Coastal Community Foundation is pleased to announce Morgan Kinne has been selected as the 2020 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.
Kinne, who has lived and worked as an artist in Charleston since 2014, earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture from Winthrop University and her Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from the University of Edinburgh. She primarily works as a sculptor, but has also completed dozens of paintings, drawings and mixed media works.
For the Griffith-Reyburn Award, she plans to create a sculpture exploring Charleston’s architectural themes and its reflection of class, race and equity.
“I want to present and engage the community with all aspects of Charleston life — the beauty, of course, but also more uncomfortable themes like rising waters, inequity and overdevelopment,” Kinne said. “The sculpture I am creating is ambitious in scale and concept, addressing a wide spectrum of Charleston life, aesthetics and history.”
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 in the fall of 2020, the piece will remain the personal property of the artist, to keep, show or sell at her discretion.
