GOOD NEWS: North Charleston seeks new artist-in-residence, more

Staff reports  |  The City of North Charleston is seeking a new artist-in-residence for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

The city’s artist-in-residence serves as a key resource for the department’s outreach programs, especially in the area of art instruction. The selected visual artist will share his or her unique skills, talents and experiences by providing free visual art residencies, workshops and demonstrations in public schools, recreation facilities and community gathering spaces in North Charleston. Local visual artists with a willingness to share their talents and an ability to work with students of all ages are invited to apply for the part-time, contracted position by Friday, June 28, 2019.

The new artist-in-residence will have an exhibition of work  at the North Charleston City Gallery from December 2019 through January 2020. Additional exhibition opportunities are available during the North Charleston Arts Fest in May. The successful applicant will be paid up to $7,500 for up to 300 hours of work.  Interested artists should submit quality photographs or digital images of their work along with a current résumé or CV reflecting their exhibition and teaching experience by 5 p.m. June 28. Application materials may be emailed to kyeadon@northcharleston.org or mailed to the attention of Krystal Yeadon at City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department, PO Box 190016, North Charleston, SC, 29419-9016. More info: Visit the Arts & Culture section of www.northcharleston.org or call 843-740-5854.

In other Good News:

Miller

New bookstore in Goose Creek.  Turning Page Bookshop opened in Goose Creek over the weekend becoming one of the Charleston area’s few independent bookstores and the second African American-owned bookstore in the state.  VaLinda Miller, who previously owned The Booksmith in Seneca, moved the business closer to her Goose Creek home.  Miller said she was sad to leave Seneca behind, but is excited for the new adventure.

 “Goose Creek is growing fast, and I want to be part of the mixtures of imagination by showing the world that we are more than readers and support our small businesses,” she said.  “We are what a diverse community can do and do well.”  The bookstore will be selling new books, including Bibles, Christian fiction, African-American books and Young Adult books.  They will be serving coffee and will provide a relaxing space for book lovers and others a place to read books.  Visit at 216 St. James Avenue, Goose Creek.

A Magnolia first.  Chinese lanterns will glow for four months beginning Nov. 15 at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, illuminating America’s oldest garden at night for the first time in its history, according to a press release.  Magnolia Plantation and Gardens has partnered with the Zigong Lantern Group in China to present “Lights of Magnolia: Reflections of a Cultural Exchange.”  The lantern festival, the first ever at a public garden in North America, places Magnolia in a position to play a prominent role in supporting Charleston’s tourism traffic, Tom Johnson, the garden’s executive director, said. “We are expecting record-breaking attendance for this visually stimulating display of stunning Chinese art that will glow in the night,” he said. “Magnolia is constantly looking for opportunities to enhance the garden experience for our visitors, and I believe we’ve found a unique opportunity with the Zigong Lantern Group.”

Hat tip.  Congratulations for former College of Charleston President George Benson, was recently presented with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who’s Who. Benson is a professor of decision sciences in the college’s Department of Supply Chain and Information Management and served as the college’s president from 2007 to 2014.

Anti-teen pregnancy group gathers June 4-6. The S.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy is hosting its 20th Annual Teen Pregnancy Prevention Conference June 4 to June 6 at the North Charleston Marriott. Keynote and plenary speakers include Judge Glenda Hatchett, a TV personality and successful attorney, and Dr. Elizabeth Schroeder, an award-winning educator, trainer and author in the areas of sexuality education pedagogy. Learn more here.

Entertainment industry flees red-state laws. South Carolina has gained a Netflix show after the streaming media giant balked at North Carolina’s transgender bathroom policy. Now, as other entertainment looks at leaving Georgia over its abortion restrictions, South Carolina is looking at enacting similar legislation. Read the story in The Charleston City Paper.

Billions lost.  South Carolina is missing out on up to $70 billion from economic activity related to production of offshore wind power, according to the new issue of sister publication, Statehouse Report.  Correspondent Lindsay Street writes “South Carolina tops a national list for potential in an emerging industry that could bring in thousands of jobs and provide cheap electricity, but developers aren’t lining up.”  Read the full story.