McKissick Museum Exhibition

Basketmakers have sewn baskets in the South Carolina Lowcountry since the 17th century. The tradition has been preserved at the hands of the Gullah-Geechee people, descendants of enslaved West Africans trafficked to North America. For over 300 years, basketmakers have transformed baskets from a plantation tool into an art form. Today, basketmakers continue to leverage heritage tourism to make a living, to advocate for the preservation of the ecosystem vital to the tradition, and to experiment with scale, form, and materials. This exhibition traces the evolution of sweetgrass baskets in South Carolina, highlighting the innovative work of contemporary makers.