Barefoot with braids and in a long, shiny black, gold and silver dress that merges tradition and futurism, Elisa Harkins took the stage at the Charleston Music Hall with not only her music but her culture to share. 

Artist and composer Elisa Harkins created “Wampum / ᎠᏕᎳ ᏗᎦᎫᏗ” as an act of Indigenous Futurism, blending disco and native languages to preserve and celebrate her culture. Featured in Spoleto Festival USA, the performance and accompanying exhibition highlight the continued existence of Indigenous cultures worldwide. 

Co-presented with the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, the performance features Harkins singing in Cherokee, English, and Muscogee (Creek) to electronic dance tracks inspired by Indigenous music, seamlessly merging the traditional with the contemporary. 

The stark white walls at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston are glimmering. On them hang nine handmade Cherokee shawls constructed by Native American (Cherokee/Muscogee) artist and composer Elisa Harkins, for her solo exhibition Teach Me a Song. The exhibit centers on Indigenous song exchange and language revitalization among Indigenous groups in the United States and Canada.

Charleston continues to have a vibrant museum scene, now with a designated Museum Mile walkable route comprised of six museums, which begins at the Charleston Visitor Center on Meeting Street. Read on to learn more about some of the area’s most notable artistic and historic attractions.

Abstract shapes in bright paint hues pop from a canvas in one corner, while a trio of sweatshirts draped over mannequins in the center of the room are geared up with headphones to explain their origin stories. Strangers in black and white stare from expertly angled light and shadow in framed photographs, while sculptures curve, arc and dangle. 

In its 39th year, the Young Contemporaries program at The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art recognizes College of Charleston student artists and their work. This year, Oberlin College Professor of Studio Art and Painting Sarah Schuster was tasked with selecting a variety of prize and award winners from the wide range of media and styles presented in this show. 

School of the Arts faculty and students gathered in the Cistern Yard for the SOTA Kickoff, celebrating a new year and event season for the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art and in the departments of art and architectural history, arts management, historic preservation and community planning, music, theatre and dance, and studio art!

On Oct. 5, see Charleston’s poet laureate Asiah Mae perform at the Halsey Institute, where artist La Vaughn Belle is exhibiting When the Land Meets the Body, a multi-media display which reckons with colonization on both an individual and collective scale.

Characterized by falling leaves and baskets full of food, autumn is at once symbolic of harvest and abundance, and at the same time, a symbol of decay and death.

The vibrant lineup of the arts calendar before us shows Charleston artists are, like the fall season, handling great nuance.

Theater productions like the Charleston Gaillard Center’s Finding Freedom will provide an intimate look into the humanity of a hero, while visual art offerings like La Vaughn Belle’s When the Land Meets the Body at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art reckon with colonization and its effects on both an individual and collective scale.

The Halsey Institute of Art features a diverse range of contemporary art exhibitions, showcasing both established and emerging artists, including students of the college.

In addition to captivating exhibitions, you can also partake in lectures, workshops, and artist talks at the Halsey Institute of Art.