A Welcome from our Director (must have ActiveX control installed)

About the Exhibit

Baskets have been used as agricultural and domestic containers by every culture. The expertly coiled baskets found today along the coastal south of the United States and in regions of Africa share a specific heritage, however. Once a common, and disposable, tool they are now prized as works of art and symbols of cultural heritage.

Grass Roots African Origins of an American Art is a major exhibition tracing the history and artistry of southern sweetgrass baskets and their cousins in Africa. Five years in the making, this extensive presentation is the first to definitively chart the migration of enslaved Africans, their rice, and the baskets necessary to process this grain, to the shores of Carolina. McKissick Museum staff worked with the Museum for African Art in New York, the organizing institution for the exhibition, the Avery Research Center at the College of Charleston and the Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Festival Association (South Carolina) in addition to a distinguished a group of nationally prominent historians, geographers, anthropologists, filmmakers and curators to assemble this remarkable collection of hundreds of objects and accompanying documents, photographs, and agricultural implements in order to tell the full story.

More than three hundred years ago people from Africa brought an understanding of rice cultivation and skills as basket makers to plantations in America. Their knowledge and labor transformed the landscape and economy of Carolina and made rice the colony's first major export crop. Although working under the brutal conditions of slavery, African people did not forget their rich cultural traditions. The coiled basket became the signature form made by Africans in America. The grasses and sedges that grew in the South Atlantic marshlands were ideal for making the wide rice winnowing baskets known as fanners. And today, the fanner is still a prized household item to many South Carolinians.

		Basket Beauty Ngxongo, South Africa, Accessioned in 1991 Durban Art Gallery, South Carolina
Woman with basket mats on her head Boundam Est, Senegal, 1998 Photo: Dale Rosengarten

In the twenty first century, on both sides of the Atlantic, the art of the coiled basket continues to thrive and be passed down from generation to generation. In the Lowcountry, as in many parts of Africa, virtuoso basket makers are inventing forms, experimenting with new materials, and perfecting the techniques they learned from their parents and grandparents. The beautiful contemporary baskets from Africa and South Carolina in this exhibition convey how basket artists are bringing new vitality to an ancient art.

Following its venue at The University of South Carolina, Grass Roots will travel to the Smithsonian's African Art Museum and then to the Museum for African Art in New York City at its new 5th Avenue location.

Because the African-American Lowcountry basket is a prime example of the rich African heritage that has shaped American food, music, celebrations, and arts for more than three hundred years, the Museum has organized a number of diverse public events as well as providing a link to the educator materials developed by the Museum for African Art.

Grass Roots is supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, and the MetLife Foundation's Museums and Community Connections Program. The National Endowment for the Humanities honored Grass Roots with a "We the People - America's Historic Places" designation.

Pearl Dingle at her family's basket stand on Highway 17
William C. Sturtevant
Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, 1959
Collection of Sally McLendon

Featured Events

Grand Opening
Saturday, February 13th, 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
11:00 a.m. - Tour of exhibition by professors Dale Rosengarten and Nakia Wigfall
12:00 p.m. - Peter Wood lecture on the history of Africans in South Carolina and the rice industry.
1:00 p.m. - Film "Grass Roots: The Enduring Art of the Lowcountry Basket" by Dana Sardet.
There will also be a children's art activity table from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.


Basket Day
Saturday, April 17th, 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Basket makers from the Charleston area selling handcrafted baskets on the Horseshoe.


Sweet Grass Sundays
February 21, March 21, April 18
1:00 - 4:00 pm

Educational Materials

Grass Roots Educational Activities
(aligned to South Carolina Social Studies academic standards and indicators, grades 3-12)
Download as PDF document

Grass Roots: African Origins of an American Art Educators' Guide
(Museum for African Art Grass Roots Educators' Guide)
Download as PDF document

Tour Information

Please contact Ja-Nae Epps at 803-777-2876 to schedule your tour.

