The College of Charleston’s Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art received a $15,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts ahead of an exhibition of the works of Cuban artist Roberto Diago.
The grant will provide funds for Diago’s brief residency as he creates new works for the exhibition, scheduled to be on view from Jan. 19 to March 3, 2018. The grant will also pay for a short documentary of Diago’s residency and exhibition.
“We are thrilled to once again have the support of the National Endowment for the Arts for our upcoming exhibition of Roberto Diago,” said Mark Sloan, director and chief curator of the Halsey Institute. “Such funding is critical in helping us to bring thought-provoking and innovative programming to Charleston.”
Diago lives in Havana and creates works that examine the vestiges of slavery in the Caribbean. His upcoming exhibit will explore the connections between slavery in Charleston and Cuba. The artist’s past works have been featured in exhibitions in New York City, Boston, Miami and Havana.
It’s the fifth time that the Halsey Institute has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in recent years. Past grants have supported Return to the Sea: Saltworks by Motoi Yamamoto (2012), Rebound: Dissections and Excavations in Book Art (2013), Lonnie Holley: Something to Take my Place (2015) and Southbound: Photographs of and about the New South (2018).
“The arts reflect the vision, energy, and talent of America’s artists and arts organizations,” said National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu. “The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support organizations such as the Halsey Institute, in serving their communities by providing excellent and accessible arts experiences.”
