The Halsey Institute hosts between six and ten exhibitions per year, along with a visiting artist lecture series, film screenings, symposia, and gallery talks. The focus is on the issues and images of contemporary art with an emphasis on works produced by emerging and mid-career artists of national stature. The Halsey Institute also maintains a strong international component, bringing in artists from Italy, Canada, Germany, Japan, China, India, Africa, Russia, and Slovenia, to list a few.
Aldwyth: work v. / work n. Collage and Assemblage
1991 - 2009
ONLINE EXHIBITION »
October 23, 2009 - January 09, 2010
(closed during CofC school holidays: Nov. 26 - 28 & Dec. 22 - Jan. 4)
6-9 PM - Opening Reception
7 PM - Exhibition walk-through with curator and artist
8-9 PM - Opening Celebration
Opening Reception/ Celebration:
The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art is proud to open the doors of its new gallery space, located in The Marion and Wayland H. Cato Jr. Center for the Arts with the exhibition, Aldwyth: Work v. / Work n. — Collage and Assemblage 1991- 2009. The exhibition begins with a reception on Fri. October 23rd, 6 - 8 pm and will run through Sat. January 9, 2010. During the reception, at 7pm the artist, Aldwyth, and curator, Mark Sloan, will lead interested guests on an exhibition walk-through. The first public viewing of the Halsey Institute's new space will continue with a Hallelujah Chorus performed by members of the Taylor Festival Choir, CofC's professional choir in residence, as well as a dance performance by local Charleston dance group, Buen Aché. The exhibition opening is the first of many celebratory events for the School of the Arts' 20th anniversary.
more ...
Special Projects
Palmetto Portraits Project @ MUSC
The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), in partnership with the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston have developed a multi-year collaboration called the Palmetto Portraits Project. Noted and emerging photographers from throughout the state of South Carolina have been commissioned 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. In creating a 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. 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.
This is the fourth and final year for the project. A comprehensive exhibition of the complete works by each of the twenty-four photographers will be presented at the South Carolina State Museum in April 2010.
This years photographers were selected by the 07-08 photographers and include Jeff Amberg, Brett Flashnick, and Andrew Haworth of Columbia; Squire Fox of Mt. Pleasant; Molly Hayes and Stacy L. Pearsall of Charleston; and Chris M. Rogers of Johns Island.
Contemporary Carolina Collection @ MUSC
Art is medicine for the mind and body. Art evokes calm, creative and inspirational feelings that can improve attitudes and perceptions about wellness. Art elicits a relaxed state of being that can enhance immune processes and blood flow. The presence of art in hospitals has been shown to reduce the lengths of patient stays and to help relieve stress for patients and visitors. HICA Director Mark Sloan served as the curator for the project.
From The Archives
Force of Nature: Site Installations by Ten Japanese Artists
Fall 2006 - Spring 2007This unique exhibition was a grand collaboration between seven institutions in North and South Carolina and ten contemporary Japanese artists. The artists lived in the Carolinas for six-week residencies, creating work using natural materials or processes and were installed at their host institutions.
The comprehensive online exhibition offers analysis, hundreds of images, video and much more.

project site »
project site »