The Pickens County Museum of Art & History is funded in part by Pickens County, members and friends of the museum and a grant from the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Located at the corner of Hwy. 178 at 307 Johnson Street in Pickens SC, the museum is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Admission is free but donations are welcomed.

PICKENS COUNTY YOUTH ARTS 2010

The Pickens County Cultural Commission is pleased to announce that, in recognition of “National Youth Arts” month as well as “National Music in our Schools” month, March is again, Pickens County Youth Arts Month. The Pickens County Museum of Art & History and the Schools of Pickens County will celebrate with a reception to kick off the month at the museum on Saturday February 27 from Noon until 4:00 p.m.(A Special Presentation of Recognition for our elementary schools will be made at 1:00 and an Awards Ceremony for the Middle & High Schools will be held at 2:30 p.m.)

This always entertaining Visual Arts Exhibition featuring work from students in the art programs at all Pickens County schools will be on display beginning February 27 and continuing through March 25.

In addition to the visual arts exhibit, the museum will also host, on Thursday, March 18, “An Evening of Poetry, Prose and Performance” featuring the literary and performance talent of Pickens County’s middle and secondary schools’ students. This presentation will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the museum’s Lavonne Nalley Piper Auditorium.

Accompany the Youth Arts Month exhibition, and in honor of the Boy Scouts of America Centennial, the museum will host an exhibit of Scouting artifacts and memorabilia from the past 100 years. Displays include items from a private collection, the Blue Ridge Council, BSA, and from units of the Pickens District. This is the first major event for a year long BSA celebration here in the Pickens District. Local and national plans to celebrate the Boy Scouts of America’s 100th Anniversary, offering everyone an opportunity to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime event, can be found at the BSA Pickens District website at http://bsapickensbrc.webs.com or the Blue Ridge Council website at http://www.blueridgecouncil.org.

A selection of other exhibits, concerts and performances will take place at a variety of locations throughout March. As the many schools are sponsoring events too numerous to add here, please do contact your child’s school for programming information.

Please do support the arts in our schools by attending as many events as possible and certainly take advantage of this unique selection of art on display at the museum. Pickens County Youth Arts 2010 is part of the museum’s 2009–2010 exhibition season being sponsored by the Upstate Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery & Dental Implant Center along with Pickens Savings & Loan.

The Pickens County Cultural Commission meets at 6:00 p.m.on the 2nd Thursday of every month at the Museum.

Pickens County Youth Arts 2010

31st Annual Juried SC Artists Exhibition, Juried by Hank T. Foreman, Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, ASU

• Kent Ambler – Woodcuts
• Cecile L. K. Martin – Prologue
• Carole K. Tinsley - Mixed Media

• Cherokee Carvers: Tradition Renewed
• Basketry: Traditional and Contemporary Woven Art

• Jeffery Callaham: African American Folk Paintings
• Melissa Earley: Beadwork
• Barbara St Denis: Mixed Media

Part of the Pickens County Museum’s on-going effort to present educational programming for the community, the Pickens County Museum features local artists, storytellers, historians, authors, craftsmen and more on many Thursday evenings and Saturday afternoons in the Lavonne Nalley Piper Auditorium, the Liz Smith Coz Educational Studio or in the Museum Gift Shop as well as other off site partner venues.

• March 18: “An Evening of Poetry, Prose and Performance” Featuring the talent of students from the School District of Pickens County as part of Pickens County Youth Arts 2010. 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
• April 17:“Banjo Stage Show” featuring two-time national banjo champ, Charles Wood (1:00 – 3:00). Wood is absolutely one of the world’s best banjo players. “The J.C. Owens Band” (with SC Folk Heritage Award winning fiddler, Owens) opening at 12:00 noon
• Mar 27: “100 Year Reunion” A daylong event focused on genealogy of families who have been in our area for 100 years, participants will enjoy workshops on getting started and continuing their own family genealogy, hear round table discussion for problem solving, tour the Faith Clayton Family Research Center. Museum is partner in this event which takes place at Southern Wesleyan University, Central campus.
• April 24-25:POP Open Studio Event- Museum is partner with Blue Ridge Arts Council in this Third Annual event which showcases our local (Pickens, Oconee, Pendleton) artists. This is a wonderful opportunity for the public to visit the open studio of a wide variety of participating artists in three counties. For more information go to www.popstudiotour.com
• May 15: “Art in the Garden” The Museum and Birchwood Center are partnering with the Pickens County Historical Society to showcase the work of local artists and the newly landscaped English Garden complete with Rose Garden at the Hagood-Mauldin house. Twelve invited artists will set-up under tent around the gardens at the Hagood-Mauldin house in downtown Pickens.
• May 22: Book Signing - local author Joshua Beau Blackwell will be signing “Used to be a Rough Place in Them Hills”. This book focuses on moonshine, the Dark Corner, and the New South. 1:00-3:00 p.m.
• Sept 23: “Appalachian Voices: Perceptions, Features & Origins of Southern Mountain Speech”, lecture with David Marlowe, PhD, Assistant Professor of Linguistics from the University of SC-Upstate. 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.

