to See" tours. These guided tours help K-12 students and youth groups explore the current art exhibitions. The lessons can be changed to fit what students are learning in their classrooms.

Artist Talks

With each exhibition, artists often give talks. Sometimes, they walk through the gallery with the curator and answer questions. Other times, they give a more formal presentation. These events let the public meet the artists in person. They can ask questions and understand the art from the artist's point of view. The Halsey also hosts other special talks throughout the year.

Halsey Talks

The "Halsey Talks" series is like an open discussion group. These talks cover many different topics. They are free and open to everyone.

Film Screenings

The Halsey regularly shows a variety of films for free. Often, the filmmakers are there for a question-and-answer session after the movie.

Becoming a Member

The Halsey Institute has a membership program that started in 2004. Being a member helps support the art exhibitions and programs. The Halsey is part of the North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) Association. This means that members at certain levels can visit over 1,000 other museums across the country for free or at a discount! All members are also invited to the "Moon Party," which is the Halsey's yearly celebration for members.

Meet the Maker Events

Members at a certain level are invited to "Meet the Maker" events. These events bring in artists who will have upcoming shows at the Halsey. The artists give a talk about their career and how they create their art.

Patron Print Program

Artists who have shown their work at the Halsey sometimes donate special, limited-edition prints. These prints are displayed in the Patron Print Hallway at the gallery. Members at a certain level can choose one of these prints each year. This helps them start their own art collection while also supporting the Halsey. As of 2017, twenty-six prints have been made by past exhibiting artists.