BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.3//EN TZID:America/New_York X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VEVENT UID:30@701cca.org DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260322T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260322T190000 DTSTAMP:20260321T222549Z URL:https://www.701cca.org/events/loretta-holloway-sings-the-unscene-south / SUMMARY:Loretta Holloway sings the Unscene South DESCRIPTION:Loretta Holloway sings The Unscene South\n\nExperience an unfor gettable evening with South Carolina’s First Lady of Song\, Loretta Holl oway\, as she reflects the mood of works by artist Charles Eady.\n\nSet in side 701 Center for Contemporary Art gallery\, this special Unscene South performance blends music and visual art into an immersive experience.\n\nY our Unscene South experience includes:\n- A cabaret-style setting inside t he gallery\n- Champagne table service throughout the evening\n- A post-per formance Meet &\; Greet with Loretta Holloway and Charles Eady\n\nTicke ts: $100\n\nDoors open: 4:30pm\nEvent begins: 5:00pm\n\nSponsors\n\nMartha Brim &\; Ken May\nGladys Coles\nHarriett Green\nMike Harris\nMichel Mo ore\nTighe Family\n\n       \n\nLORETTA HOLLOWAY\nSouth Carolina's Off icial First Lady of Song\n\n\nThe name Loretta Holloway has become synonym ous with warm elegance and sophisticated charm. Critics around the world h ave described her as “mesmerizing and captivating” and "Variety Magazi ne" writes "Holloway is a singing actress using the lyrics of her songs as her dialogue." The Chicago Sun-Times voted her "Best Jazz Singer City in Chicago."\nA native of Belton\, South Carolina\, Holloway was officially p roclaimed by the Senate of South Carolina as “South Carolina’s Officia l First Lady of Song." Another highlight occurred when Holloway was presen ted to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in a Royal Command Performance in Brisbane\, Australia.\nHolloway became a familiar face in the showrooms o f Las Vegas\, Atlantic City\, and Lake Tahoe\, where she opened for headli ners Jay Leno\, Whoopi Goldberg\, Don Rickles\, Rich Little\, Gary Shandli ng\, David Brenner\, and Jerry Lewis\, for starters. Her career in Las Veg as recently earned her the title of "A LAS VEGAS LEGEND."\n\nHolloway was voted "Jazz Artist of the Year" by the South Carolina Music Awards\, and W YFF TV 4 listed Holloway as "One of 25 Notable African Americans from Sout h Carolina\, she was also proclaimed by the Anderson County Council "As An Anderson County Treasure\," and honored as one of "South Carolina’s Wom en of Substance." Mayor Sharpe James presented her with the Key to the Cit y of Newark\, New Jersey.\n\nHolloway lends her talents to various charita ble organizations\, including the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the U pstate\, South Carolina's Hospice of the Upstate\, Compass of the Carolina s\, World AIDS Day\, and Las Vegas AIDS awareness programs.\n\nHolloway is no stranger to the theatrical stage\, having starred in the New York off- Broadway production of “Mama I Want To Sing II .” Loretta’s movie cr edits include "Pure Country" with George Strait and "Elvis and Me." She al so sang the soundtrack for the United Artists movie release of “Black Ja ck. Holloway recently added the title of Author to her impressive list\, h aving published "Inside Loretta\," a book of short poems\, stories of her childhood\, memories of her Mother and Father\, and one-line revelations s he refers to as "Loretta-ism." "Inside Loretta" is available on her websit e http://www.Lorettaholloway.com. With partial proceeds donated to the Nat ional Association of Mental Awareness.\n\n \;\n\n              \n\nThe Unscene South Exhibition Introduction\n\nA little-known populati on of Blacks lived free in this country before the Emancipation Proclamati on. This exhibit shares evidence and details of their existence. It presen ts opportunities to view the realities of their daily lives and seeks to e liminate many misconceptions about Blacks and the South.\n\nThe term “fr ee Blacks” was used pre-Civil War to distinguish between people of color who were free\, and people of color who were slaves. Free Blacks were fre e to live\, work\, and own businesses and property. The first federal cens us of 1790 revealed an official accounting of their presence. They were li sted as “Other Free” or “Free People of Color.” In South Carolina\ , 1\,801 were free on the first census.\n\nMoreover\, there were more free Blacks living in the South than the North\, a trend that continued until the Civil War. Most chose to live in the South because living conditions w ere more favorable\, and opportunities to own a business and property were more accessible. By 1860\, nearly 10\,000 free Blacks lived in South Caro lina. 500\,000 lived in America.