CRASH

I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium Interns and staff traveled to the Association of African American Museums Conference in Pittsburgh, PA August 4-7. The Stanback students presented at a panel titled "CRASH: Linking Young People To Museums II". This was the the second year in a row that SC State students have presented at this conference.

The group, Music Education student Quenton Atterberry, Stanback Registrar/Art Education student Harriett Hilton, Fashion Merchandising student Ryan Quick, Music Industry student Eric J. Smith, Professional English Major Jessica Teasdale, Stanback Program Manager Ingrid Owens and I.P Stanback Museum and Planetarium Director Ellen Zisholtz, (who also serves as a AAAM board member) visited several museums along the way, including the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, The National Museum of African Art, The National Museum of the American Indian, and the Museum of American History, all in Washington, DC. In Pittsburgh, PA, they traveled to the Andy Warhol Museum, the Senator John Heinz History Center and The August Wilson Center for African American Culture, and in Richmond, VA they visited the Virginia Holocaust Museum. In Baltimore, MD, they visited the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of African American History and Culture.

Also, they met with Schroeder Cherry and Twinet Kimbrough of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which provided the grant for the position of Registrar at the Stanback and funding for Museum internships.

For more pics, visit our Facebook page.

Pictured left from right: Eric J. Smith, Harriett Hilton, Museum Director Ellen Zisholtz, Ryan Quick, Stanback Program Manager Ingrid Owens, Jessica Teasdale, and Quenton Atterberry

Museum Studies students once again presented at the Association of African American Museums Conference in Pittsburgh, PA August 4-7, 2010.

Here is the video recap that students Quenton Atterberry, Harriett Hilton, and Eric J. Smith produced, and shows highlights from last years conference in Baton Rouge.

You can also find us on YouTube - keyword search "stanback museum freedom ride"

Do you have any memorabilia or artifacts about Jim Crow, Civil Rights in South Carolina, the Holocaust or world-wide genocide? If so, then your artifacts can be a part of the upcoming Stanback exhibition Partnership in Social Justice featuring Beyond Swastika and Jim Crow: Jewish Refugee Scholars at Black Colleges, created and circulated by the Museum of Jewish Heritage, a living memorial to the Holocaust.

On Friday, October 22, 2010, which will be SC State's Homecoming, the Stanback will present this exhibition, which tells the story of German and Austrian Jewish refugee scholars who, fleeing Nazism in the 1930's/40's, could not find employment at American universities because of anti-Semitism. However, they were welcomed by Black colleges in the American south and, as mentors, led students in the Civil Rights movement. The encounter between the scholars and the Black students changed them both.

This exhibition explores racial conflict, prejudice, and overcoming stereotypes and cultural barriers, which changed institutional and individual lives.

Additionally, Partnership in Social Justice will showcase social comment art and artifacts related to Jim Crow, the South Carolina Civil Rights era and Holocaust refugees.

Submitted artifacts can include photographs, letters, recorded interviews, diplomas, documents, paintings, books, etc. If you are interested in contributing to this unique, time-sensitive project, please contact the Stanback and reference Call for Artifacts.

For additional information about the call for artifacts or the exhibition, please contact the I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium (803) 536-7174.

Pictured: Nevermore, Diptych, Oil on canvas, 2009, Ellen Zisholtz

Jade Hampton, (center) a South Carolina State University graduate, visited the Stanback with her "kids". Jade is a counselor with the Charleston Air Force Base kid's camp. They visited us Thursday, July 8, 2010.

Jade graduated in 2006 and has a BFA in Studio Art.

We appreciate our interns! They participate in everything we do and are a tremendous asset.

Here is Johnathan Mackins conducting a tour.

We have had a lot of groups visit us this summer! They have come from all over South Carolina, as well as from our local public and private schools.

We have enjoyed their visits!

Pictured below: Charleston Air Force Base Summer Camp

Pictured at right: Orangeburg Prep

The staff of the Stanback would like to congratulate James Williams and Bran Cedio!

They were married Saturday June 19, 2010 under the Orion Constellation in the Planetarium.

