The City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department selects one professional visual artist each fiscal year to be the City’s Artist-in-Residence. The City’s Artist-in-Residence (AIR) serves as a key resource for the department’s outreach programs, especially in the area of art instruction. The selected artist shares his/her unique skills, talents, and experiences by providing services to senior groups, public schools, orphanages, group homes, and various other groups within the city limits of North Charleston. The AIR is available for visual art residencies of 12-15 hours (at a min. of 2 hour increments) at North Charleston schools and is also available to host workshops for community groups of all ages. The AIR also offers instruction during the department’s summer arts camps and is offered a number of exhibition opportunities throughout the year.
2019/20 Artist-in-Residence Katherine Hester
Katherine Hester is a local artist working in oil and mixed media. She paints outdoors, onsite when painting landscapes in order to capture the changing light of the Lowcountry. Katherine also enjoys creating portraits, working in mixed media in order to put a modern twist to the classic genre.
Katherine is a native of the Lowcountry and a graduate of the College of Charleston. She holds a Master’s in Education and worked as a studio art, art history, and science teacher before leaving the classroom in order to pursue her painting career full time. Katherine has been represented by galleries in Charleston and exhibited her work throughout the region. She has won numerous awards and participates in the annual Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibition each spring.
As North Charleston’s Artist-in-Residence, Katherine will offer instruction in painting and drawing. Her art curriculum often includes concepts of science. “Whether it is something as simple as using oil pastels with watercolor paints in order to instill the concept of solubility, to purposefully calculating the ebb and flow of the tide to teach principles of gravity and painting realistic waves, the essence of teaching is instilling curiosity,” she explains. In addition to teaching, Katherine will also be working with the Cultural Arts Department on public art projects throughout the City as part of her residency.
The North Charleston City Gallery will host an exhibition of Katherine’s work from Dec 2019- Jan 2020. The gallery is located within the Charleston Area Convention Center at 5001 Coliseum Dr. in North Charleston. School liaisons, art teachers, and the general public are invited to meet the artist at a free public reception on Thursday, December 5, 20196, from 5:00-7:00pm.
How to Request an AIR Residency
Art teachers or school liaisons may initiate the request for FREE services by the Artist-in-Residence by submitting a completed Visual Artist-in-Residence Request Form, which may be downloaded here. Community groups are welcome to submit requests which will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis. All project requests should be placed at least two weeks in advance and residencies must be completed by the end of June 2020. For more information about the AIR program or other programs and services offered by the Cultural Arts Department, call 843-740-5854, email [email protected], or visit the Arts & Culture section of the City’s website.