The Jasper Galleries at Meridian Features Timely Portrait Exhibit on Race and Authenticity

Since 2019, the Jasper Project has been showing art in the external gallery spaces of the Meridian Building in downtown Columbia as well as in the building’s lobby. In one of the first major exhibits since the start of COVID-19, the gallery is presenting a timely and poignant portrait show by Dalvin Spann and Lee Ann Kornegay.

The show features a collection of black and white portraits of everyday people in various poses and places. Aptly titled Black and White, the show “came out of a desire to gain and promote a better understanding of people of different color,” the Artist Statement says.

Spann, a black 36-year-old photographer, and Kornegay, a white 57-year-old filmmaker and photographer, together “envisioned it as a project that would challenge themselves, then ultimately viewers of their work, to learn new things about their subjects and talk about what it feels like to be black or white in the current times.”

Each photographer agreed to photograph people of a different color.

“The goal was to step outside of our comfort zones and shoot outside of our race. We wanted to spark change and conversation in all walks of life,” Spann reflects, “This was important then and now more important than ever with what we are seeing socially around the world.”

These portraits show people as themselves, as human beings. Through dance, sport, or a simple smile, the subjects of these photos express themselves authentically. The portraits present not just a reflection of the subject but a reflection of the witness.

The photos are set up throughout the window that lines Washington Street.

In addition to the portrait exhibit, Bert Easter, Jasper board member and manager of the gallery, has refreshed the space by adding a couple new UofSC student pieces and an extraordinary pottery piece by Virginia Scotchie as well as moving a few current pieces around to give a fresh look.

The Jasper Galleries at Meridian is located at 1320 Main Street, and interested individuals can drop in or drive by Washington and Sumter Streets to see the art.