We at the Stanback are excited to host our second wedding!

Bran Cedio and James Williams met approximately two years ago via Twitter. As their relationship blossomed, they decided they wanted to have a wedding in a planetarium. A web search pointed them to the IP Stanback Museum and Planetarium and, long story short, they decided to have this momentous event here with us on Saturday, June 19, 2010.

James is a software designer, and Bran is a visual and performing artist. They reside in Charleston, SC.

We are so happy to be their chosen venue!

Ellen Zisholtz, Director of the IP Stanback Museum and Planetarium, served on the panel for the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers in Atlanta, GA, May 14-16, 2010. Five students from SC State University, Quenton Atterberry, Harriett Hilton, Eric Smith, Jessica Teasdell, and Dervedia Thomas also attended and participated in the panel. The students are current interns with the IP Stanback Museum and Planetarium.
For the past three years, students from SC State have been the only students to serve on the Southern Circuit Film Panel.
The selection of the films is an important process in preparation for the 2010-2011 Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers.
Southern Circuit provides communities across the South with a tour of highly talented independent filmmakers. Audiences have seen more than 200 films and have engaged filmmakers in post-screening discussions in more than 44 communities across the Southern United States.
Southern Circuit is the nation’s only regional tour of independent filmmakers, providing communities with an interactive way of experiencing independent film. The tour takes the audience away from their televisions, DVD players, and computers to connect them with independent filmmakers and encourage them to talk with one another about the films and their meanings. Southern Circuit transforms watching independent films from a solitary experience into a communal one.

Pictured top, left to right: Jessica Teasdell, Harriett Hilton, IP Stanback Director Ellen Zisholtz, Eric Smith, Dervedia Thomas, and Quenton Atterberry.

Pictured bottom, left to right: Quenton Atterberry, Jessica Teasdell, and Dervedia Thomas

IP Stanback Museum and Planetarium Director Ellen Zisholtz was awarded the Faculty Creativity Award from SC State University during the graduation ceremony Friday, May 7, 2010.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn presented the award. Also present were SC State President Dr. George E. Cooper and Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Joyce Blackwell.

Another semester has ended for the Museum Studies students here at the Stanback. One of our student interns, Janique Francis, wrote about her experiences. Here are some of her reflections, in her own words:

So a Political Science major walks into the IP Stanback Museum and Planetarium at South Carolina State University. She isn’t there to tour the current exhibitions on display, like she usually does. Or even to watch the educational movie in the Planetarium that her teacher encouraged her to go to for extra points. Nope, the Political Science major came to join her new museum class for that semester and walked into a thrilling, world wind journey of art and culture.

One might ask, why is a Political Science major taking a museum course? And many did. I had had a fond relationship with IP Stanback since I entered South Carolina State University in 2008. However, I did not see the sense in taking a “museum class”. I did not think that there was anything I wanted to know, or needed to know. I just wanted to visit from time to time and enjoy the aesthetic displays (along with the free food).

(I became)part of the team of classmates, interns and museum employees who helped to take down the James Brown exhibition to prepare the museum for the Cochran Collection, which is currently on display. This project was the baby of Museum director and curater, Ellen Zisholtz. I became immersed among paintings from great artists such as Andy Warhol, Jacob Lawrence, Camille Billops, Alvin Loving and even the great Picasso. The collection consisted of silk screens, wood-cuts, lithographs and many more styles of art-work. This was definitely a learning experience for me as I had previously just believed that art work was mainly painting or sketching.


My first interaction with the African artifacts was through class. We learned how to hold collection pieces (with both hands and with gloves), clean the pieces; and place registration numbers on the collection pieces.

My internship also allowed me to help with another important, current exhibition that was implemented by the IP Stanback Museum and Planetarium, “Remembering the Rosenwald Schools”. This exhibition showed me the educational impact of the Rosenwald schools in African American culture. Many HBCU school systems were based upon the Rosenwald schools as their teachers were educated via that system. Rosenwald schools also transcended race as Julius Rosenwald, who was Jewish, was one of few whites who helped blacks after slavery.

