S.C. Arts Awards

The South Carolina Arts Awards are an annual joint presentation by the South Carolina Arts Commission and McKissick Museum at the University of South Carolina.

• South Carolina Governor’s Awards for the Arts

  Recipients from their respective categories are recognized for outstanding achievement and contributions to the arts in South Carolina with the South Carolina Governor’s Awards for the Arts.

  • Click here to go to the S.C. Governor’s Awards for the Arts page.

• Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Awards

  Up to four artists and one advocate are recognized with the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award as practitioners and advocates of traditional arts significant to communities throughout the state. Their traditions embody folklife’s dynamic, multigenerational nature, and its fusion of artistic and utilitarian ideals.

  • Click here to go to the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Awards page.

South Carolina Arts Commission Executive Director David Platts and University of South Carolina McKissick Museum Executive Director Jane Przybysz are joined by S.C. First Lady Peggy McMaster at the Governor’s Mansion to honor seven exceptional recipients of the 2023 South Carolina Arts Awards.

South Carolina Governor’s Awards for the Arts

• SPECIAL AWARD: Nigel Redden, Mystic, Connecticut
• ARTIST: Ray McManus, Lexington
• INDIVIDUAL: Carlos Agudelo, Spartanburg
• ARTS IN EDUCATION: American College of the Building Arts, Charleston
• ORGANIZATION: Aiken Center for the Arts, Aiken

Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award

• ARTIST: Emily H. Meggett, Edisto Island; Gullah Geechee Chef (posthumous)
• ARTIST: Hampton Rembert, Bishopville; Gospel Singing