SC Arts Commission Press Releases
Mayors Gear Up for Collaborative Community Design Project
Aug. 8, 2008
Media Contact:
Lindsey Moore
(803) 734-8622
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Four South Carolina communities are participating in this year’s South Carolina Mayors Institute for Community Design, a yearlong design arts initiative of the South Carolina Design Arts Partnership. Mayors participating include Mayor Rodney Giles, Andrews; Mayor Wiley "Rob" Taylor, Aynor; Mayor Alton McCollum, Bamberg; and Mayor Anne Johnston, St. George.
The program, which kicks off Sept. 24 at the Sandhills Research and Education Center in Columbia, unites designers and leaders to inspire quality community design. The initiative is hosted annually by the S.C. Design Arts Partnership, a joint program of Clemson University and the South Carolina Arts Commission, with generous funding from the S.C. Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
Following orientation, Design Arts Partnership staff and volunteers will conduct site visits to all four communities. During the visits, communities will work with partnership staff to develop a community profile and define the design challenges they will later present at the colloquium next January in Charleston.
During the colloquium, mayors will present their design challenges and solicit feedback from a faculty of design professionals from around the nation. In addition, faculty members will provide a series of lectures that cover the basics of community design, latest trends and more. Evening sessions and special tours will provide fertile ground for deeper conversations and opportunity to learn more about design.
The S.C. Mayors Institute brings together designers and community leaders to inspire meaningful discourse and action towards quality design. The program is dedicated to establishing South Carolina cities and towns as models of community design and planning. Inspired by Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley, the Mayors Institute is designed to train elected officials how to be the chief urban designers of their hometown and to leave a lasting legacy in the built environment that will be cherished for generations to come.
The S.C. Design Arts Partnership works with communities around the state on creative community development by conducting educational programs and projects, which focus on how to use architecture, landscape architecture, and community and regional planning to improve quality of life.
For more information about the S.C. Mayors Institute for Community Design, please contact Lindsey Moore, executive director of the S.C. Design Arts Partnership, at (803) 734-8622.
About SCAC:
The South Carolina Arts Commission is the state agency charged with creating a thriving arts environment that benefits all South Carolinians, regardless of their location or circumstances. Created by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1967, the Arts Commission is working to increase public participation in the arts by providing services, grants and leadership initiatives in three areas: arts education, community arts development and artist development. Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., the Arts Commission is funded by the state of South Carolina and by the federal government through the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, visit www.SouthCarolinaArts.com or call (803) 734-8696.
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