Class lectures, led by Mrs Z, were so comfortable and it seemed like we were all just having casual discussions in a coffee shop. It was great to be surrounded by educated people who thought out of the box. We were able to discuss and debate everything under the sun pertaining to museums such as their purpose and audience. It was wonderful that everyone was open to all opinions. The best thing about the class was the differing arrays of majors, from accounting to art. We were all able to see how beneficial any degree could be towards a museum.

My job as an intern at the IP Stanback Museum and Planetarium was an entirely different and wonderful experience. It has definitely cemented a deep love for museums in my heart. I might never work in a museum but I will always be involved with them. Most importantly, I have extended my family to include everyone who works at the IP Stanback Museum and Planetarium. This class and job was definitely the highlight of my semester and I hope to continue working there in the future.

SC State’s IP Stanback Museum and Planetarium brought together former Rosenwald School students, members of the community, faculty, and staff for an evening of celebration and remembrance.

The Rosenwald schools are responsible for the education of many African Americans in the south. Keynote speaker Bishop Frederick Calhoun James, a Rosenwald graduate, said that within those schools he learned character, integrity and how to deal with adversity.

The event was opened by Chairperson of the Department of English and Modern Languages Dr. Ghussan Green, who explained how the Rosenwald Schools came to be.
Julius Rosenwald was the son of Jewish immigrants and was on the Board of Trustees at Tuskegee University, where former slave Booker T. Washington was president.
African Americans were often denied funding from the state to build or improve schools and many children suffered as a result.

In 1912, Washington asked Rosenwald for funding to build schools and he agreed, but he also wanted to make sure that the facilities provided a quality education, including longer school terms and facilities for industrial and home economics training.

The State is funding an initiative to locate and restore Rosenwald schools across the country and efforts are being made to get these buildings on the “Endangered Buildings List.”

This program was a supplement to the Stanback’s existing “Remembering the Rosenwald exhibit,” curated by Collections and Exhibitions Manager Daryl Murphy, who is an expert in the field. This exhibit features furniture and fixtures from Rosenwald schools including desks, chairs, an old typewriter, farming equipment, windows and photographs.

Remembering the Rosenwald Schools continues until July 1.

-Article written by IP Stanback Museum Intern Dervedia Thomas (Internship provided by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services)

Is there an answer to racism? Columnist for the SC Black News Alice Bernstein, along with her associates, think they have the answer.

Bernstein presented the concept of Asthetic Realism in an elaborate evening of civil rights, music and art appreciation featuring the Henderson Davis Players, the SC State Chorale, along with tributes to civil rights activist Isaac "Ike" Williams and honors and awards to art students.

This event was sponsored by the IP Stanback Museum and Planetarium.

Aesthetic Realism is a teaching method that uses science to illustrate diversity and bring out kindness and the true intelligence of children.

Bernstein introduced the concept by explaining that the problem of racism is contempt.

"Contempt is the cause of all human injustice and leads to human cruelty," she said. "Slavery arose from contempt, so did the Holocaust and Apartheid in South Africa, but contempt can change through education."

Her associate, Educator Monique Micheal, explained how she used the example of different species of birds to explain to first graders that everyone is the same and yet different, and their differences are used to help them adapt to the world.

This theory was echoed in a chilling portrayal of "The People of Clarendon County," a play that was originally written and performed by noted playwright and actor Ossie Davis. This play re-enacts the struggle of the black people of Clarendon county to get equal access to educational facilities during the Civil Rights era. Their legal battle against the Board of Education is one of the lawsuits that led to the landmark desegregation ruling in Brown v. Board of Education.

"If segregation is wrong, the way to stop it is in the first grade," shouted Director and Coordinator of Visual and Performing Arts Frank Mundy, while playing the Reverend who ran the dilapidated school for Negroes in Clarendon County.

Mundy was joined by student actors Insley Greaves and Elijah Corley who both had roles in the recent performance of the reenactment of the Orangeburg Massacre.

This line was used as supporting evidence for the claim made by the visiting advocates who are working with young children in an attempt to end racism.

