A Film Project Featuring Columbia Artists: Eileen Blyth, Jarid Lyfe Brown, Michaela Pilar Brown, James Busby, Michael Cassidy, Stephen Chesley, Thomas Crouch, Jeff Donovan, Mary Gilkerson, Bonnie Goldberg, Michael Krajewski, Matthew Kramer, Whitney LeJeune, Susan Lenz, Dre Lopez, Laurie McIntosh, John Monteith, Lucas Sams, Alex Smith, Kirkland Smith, Laura Spong, Anna Redwine, Cedric Umoja, Mike Williams & David Yaghjian

701 Center for Contemporary Art in Columbia, S.C., presents 25 Artists, a film project by Columbia native, filmmaker and three-time Emmy nominee Wade Sellers. The opening reception will be Thursday, January 12, 2017, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m., and the exhibition will run through Sunday, February 26. Along with the exhibition, 701 CCA will present a series of conversations between artists on Sundays January 15 and 29 and February 12, all beginning at 3:00 p.m. The participating artists will be announced later.

For the project, filmmaker Sellers interviewed 25 Columbia artists whose work he admires, asking them why they create, what influences and motivates them, how they work, etc. Each interview took place with the artists standing in front of a neutral, white backdrop and was conducted informally and in spontaneous fashion. The interviews were edited to 60 seconds or less to create a series of vignettes. All interviews will be shown simultaneous on 25 mounted monitors in an inventive, gallery-wide installation. The goal was, Sellers says, “to get to the heart of why the artists do what they do and who they are as artists.” In the process, “the viewer is able to explore the creative process.”

To explore that process and other aspects of being an artists in Columbia further, 701 CCA will organize three Making It Work sessions. During the sessions, two or three artists will have conversations with each other about their work, process and career.

“Even though the edited versions are short, the interviews are incisive and provide a great series of portraits of artists and why they do what they do,” 701 CCA board chair Wim Roefs said. “The exhibition and conversations should give the public a deeper understanding of what drives artists and what the possibilities and difficulties are as they try to develop a career as artists in Columbia.”

“25 Artists is as complete a project from concept to creation as I have created,” Sellers said. “I am as proud of it as any work that I have done.”

Sellers in an independent filmmaker and producer. He is a three time Emmy nominee whose production company, Coal Powered Filmworks, focuses on producing documentary and independent film. His work has been seen on PBS stations nationwide and independent theaters and festivals around the country. After graduation from the University of South Carolina he began work in independent film as a cinematographer. In the late 1990’s he followed this work to New York City, where he began establishing a strong resume of independent work and corporate clients. After returning to the South he turned his focus to producing and directing.

After a number of years producing and directing independent work and PSAs for state agencies Sellers decided to form Coal Powered Filmworks, a documentary and commercial production company. Over the eight years since founding Coal Powered Filmworks, he has produced work for local, regional and national clients. His work has been recognized with Addys, Tellys and numerous other awards. His latest project is a three-part biography series focusing on soldiers who fought in Vietnam that will air nationally in 2017.