Charleston, S.C. – Coastal Community Foundation is pleased to announce Julia Deckman has been selected as the 2019 Griffith-Reyburn Lowcountry Artist of the Year. This $6,000 grant is awarded to one visual artist each year to support the creation of a new work that represents unique aspects of the South Carolina Lowcountry’s lifestyle, culture or environment.
Deckman’s oil paintings of scenery and the built environment are marked by their bold and surprising colors. For the Griffith-Reyburn Award, she plans to create a piece from the lens of a local’s stroll through historic Charleston – an approach that will allow for the nuanced beauty of the city to shine.
“My composition will not be a typical depiction you might find on a postcard in the visitor’s center, but rather a piece that would be in a local’s scrap book. I want to evoke a sense of happy nostalgia for my favorite city, and the place I am lucky to call home,” she said.
Deckman attended College of Charleston and has been living and working in Charleston as an artist since 2012. She is a studio artist at Redux Contemporary Art Center and serves as the artist representative on the organization’s board. She’s also represented by Miller Gallery on East Bay Street.
The Lowcountry Artist of the Year Award was established at Coastal Community Foundation in 2003 by Mike Griffith and Donna Reyburn. The financial support is intended to cover the artist’s living expenses during the creation of the piece, allowing more time and energy to be spent on the artistic process. Once completed this fall, the piece will remain the personal property of the artist, to keep, show or sell at her discretion.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 7, 2019
Contact: Abigail Darlington
843-723-3635 or 843-568-9352
Abigail@coastalcommunityfoundation.org