The evening ended in a video tribute in the IP Stanback Planetarium to life-long activist for civil rights, Isaac "Ike" Williams. The tribute chronicled his life as a student at SC State College (SCSU) continuing through to his work at present as chief liaison for Congressman James E. Clyburn.

Pictured above left: Alice Bernstein, John Rickenbaker, representative for James Clyburn, and IP Stanback Museum and Planetarium Director Ellen Zisholtz

Pictured above right: SC State Visual and Performing Arts Director Frank Mundy, Henderson-Davis performers Insley Greaves and Elijah Corley

-Article written by IP Stanback Museum Intern Dervedia Thomas (Internship provided by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services)

Is there an answer to racism? Columnist for the SC Black News Alice Bernstein, along with her associates, think they have the answer.

The IP Stanback Museum and Planetarium created this elaborate evening of civil rights, music and art appreciation featuring the Henderson Davis Players, the SC State Chorale, along with tributes to civil rights activist Isaac "Ike" Williams, recognition of some of the unsung heroes of civil rights, and art students' exhibition and awards.

Bernstein also presented the concept of Asthetic Realism at this event, which was an inter-arts collaboration of music by the SC State Chamber Group, under the direction of Dr. Julia Quick; Chorus under the direction of Dr. Richard Beckford; a play written by Ossie Davis, which was under the direction of Frank Mundy.

Aesthetic Realism is a teaching method that uses science to illustrate diversity and bring out kindness and the true intelligence of children.

Bernstein introduced the concept by explaining that the problem of racism is contempt.

"Contempt is the cause of all human injustice and leads to human cruelty," she said. "Slavery arose from contempt, so did the Holocaust and Apartheid in South Africa, but contempt can change through education."

Her associate, Educator Monique Micheal, used the example of different species of birds to explain to first graders that everyone is the same and yet different, and their differences are used to help them adapt to the world.

This theory was echoed in a chilling portrayal of "The People of Clarendon County," a play that was originally written by noted playwright and actor Ossie Davis. This play re-enacts the struggle of the black people of Clarendon county to get equal access to educational facilities during the Civil Rights era. Their legal battle against the Board of Education is one of the lawsuits that led to the landmark desegregation ruling in Brown v. Board of Education.

"If segregation is wrong, the way to stop it is in the first grade," shouted Frank Mundy, while playing the Reverend who ran the dilapidated school for Negroes in Clarendon County.

Mundy was joined by student actors Insley Greaves and Elijah Corley who both had roles in the recent performance of the reenactment of the Orangeburg Massacre.

This line was used as supporting evidence for the claim made by the visiting advocates who are working with young children in an attempt to end racism.

The evening ended in a video tribute in the IP Stanback Planetarium to life-long activist for civil rights, Isaac "Ike" Williams, and the awards for student achievement in art. The tribute chronicled Williams' life as a student at SC State College (SCSU) continuing through to his work at present as chief liaison for Congressman James E. Clyburn.

Pictured above left: Alice Bernstein, John Rickenbaker, representative for James Clyburn, and IP Stanback Museum and Planetarium Director Ellen Zisholtz

Pictured above right: SC State Visual and Performing Arts Director Frank Mundy, Henderson-Davis performers Insley Greaves and Elijah Corley

-Article written by IP Stanback Museum Intern Dervedia Thomas (Internship provided by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services)

How does one combine the dreams of six boys, their intense passion for baseball and their loss of sight? These boys became men and refused to let their debilitating condition cripple their love for the game and their ability to be a part of the game.

Filmmaker Karen Hunter brings it all together in her inspirational and motivating film, Bleacher Boys. Bleacher Boys was the last film to be presented through the Southern Arts Federation’s Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers for the 2009-2010 tour. The new film season begins in September 2010.

Bleacher Boys has taken Hunter through Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia.

Hunter, originally from Boston, has a professional certificate in digital filmmaking. Bleacher Boys was first conceptualized as she was doing a filming internship favor for one of her Professors. She began to do research in the areas of blindness and sport and the idea behind Bleacher Boys was formed.

