New York City-based artist and educator Carla Gannis brings a physical manifestation of her ongoing virtual project to the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art. 

This exhibition, called wwwunderkammer, can be explored through social virtual reality (VR), a simulated 3D world also called a metaverse. Visitors at the Halsey can experience Gannis’ metaverse using VR headsets in the gallery space and participate as their own avatars. Alongside the digital work, Gannis will show physical sculptures, videos and what she called “augmented reality experiences,” where static objects in the gallery come to life through animations. 

Following the film premiere, the company will present a dance installation within the Carla Gannis / C.A.R.L.A. G.A.N.: wwwunderkammer exhibit at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston School of the Arts on June 1 at 5:30pm, June 2 at 11:30am, and June 8 at 6:30pm. The culmination of the annual residency with the College of Charleston Department of Theatre and Dance as part of the Stelle di Domani Series, this site-specific piece is created and performed by students and company members. Admission is free.

Most of us know what the magical month of May means in Charleston. But for the newly initiated, it’s all about the art. Beyond the festival performances, the visual arts scene is always vivid, and this year is alive with color and texture.

We know the first glimpses of festival season. Spoleto Festival USA banners begin to top off street lamps. Piccolo productions are touted around town. Some particularly inspired locals festoon storefronts with creative displays. Then there are all those artists. They begin to stream in from near and far, next-leveling the people-watching for weeks ahead.

The time of year is also ideal for going local by supporting the city’s homegrown museums, galleries and artists, and engaging with the novel ways they consider our world today.

The annual Young Contemporaries exhibit, featuring student art, is on display at the College’s Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art through April 22, 2023. (Photos by Catie Cleveland) 

Each spring, the directors of the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art stage a show that exclusively features the artwork of students at the College of Charleston. That show – Young Contemporaries – has been a marquee event for nearly 40 years. And this year’s edition, which runs through April 22, 2023, features the work of over 40 students. Like all exhibitions at the Halsey, it’s free and open to the public.

Join the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art in celebrating the work of College of Charleston students at 5 p.m. March 17. The 38th annual exhibition showcases the talented artists of CofC and features a selection chosen by a nationally renowned juror. The gallery has artwork from a variety of mediums. Entry is free. 

In the 1990s, Kirsten Stolle’s mother dressed up as a strawberry with fish gills and marched the streets of northern California.

Her surreal regalia was a commentary on how the Monsanto Company, an American agrichemical and biotechnology corporation, was attempting to insert flounder DNA into the genome of a strawberry to improve the plant’s frost resistance. In response, anti-GMO activists organized a puppet theater protest in Santa Cruz.

A multimedia artist then living in San Francisco, Stolle drove an hour south to support the parade. Standing on the sidewalk, she watched as her mother — a self-described anarchist — fought the power while dressed as a fruit-fish hybrid.

Elizabeth Bick, assistant professor and area head of photography in the Department of Studio Art, gave an artist talk on Jan. 14, 2023, at her current show, Contrapposto, on exhibit at the at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art. (Photos by Catie Cleveland) 

“The Artistic Heartbeat of Charleston.” That’s the tagline that has advertised the College of Charleston’s School of the Arts for the past two years. And a big part of that claim is rooted in the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art. For almost 40 years, the Halsey has served the Charleston community by showcasing the work of innovative visual artists from around the world. And on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, the gallery will open its 121st exhibition – a two-person show featuring the photography of Elizabeth Bick and the weaving of Jovencio de la Paz.

The art department at the College of Charleston devotes a generous portion of its ground floor on Calhoun Street to gallery space. Rotating exhibits of art and film are mounted here, as are free lectures. Past exhibits include a wide-ranging photography show about all aspects of life in the South. This is serious art curation—many of the Halsey’s exhibits go on to tour galleries around the country.