Directions to the Museum

Getting Here
McKissick Museum is located at the head of the historic Horseshoe. Free parking for visitors is available near McKissick Museum. For more information about visitor parking, Monday-Friday, follow the directions below and ask the courtesy officer who will greet you as you enter the cul-de-sac.Visitor parking is located in a parking garage across the street adjacent to McKissick Museum. The entrance to this parking garage is located near the corner of Pendleton and Pickens Street. Look for the sign directing you to visitor meters; however, you do not need to feed these meters on the weekend. McKissick Museum is indicated on the map below as building 15:

Three major interstates -- I-26, I-20, and I-77 - and U.S. 76/378 lead into Columbia. Refer to the map or specific directions below to lead you to our front door.

I-26 West from Charleston, S.C.
Follow I-26 West until it intersects with I-126 East at exit 108B toward downtown Columbia, and exit at Elmwood Avenue. Turn right onto Bull Street and follow Bull until it meets Pendleton Street. Continue straight through the traffic light where Bull meets Pendleton. On weekdays a courtesy officer will greet you as you enter the cul-de-sac lot and direct you to our parking areas.

I-26 East from Spartanburg, S.C.
Follow I-26 East until it intersects with I-126 East at exit 108B toward downtown Columbia and exit at Elmwood Avenue. Turn right onto Bull Street and follow Bull until it meets Pendleton Street. Continue straight through the traffic light where Bull meets Pendleton. On weekdays a courtesy officer will greet you as you enter the cul-de-sac lot and direct you to our parking areas

I-20 East from Augusta, Ga.
Follow I-20 East until it intersects with I-26 East at exit 64A then merge onto I-26 East towards Charleston and immediately get into one of the two left lanes. Follow I-26 East until it intersects with I-126 at exit 108B toward downtown Columbia and exit at Elmwood Avenue.
Turn right on Bull Street and follow Bull until it meets Pendleton Street. Continue straight through the traffic light where Bull meets Pendleton. On weekdays a courtesy officer will greet you as you enter the cul-de-sac lot and direct you to our parking areas.

From I-20 West from Florence, S.C.
Take exit 73A toward Columbia onto S.C. 277 South, which becomes Bull Street. Follow Bull until it meets Pendleton Street. Continue straight through the traffic light where Bull meets Pendleton. On weekdays a courtesy officer will greet you as you enter the cul-de-sac lot and direct you to parking areas.

U.S. 76/378 from Sumter, S.C.
U.S. 76/378 will change from Sumter Highway to Garners Ferry Road and then to Devine Street. Continue on Devine. Bear right on Millwood Avenue at Dreher High School. Turn left on Gervais Street and proceed toward downtown Columbia.
Turn left on Bull Street and follow Bull until it meets Pendleton Street. Continue straight through the traffic light where Bull meets Pendleton. On weekdays a courtesy officer will greet you as you enter the cul-de-sac lot and direct you to our parking areas.

Sponsors
Grass Roots is supported by funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Getty Foundation (for the exhibition publication), the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation, the Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Festival Association, and the MetLife Foundation's Museums and Community connections program. Additional funding for the video components of the exhibition and a 30-minute documentary film has been provided by The Henry and Sylvia Yaschik Foundation, the South Carolina Humanities Council, and the South Carolina Arts Commission.

How Can You Get Involved?

Volunteers are needed for Grass Roots. Do you enjoy public speaking or working with children? Maybe you are interested in becoming a volunteer docent. Do you like to share your passion for culture and art with family, friends, religious or civic groups? Maybe you are interested in becoming a community volunteer. Volunteer docents serve as tour guides and assist with special programming. Community volunteers help us share the excitement of Grass Roots with a variety of public activities.

If you are interested in becoming a Grass Roots volunteer, please contact Judy Battiste at (803) 777-7251 or email Ja-Nae Epps at jmepps0@mailbox.sc.edu.

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