MONTHLY: Sign up for our ongoing Tuesday & Thursday Art Classes for Children and Adults. Pre-registration is required. For more information contact the museum.

All classes will be held in the Liz Smith Cox Educational Studio (unless otherwise noted). For more information please contact the museum at 864-898-5963.

Additional Workshops are in the works, but for now sign up for any of the following:

Advanced Macro-Photography Workshop - award-winning photographer, Clay Bolt, will be the instructor for this class developed for macro-photographers already familiar with basics of close-up photography, but want to delve into more advanced techniques; Participants will learn about macro-flash, ultra-wide angle macro-photography and field studio portraits. Students will need camera, tripod, flash gear (if possible) and macro/close-up lenses. The Joe & Maggie Rampey Native Gardens at the Pickens County Museum will serve as classroom. Pre-registration required; Tuition is $75 ($65 for museum members). 8:00 - 11:30 a.m. Age 16 and up; Class limited to 10 students so reserve your place early.

Third Annual Kids Camp with sessions at the Hagood Mill and the Pickens County Museum.

Dale Cochran’s “Exploring Watercolor” two-day Workshop (Adults) $75/$65

Dale Cochran’s “Exploring Watercolor” two-day Workshop (Adults) $75/$65

The Hagood Mill Historic Site and Folklife Center
138 Hagood Mill Road, Pickens SC 29671
(864) 898-2936

The Hagood Mill is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 until 4:00 for tours of the buildings and grounds.

The Pickens County Museum of Art & History is pleased to announce our 2010 “MUSIC IN THE MOUNTAINS” programs. We invite one and all to join us at the historic Hagood Mill on the third Saturday of every month for a day of MILLING, MUSIC & MEMORIES AT THE HISTORIC HAGOOD MILL, including tours, concerts, demonstrations, living history presentations and seasonal thematic activities. Upcoming events include:

• March 20: "The 3rd Annual KidsFest” hosted by Buffalo Barfield and P. Doodle Possum featuring “hooping and hollering” entertainment by and for kids. The Young Appalachian Musicians (Y.A.M.s), who learn traditional music at five of our Pickens County Schools will be featured.
• April 17:“Banjo Stage Show” featuring two-time national banjo champ, Charles Wood (1:00 – 3:00). Wood is absolutely one of the world’s best banjo players. “The J.C. Owens Band” (with SC Folk Heritage Award winning fiddler, Owens) opening at 12:00 noon
• May 15: “Irish Spring”hosted by Celtic musician, Ed Harrison and featuring some of his great musician friends (12:00 – 3:00). In observance of Armed Forces Day, historian/re-enactor, Ken Nabors will be present along with several military displays.
• June 19:“Songwriter Showcase” (12:00 – 3:00) Hosted by singer/songwriter Rachel Van Slyke and showcasing talented “cutting edge” regional songwriters.
• Aug 21:“Gospel Celebration” Concert with variety of traditional and contemporary musical styles featuring the exceptional “Last Road” bluegrass band and including several other gospel performances (12:00 – 3:00)
• Sept 18:“Hagood Mill’s Annual Old Time Fiddler’s Convention”, one of the last such events in South Carolina and a good time for all with prizes for the top musicians in several categories. (10:00 – 4:00)
• Oct 16:“Ninth Annual Hagood Mill Storytelling Festival”, a Hagood Mill favorite, hosted by musician/storyteller/ radio personality, John Fowler, and featuring tall tales, yarns and whoppers by some of the regions best tellers.
• Nov 20: “Selugadu IV” , a Native American Celebration in honor of Native American Heritage Month, hosted by Reedy River Intertribal, featuring Cherokee (and other) Native culture interpreted through drumming, dancing, storytelling, demonstrations and crafts. Hagood Mill’s biggest event. (10:00 – 4:00)
• Dec 18:“A Yuletide Celebration” at Hagood Mill. Celebrating Yuletide traditions around the world and featuring a “Celtic Christmas” concert by Ed Harrison and Friends.

The Hagood Mill is located just 3 miles north of Pickens, or 5 1/2 miles south of Scenic Hwy. 11, off Hwy. 178 on Hagood Mill Rd. The site is open to the public Wednesday – Saturday from 10:00 until 4:00. For more information please call the Hagood Mill Historic Site & Folklife Center at (864) 898-2936 or the Pickens County Museum at (864) 898-5963.