Hunter has had many positive reviews, stating that those who have seen it “Absolutely love it, absolutely love it.” Those in attendance on April 8th, 2010 would agree.

-Article written by IP Stanback Museum Intern Janique Francis (Internship provided by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services)

Conservator Debbie Hacker with the Chicora Foundation in Columbia and IP Stanback Museum and Planetarium registrar Harriett Hilton, together with various museum interns, have been busy cataloguing objects in the African collection.

This process began by painstakingly amassing information about the various pieces. Many of them did not have descriptions about their origin or make-up. Thus, the previous owners were contacted and photographs of the were sent to the museum. This helped in classification. The next step involved cleaning and then organizing them in storage. A lot of progress has been made in the past few weeks. So, stay tuned, the African Art exhibition will definitely be an educational, exciting and thrilling one!


The Stanback Museum and Planetarium has the largest African Art Collection in the state of South Carolina.


-Article written by IP Stanback Museum Intern Janique Francis (Internship provided by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services)

The IP Stanback Museum and Planetarium is proud to congratulate student intern Dervedia Thomas for winning the First Lady Scholarship's Unsung Hero Award for Business.



Dervedia is a Senior Marketing major.

How do you bring to justice the most dangerous men in the world? How do you even catch them? As part of its Southern Circuit Film tour, The Reckoning, a film by Producer Paco de Onis, was shown at the IP Stanback Museum and Planeterium on March 11. This film follows dynamic International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo and his team for three years across four continents as he issues arrest warrants for international criminals.

Ocampo’s task is not easy. The Court has no police force and can only act as a court of last resort. This court was vehemently opposed by the United States during the Bush administration.

The ICC has been aggressively trying to capture generals in the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda. This army captures young children and trains them to kill. They then brutalize and even murder innocent civilians, even children who refuse to support them in their rebellion against the government.

ICC lawyers visit these countries and talk with the victims who would become potential witnesses. They want justice but the LRA is now bribing them with peace. The army visits the villages, asking for forgiveness and promising to start peace talks if ICC arrests are withdrawn. Many of the victims support the measure, but this is not in keeping with the ICC’s mission.

The LRA has become fearful of the ICC ever since Congolese war General Thomas Lubanga Dyilo was arrested and put on trial for enlisting children as soldiers. His trial still continues.

In Colombia, paramilitary soldiers rein havoc. The ICC cannot issue arrests at this time, because their government is in the peace process with these rebels. They have offered amnesty for peace, instead of punishing those people. The ICC cannot intervene, but they are putting pressure on the government nonetheless.

After mass genocide in Darfur, Sudan's President Omar-al-Bashir is also being watched by ICC officials and they say he too will be brought to trial.

-Article written by IP Stanback Museum Intern Dervedia Thomas (Internship provided by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services)

Davion Petty is a Junior accounting major from Gaffney, SC. He is the chairperson for the Student Friends of The Museum. Since the results were posted in the school’s newspaper, The Collegian, Davion hasn’t changed, but there has been interesting responses from people on campus.

“Since the article there has been a lot more attention from girls- even when I tell them I have a girlfriend! I think it’s funny. I have also been told to put the accomplishment on my resume.”

This experience was a rewarding one for Davion, but this has not been his first time on the list. “I was happy that I was even on the list this year, and I was surprised when I placed number one. I was number seven last year.”

We here at the Stanback are proud to have one of our students voted as the Most Attractive Man on Campus!

-Article written by IP Stanback Museum Intern Jessica Teasdell (Internship provided by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services)

IP Stanback Museum & Planetarium Intern Janique Francis got a surprise birthday celebration while on the Stanback’s museum tour on Feb 5. While having lunch, the waitress at Carolina Wings brought out a secretly purchased cake.

The cake was lit and everyone sang happy birthday to Janique!!!!

-Article written by IP Stanback Museum Intern Dervedia Thomas (Internship provided by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services)

Students of SC State’s IP Stanback and Planetarium visited two museums on March 5, to gain an appreciation of the methods and policies used at other museums.

