At the end of October, FSA hosted an Open Studio for Fall 2023 Artists-in-Residence Lanecia A. Rouse and Graeme Mortimer Evelyn. Both artists spoke to the research and work that they had generated over the course of a month in Charleston. Lanecia shared about her daily studio practice of lectio divina with poetry, and her process of working with collage. She spoke about her visit to Moving Star Hall Praise House on John’s Island and the history of the music generated from the community, as well as her time at the Avery Research Center for African-American History and Culture at the College of Charleston. Her studio walls were adorned with pieces that she made in her month of residence, combining pictures from her time in Charleston, hymnal pages, news clippings, vintage advertisements from Ebony magazine, and old book covers. 

Graeme Mortimer Evelyn shared about his meetings with various sacred congregations, speaking with clergy how to imagine a place for contemporary art in a place of worship, and what it might look like for churches to commission work for their sacred spaces. Having created a Stations of the Cross for a cathedral in Bristol, U.K., Graeme, a devout Buddhist, shared how the artist of faith creates work for viewers from all traditions and backgrounds – even atheists. His studio was a collection of his residency experiences in Charleston, in addition to drawings, collage, printmaking drafts, and a screening room for his film The Two Coins: Meditations on Trade.

We are grateful to the members of the local community, the Charleston Interreligious Council, and the College of Charleston for coming out to meet FSA’s Fall Artists-in-Residence and see their studio practice.

Left image: Lanecia A. Rouse, “She Decided to Wait No Longer,” 2023. Mixed media.