It’s Women’s History Month, and Columbia Design League’s DesignHER panel returns tomorrow, March 19 to the Columbia Museum of Art, spotlighting women shaping design across the Midlands.

Doors open at 6 p.m., with the panel and Q+A from 6:30 to 8 p.m., followed by a mix-and-mingle until 8:30 p.m.

Now in its fifth year, DesignHER brings together a wide range of creatives, from branding and architecture to gardening and sign art. This year’s lineup includes:

Christina Smith-Galloway, gardener and community-based designer
Courtney Speight, creative director at BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina
Danielle Salley, freelance creative director and designer
Sally Peek, founder and handbag designer behind Nana by Sally
Jane Hearn, local sign artist for Trader Joe’s

The conversation is moderated by Gretchen Lambert, vice president of Studio 2LR. Expect a look at how these women are shaping Columbia’s visual and cultural landscape — and how their work extends across the Southeast and beyond.

Can’t make the event? You can still experience work by women artists out in the wild. Here are two public pieces around Columbia worth a stop .

The Architecture of Strength | Photo by COLAtoday team

The Architecture of Strength is located on the corner of Main + Gervais Streets. According to Columbia City of Women + Deedee Morrison, this sculpture aims to spark a conversation about women’s strength, power, and perseverance. It challenges us to understand that it takes women of every kind to make up our society.

Unveiled: June, 16 2021

Created by: Deedee Morrison for Columbia City of Women — an initiative by Historic Columbia + Women's Rights and Empowerment Network.

Motherhood is a limestone sculpture honoring nurture, love, and protection at Lady + Gadsden Streets.| Photo by COLAtoday

Motherhood is an Indiana limestone faceless sculpture at Lady + Gadsden Streets, created to represent the universal archetype of nurture, love, and protection.

Unveiled: Feb., 14, 2022

Created by: Nora Valdez for The Congaree Vista Guild, facilitated by One Columbia for Arts and Culture