\n\nThis exhibit offers attendees the oppo rtunity both to see my art and to hear the stories that inspired them\, th ey will be challenged to reexamine their assumptions about what it meant t o be a free Black person in the antebellum South. They will meet entrepren eurs\, small business owners\, parents\, children\, people with ingenuity and creativity and compassion who found ways to fashion engaging and expan sive lives even in a geographical context of intense oppression. In both s eeing these works and hearing about the subjects’ lives\, each attendee will be invited to reflect on the possibilities contained within untold an d under-told stories\, possibilities that can encourage each of us to shif t\, change . . . “pivot\,” pointing us toward deepened appreciation an d respect for our common humanity.\n- Charles Eady\n\n \;\n\nArtist St atement\n\nMy art is influenced by the population of Blacks who lived free in this country amidst pre-Civil War bondage.\n\nOver a decade ago\, I he ard about “free Blacks” being in the pre-Civil War South\, who were no t merely traveling through with freedom papers. I had never heard of them living in the South and it was shocking. One of my initial findings was th at they were counted on the first federal census of South Carolina in 1790 .\n\nInspired to learn more\, I began researching their story fifteen year s ago and found further support that contradicted what I thought I knew. T here were records of them challenging the judicial system and petitioning courts about diverse matters. The deeper I looked\, the more evidence I fo und. Interestingly\, there was proof that they preferred to live in the So uth over the North because they felt living circumstances were better in t he South.\n\nMy core belief about the South was taken aback. My pursuit si nce then is to increase people’s awareness of them\, and to give the tru th of their existence a voice through my art.\n\nArtist Biography\n\nCharl es Eady is a mixed-media artist who merges contemporary art with historica l documentation to explore overlooked stories of free Black communities in the pre-Civil War South. Born in South Carolina and now residing in Ocala \, Florida\, Eady graduated from Claflin University with a BA in Art Educa tion. His work has been featured in both national and international compet itions\, and he has exhibited in a solo show at the Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala—where his painting American Jockey\, depicting an early Black jockey\, is now in the permanent collection.\n\nEady’s painting Anna\, n amed after a character in his book Hidden Freedom\, won the 2021 ArtFields Grand Prize\; he returned to ArtFields in 2022 as a judge. A former art e ducator at Belleview High School\, Eady was one of only five recipients of the 2022 State Teaching Artist Residency (STAR) at the Hermitage Retreat\ , honoring exceptional Florida public school art instructors. Through hist orically grounded visuals\, Eady strives to reframe early Southern narrati ves and foster greater social understanding. He is also an artist in the P uzzled Peace initiative\, responding to the removal of African American hi story from Florida public schools and colleges.\n\nEady states\, “my art is influenced by the population of Blacks who lived free in this country amidst pre-Civil War bondage. Over a decade ago\, I heard about ‘free Bl acks’ in the South—people counted on the first federal census of South Carolina in 1790\, actively petitioning courts and challenging the judici al system—who were not merely passing through with freedom papers. This discovery took me by surprise and contradicted what I thought I knew. My p ursuit since then has been to increase awareness of their story and to giv e the truth of their existence a voice through my art.”\n\nIn addition t o his art practice\, Eady authored Hidden Freedom: The South Before Racism \, broadening the conversation about free Black communities and their lega cy.\nWe are sold out for this event. Please contact Tabitha Ott at 803-319 -9949 to be added to the waiting list.  ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.701cca.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/0 2/Loretta_Tedx-1.jpg LOCATION:701 CCA Gallery\, 701 Whaley St.\, Columbia\, SC\, 29201\, United States X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=701 Whaley St.\, Columbia\, SC\, 29201\, United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=701 CCA Gallery:geo :0,0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20260308T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR