Emerging Artists
Support for career satisfaction and sustainability
“Emerging artists” are defined as those who are at an early stage in their career development (specifically, artists who are starting their careers and have been active for one to five years).
Further, the term “emerging” refers to professional accomplishments and recognition, not to stylistic evolution.
- An emerging artist is expected to have a limited performing, publishing, or exhibition record.
- Emerging artists may demonstrate potential in their practice through risk-taking and pushing their work in dynamic ways.
The South Carolina Arts Commission recognized the needs of artists who fit into this category—of any age.
Thus was born a grant and accompanying program designed to assist emerging artists in South Carolina through project grant funding of as much as $1,800 as well as free mentorship and professional support during the grant period.
This page is a showcase of the current grantees and work samples resulting from their involvement in the program.
Go to the grant guidelines
FY25 Round 2 Grantees
When soliciting artist statements, the South Carolina Arts Commission provides artists complete latitude for those statements they craft to take any form. Publication of said statements does not—and should not be understood to—indicate endorsement by the state of South Carolina, SCAC, or agents thereof.
Representative works are furnished by the artists. All rights reserved.
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Charleston | Dance: Performance (choreography)
BiographyLacey Bates is a professional dancer, choreographer, and educator from Myrtle Beach. She holds a bachelor’s in dance and arts management from the College of Charleston and master’s in education from Holy Names University. In Charleston, Lacey performed with Annex Dance Company and Dance Lab’s Entertainment Company and shared the stage with Weird Al Yankovic and Beats Antique during their local tour stops. During her time in the San Francisco Bay Area, she worked with prominent companies such as PUSH Dance Company, Visceral Roots Dance Company, Printz Dance Project, and A Pulso Dance Project. She also served as co-artistic director of The Collective SF, a collaborative dance company. Lacey has over 10 years of teaching experience in public schools, non-profits, and renowned institutions like ODC and Alonzo King LINES Ballet. After five years in the Bay Area, she returned to Charleston, where she continues to contribute to the dance community as a public school dance educator, a performer with Elevate Performance Company, and as the artistic director of Collective SC.
Social media
Representative works
- REVIVE (Choreography by Lacey Bates)
- Disco Sisters (Choreography by Lacey Bates and Lucy Dillon)
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Elgin | Media: Production (multimedia/media arts)
Biography
Torres Fontain Jr. is a filmmaker and writer deeply influenced by his upbringing in the close-knit community of Camden. An early exposure to tales shared by his community elders and the camaraderie of his teammates shaped Torres’s understanding of storytelling as a vital tool for community building.
Torres strives to create narratives with engaging character relationships that reflect the complexity and diversity of the relationships he observes in his own life. Beyond his own creative pursuits, he is dedicated to education, conducting media literacy workshops for students of all ages, empowering them to navigate and critically engage with media in the modern world.
Social media
Representative works
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Jonesville | Visual art (multidisciplinary/multimedia/time-based)
Biography
Maggie Genoble (b. 2001 is an interdisciplinary artist working within feminist and queer studies as it relates to the emergence of new technology. She works across a range of media, utilizing sculpture, video, and installation to generate hybrid figures in a time when the human body is highly digitized and politicized. Growing up in the conservative South, she responds to rigid, normative performances of gender and sexuality, working through nontraditional modes of representation in her practice to expand on ideas of identity. Genoble recently completed a bachelor’s in studio art and art history from Wofford College, where she received the Whetsell Fellowship, leading to a solo exhibition. She was the inaugural artist in residence at Tiger Strikes Asteroid Greenville, presenting a solo exhibition with the support of the Foundation of Contemporary Arts; was selected as a Tri State Sculpture Association Memorial Fellow; and has a forthcoming two-person exhibition at the Thornback Gallery in Greenville titled Pink Noise.
Social media
Website
Representative works
Click images to enlarge.
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- Surface Tension
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- Growing Pains
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- Bedside Aid
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Columbia | Time-based arts (media arts/multimedia production/animation)
Biography
Aulani Pau is an emerging 3D animator and graphic designer whose Polynesian roots form the foundation of her artistic journey. Growing up in Hawaii, she participated in grassroots arts programs like Honolulu’s City and County Summer Fun program, which nurtured her creativity and passion for storytelling. With degrees in computer animation from Full Sail University and graphic design from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, she combines cultural inspiration with technical expertise to craft impactful motion graphics, 3D renderings, and integrated designs.
Website
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Representative works
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Rock Hill | Visual arts/crafts (ceramics/pottery/sculpture)
Biography
Jason Rogers is a sculptor/potter in the Catawba Indian tribe based in Rock Hill. I’ve been through a few different mentorship opportunities in our tribe and have had several pieces featured in several exhibitions in my surrounding states. I take ancient traditional methods and create new pieces to share with the world that represents my culture as a Native American Artist. My work is inspired by trying to create something new but from ancient traditional practices.
When I’m not sculpting or creating pottery, I am a father to 3 and a husband to the most amazing wife I could ever dream of.
Social media
Website
Representative works
Click images to enlarge.
