This year’s South Carolina State Parks Artist-In-Residence program received nearly 100 applications. Out of the 20+ artists that were chosen, eight live in the Upstate.

Before we introduce the artists, let’s talk about the program.

Each artist will have the opportunity to be inspired by our state parks’ natural + cultural resources through a free, one-week cabin stay in one of 15 state parks:

Upstate: Devil’s Fork State Park, Oconee State Park, Table Rock State Park + Lake Hartwell State Park

Midlands: Barnwell State Park, Cheraw State Park, Chester State Park, Poinsett State Park, Dreher Island State Park + Hickory Knob State Park

PeeDee: Little Pee Dee State Park

Low Country: Edisto State Park, Givhans Ferry State Park, Myrtle Beach State Park + Santee State Park

In return, artists will produce an original piece of artwork for the park.

Here are the Upstate artists taking up residence in our state’s parks and the mediums they work with:

KC Christmas

Barnwell State Park, acrylic paint + paper collage

Sarah Mandell

Dreher Island State Park, needle-felt + jewelry

Margaret Vetter

Cheraw State Park, mosaic

Casey Shoub

Edisto Beach State Park, photography

"There is nothing I love more than spending a day in South Carolina’s nature capturing a new place while still taking the time to mentally enjoy my surroundings... and that’s exactly what I plan to do on this Residency. — Casey Shoub

Ellen Richardson Conner

Lake Hartwell State Park, photography

Esther Gambrell

Chester State Park, photography and digital painting

Michael Gambrell

Devil’s Fork State Park, astrophotography

Greg Hammond, Givhans Ferry State Park, photography

Greg is an SC native who took to photography after retiring from mortgage banking. | Photos provided by Greg Hamond

See the work of 2021’s Artist-In-Residence program here + the artists taking part in this year’s program here.