South Carolina Biennial 2011

Part I: October 6 – November 13, 2011: Opening Reception, October 7, 2011, 7-9 pm *New Date*
Part II: November 17 – December 21, 2011: Opening Reception, November 17, 2011, 7-9 pm

Admission opening receptions: members, free; non-members, $5 suggested donation

Exhibition catalogue, 20 pages, full color, available for $10 donation. Click below on “Expand” to see digital version of the catalogue.

Open publication – Free publishing – More sc

701 Center for Contemporary Art in Columbia, S.C., announces the inaugural 701 CCA South Carolina Biennial 2011, which will take place in two parts from October – December, 2011. The exhibition will present 24 artists from South Carolina currently producing some of the most exciting contemporary art in the state. The artists selected present a wide range of media, from painting, drawing, collage, photo transfer, prints, sculpture and crafts to installation, performance and more.

The artists’ selection took place through an Invitation Committee of 12 arts professional from across the state. Each committee member was asked to select two artists for the Biennial 2011 plus an alternate. Alternates replaced selected artists who either were unable to participate in the Biennial or had already been selected by another Invitation Committee member. A 701 CCA curatorial team will select works created in the past three years for inclusion in the exhibition from the selected artists.

701 CCA has opted for the current selection process for several reasons – (a) as an experiment to be reviewed afterward for future 701 CCA South Carolina Biennial exhibitions; (b) 701 CCA’s limited resources; and (c) time restraints, which made it necessary to use a speedy selection procedure.

The South Carolina Biennial presents the first survey of contemporary South Carolina art since the fifth and last South Carolina Triennial in 2004. The Triennial was organized five times between 1992 and 2004 by the South Carolina Arts Commission and the South Carolina State Museum at the museum.

“The Triennial during its run was the most important, prestigious survey of contemporary art in South Carolina,” said 701 CCA director and board chair Wim Roefs. “Its demise was a great lost to the visual arts in our state. It put South Carolina in the odd position of not having a regular overview of some of the best art produced in the state at any given time. With the new Biennial, 701 CCA hopes to fill this void.”