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- Vases
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- Large Turtle
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- Candle Burner
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Mt. Pleasant | Visual arts (silkscreen/silk screenprinting)
Biography
Julia Vanderpool is a Charleston-based artist with a background in photojournalism. She holds a bachelor’s in news editorial with minors in art, psychology and history. After working as a photojournalist for four newspapers, Julia took a hiatus to raise four daughters and manage a family business. Her art practice is primarily in silkscreen printing, working between the photo darkroom and the screen printing lab at Redux Contemporary Art Center. Julia is currently reimagining her 30-year-old archived black-and-white negatives, reinterpreting them into vibrant and expressive screen prints.
Social media
Representative works
Click images to enlarge.
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- Cowboy Poet
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- Cowboy Poet Chroma
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- Femme Forte
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- Femme Forte Triplets
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Charleston | Photography
Biography
Nathalie Watson is an Afro-Latina environmental portrait photographer and cinematographer based in Charleston. With nine years (four professionally) of experience, her work explores the connection between nature using elements like water, fields, and trees to illuminate the brilliance of melanine skin tones. Formerly visual production manager for The Conqueror Movement, she produced Nurturing Your Light, a documentary on mental health and diverse self-care practices in the black community.
Now creative director for Da Gullah Geechee Influence, Nathalie captures the heritage and traditions of her Gullah Geechee culture. Her debut solo exhibition, Storyboarding Through Her Lens at One Columbia Art Center, depicted life’s complex emotions through cinematic visuals. Internationally recognized at the Monaco Art Fair, her art honors the voices and legacy of her community by challenging misrepresentations of media and celebrates the authentic and diverse perspective of the black culture and experience.
Social media
Website
Representative works
Click images to enlarge.
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- Drummin Praises
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- Soulful Return
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- Palmetto Rose of Praises
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FY25 Round 1 Grantees
When soliciting artist statements, the South Carolina Arts Commission provides artists complete latitude for those statements they craft to take any form. Publication of said statements does not—and should not be understood to—indicate endorsement by the state of South Carolina, SCAC, or agents thereof.
Representative works are furnished by the artists. All rights reserved.
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Rock Hill | Visual Art & Craft
BiographyAs a Catawba artist with a background in ecology, I am deeply committed to bridging the connection between our land and our cultural heritage. Through traditional arts like pottery and basketry, I explore this relationship, incorporating elements of our ancestral traditions while celebrating the resilience of our community. My work aims to honor our ancestors, inspire current and future generations of Catawba artists, and promote the interconnectedness of nature and culture.
Artist statement
Being selected as an Emerging Artist by the South Carolina Arts Commission is an incredible honor that provides a platform at the state level to showcase Catawba artistry. This recognition allows me to honor my ancestors and the strong Catawba women in my family who kept our culture alive through their art.
Social media
Representative works
Click images to enlarge.
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Anderson | Media: Screenwriting
BiographySherita Bolden is a screenwriter and filmmaker who holds her audience captive with each character and scene. She’s also the author of the highly anticipated and well received novels: Don’t Touch My Wine, The Hit Girl Series, and her latest title release The Lesbian Romance Smut Series.
To date, Sherita is the only writer to have placed in two categories (Feature script and semi-finalist short/series) in the Del Shores Writers Search competition in 2024. She was a semi-finalist for SAGIndie Fellowship for Stowe Story Labs 2024.
A mother of three ferocious animals (sons) Baer, Tyger and Wulf, she also has three superpowers: Being a Fearless Female, A Black Woman who thinks that people are fascinating, and everyone has a beautiful story worth telling and being in the LGBTQIA+ community!
Sherita lives in South Carolina where she loves experiencing beautiful moments with her family and friends, venturing deeper into learning how to exist in harmony with the universe, hanging out in nature, and dancing to any song that has a dope beat.
Artist statement
Being chosen by the South Carolina Arts Commission as an Emerging Artist grantee is a great honor! It reinforces my belief that there is always room for us all in art and in life.
Social media
Representative works
Click images to enlarge.
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- Screenshot of the “Lesbian X” screenplay.
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- Screenshot of the “A Dance for LeRoy” screenplay.
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Greenville | Visual Art
BiographyBorn in Guanajuato, Mexico, Orlando Corona moved to the U.S. at the age of 10 where he learned to adjust to a new world. He found his passion for art during an art class in high school, where he learned printmaking and found mentorship that has helped guide him forward in the years since.
Orlando draws deep inspirations from his roots as a first-generation Mexican immigrant, and strives to tell stories about his own experience, yet outgrow cultural stereotypes and limits. He aims to inspire others through his work and be an integral part of his community and the world.
Artist statement
I am excited about the opportunity to work on a big project I have been planning, which I now have the funds for thanks to the South Carolina Arts Commission’s Emerging Artist grant.
Social media
Representative works
Click images to enlarge.
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- “Emiliano Zapata” acrylic on canvas, 24×36
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- “No todo es lo que parece”
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- “Globero repartiendo suenos” oil on canvas, 16×20
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Rock Hill | Visual Art & Craft
BiographyTeresa Dunlap is a Catawba potter and basket maker. Her deep love for nature is expressed through her art, both in subject and medium. Teresa continually explores different techniques and forms, eager for a new challenge.
Growing up away from the Catawba reservation and community, Teresa had limited access to learning about her traditional culture and art. However, since returning to the Catawba community three years ago, she has immersed herself in the cultural arts. This journey of discovery has been enriched by her apprenticeship under master potter Caroleen Sanders and by attending basketry workshops with esteemed basket makers within her own and other Indigenous communities.
Teresa’s artistic journey is intertwined with her passion for education. As a former teacher, she now channels her love for teaching into her role at the Catawba Cultural Center, where she coordinates cultural arts classes for Catawba citizens and their families. Her work has been showcased in several art shows, and she actively demonstrates both pottery and Long Leaf Pine basketry to both Catawba citizens and the broader public. Teresa’s commitment to preserving and promoting Catawba art is a testament to her dedication to her heritage and community.
Artist statement
I am honored to be included as an Emerging Artist grantee. I will be using this opportunity to continue to develop my artistry and body of work in both traditional Catawba pottery and longleaf pine basketry. This includes new pieces of work for my first major arts fair in November, Yap Ye Iswa (Day of the Catawba), a cultural festival focused on Catawba culture and art.
Social media
Representative works
Click images to enlarge.
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- Snake bowl
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- Fox bowl
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- Snake tray
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Columbia | Poetry, Visual Art
BiographySophie Farthing is a poet and interdisciplinary artist living in Columbia. Her work has appeared in outlets including Right Hand Pointing, Beyond Queer Words, Impossible Archetype, and Anti-Heroin Chic. Her poetry is also featured in the horror anthology it always finds me from Querencia Press. She is the 2024 recipient of the Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Fellowship in Poetry from the South Carolina Academy of Authors.
Artist statement
I am beyond grateful for SCAC’s funding of my interdisciplinary piece “In My Father’s House.” This project, which explores the terrible mundanity of domestic violence, is deeply personal to me, and would not be possible without the Emerging Artist grant.
Website
Social media
Representative works
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- “We Have Always Been Here”
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Bennettsville | Visual Art
BiographyDaishanna Pearson knew from an early age that her passion in life was art. Raised in Marlboro County, she used her vision for a different world to create visual art showing her talent.
In 2020 during the global lockdown, she found inspiration in the sporadic world around her and began to process it through visual storytelling.
Daishanna’s work focuses on individual behaviors, experiences, and socio-cultural context. Through her artistry, she seeks to highlight relatedness and how interactions with one another influence our current and future thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. She studied at the University of South Carolina-Columbia, where she received a bachelor’s in public health.
Daishanna utilizes her knowledge and artistry to engage the community in various creative activities, such as painting sessions and summer arts programs for local students. Her goal is to create a safe and collaborative space which fosters relationship building through art. Her work has been displayed at the Marlboro County Museum and she is also a member of the Marlboro County Artists Guild.
Artist statement
I am ecstatic and very grateful to be selected as an Emerging Artist grantee. Through this opportunity, I look forward to expanding my creative practice, receiving peer support and mentorship, and increasing artistic engagement within my community.
Social media
Representative works
Click images to enlarge.
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Orangeburg | Music: Performance
BiographyPR3SCOTT, “ Jas McDaniel” is a talented R&B singer who is charismatic, energetic, youthful, and fun. He sings music that covers many eras from the ’50s to present day. This versatile artist sings classic R&B, Soul, neo soul, gospel and pop. While living in Massachusetts, PR3SCOTT recorded several originals that can be heard on social media platforms including YouTube and Spotify.
As a transplant to South Carolina, he has had remarkable success in singing at various events including festivals, showcases, galas, and invitational open mic events. Recent performance venues include Gullah Roots Foundation Gala, SCSU Alumna Gala, Blackville Music and Arts Festival, and SC Upper Low Country Muscadine Festival; PR3SCOTT also has opened for Trina and the Yin-Yang- Twins. His newest original, “We Be” has received positive attention and can be heard in mixes by Djs Fat Boy, Big Homie Meech and TrueDat and T Sweat to name a few. PR3SCOTT will release “Christmas Eve” for the 2024 holiday season.
Pr3scott is ready to perform with live band as well as with instrumental tracks. He has been featured with the Roland Haynes Jr. Jazz Trio, The Willie Bradley Brand, The Myron Brooker Gospel ensemble and Glyshae’s Players. Pr3scott is always ready to travel and has been featured along the eastern seaboard from Massachusetts to Florida. Pr3scott can deliver to any, putting on a show that delights audiences of all ages.
Artist statement
I am proud and thankful to have this opportunity. Being a SCAC Emerging Artist will propel my career and more importantly help me be an example for all creatives who are differently abled.
Social media
Representative works
I’m here to help!
If you are seeking more program information, please contact Artist Development Director Tanisha N. Brown (803.734.8043 | tbrown@arts.sc.gov).