The first stop was at the Columbia Museum of Art. Students were given a tour by Preparator Michael Dwyer of their Contemporary African American Art Exhibition. In this exhibit, students quickly recognized several similarities between this show and their own Twentieth Century Masters from the Cochran Collection, including the use of similar artists like Romare Bearden and Sam Gilliam.

One major difference between both collections was quickly identified by intern Eric Smith. The Columbia Museum of Art hung their art completely different. They used the center point as the anchor for hanging the art in this show, while at the Stanback, the bottom of each art work was hung at the same level. The walls at their museum were not moveable and they were also painted in a pale grey color. One student commented that it was soothing in contrast to the Stanback’s white.

Dwyer also discussed certain features at the museum, including the additional safety ropes around 3D work. The use of different light temperatures to preserve different paintings in their museums was also discussed as well as sensors that adjust to the weather.

After a quick lunch, it was on to the South Carolina State Museum, where Registrar Michelle Baker took students on a tour of the facility’s storage area.

One common feature of both the Columbia Museum of Art and the South Carolina State Museum is that their non-exhibition space accounts for 90 percent of the building. This is a major contrast to The Stanback, where most of the 15,000 sq ft building is made of galleries.

The store rooms of both Museums had their work carefully labeled. Labels were attached to the moveable racks they were stored on and not to the art itself so that it can be preserved.

Pictured top right: The Stanback's museum studies students and interns at the Columbia Museum of Art
Top left: Columbia Museum of Art's Mike Dwyer conducts a tour
Third from top, right: A shark display at the South Carolina State Museum
Bottom, left to right: Chicora Foundation Conservator Debi Hacker, Museum Studies student Corrin Gillens, IP Stanback Museum Director Ellen Zisholtz, and South Carolina State Museum Registrar Michelle Baker


-Article written by IP Stanback Museum Intern Dervedia Thomas (Internship provided by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services)

SC State students enrolled in PIE 150 – Beginners Jazz, visited The Stanback today to choose art from the Twentieth Century Masters exhibit to interpret in dance.

The preparation of Earle Hall is underway!

A packed house of fun people, great art and invaluable knowledge was the order of the day at the I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium’s (the Stanback) spring opening on Feb 19.

Appropriately entitled Twentieth Century Masters, the Stanback honored both masters whose art works were on display like Jacob Lawrence, Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso and Romare Bearden from the collection of Wes and Missy Cochran, as well as masters who have contributed to SC State and the state of South Carolina in general.

The first master, Dr. Leo Twiggs, former director of the Stanback Museum and the founder of SC State's art department, was honored of for his contribution to the university. A photograph of Twiggs was unveiled in the Stanback lobby to accompany those of Isreal P. Stanback and Dr. Clemmie E. Webber.

The Stanback also opened an accompanying exhibition, Remembering the Rosenwald Schools, celebrating two additional Twentieth Century Masters - Julius Rosenwald and Booker T. Washington. This exhibition features images, documents and artifacts from former Rosenwald students, teachers and schools in South Carolina.

The exhibition highlights one of the many Jewish and African American partnerships that existed in the United States - Julius Rosenwald, who is the son of a Jewish immigrant and Booker T. Washington, a former slave. Washington turned to Rosenwald to finance a project which funded nearly 5,000 schools and auxiliary buildings in 15 southern states and served over 660,000 students for African Americans during the Jim Crow era.

After viewing the exhibition, SC State students had positive things to say about the collection.

"This is exciting; this is fun" said freshman Devanie Dawson. "This was my first time and I enjoyed viewing the art."

When asked what was gained from this experience, sophomore Tonya Payne responded, "Enlightenment! This makes me want to see more because these events are so rare."

Freshman Roderick Rogers also shared his experience. "I met lots of new people, saw some beautiful art, and spoke with a few alumni."

"This event was an enriching experience to say the least,” said sophomore English major Eric Shattuck. "I thought it was really incredible how they tied the art and the education history. This has been the best exhibit I have seen at this museum."

-Article written by IP Stanback Intern Dervedia Thomas (Internship funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services)