Artist to unveil mural design for downtown Orangeburg

The event will take place at the Orangeburg County Fine Arts Center, located at 649 Riverside Drive at 11 a.m.

“I’ve been on a mission for the past two years to put up fine art in small, rural towns throughout the State of South Carolina,” Keith said.

As a result, downtown Orangeburg will be getting a mural on the side of one of the buildings bordering the Downtown Orangeburg Revitalization Association’s Park at Russell and Middleton streets.

Keith said the mural will be comprised of 65 5-by-5-foot panels, which will be painted by community members.

For each panel, “It starts off with underpainting, so we don’t lose the design when the public paints on it,” Keith said.

The themes of the mural will focus on elements of Edisto Memorial Gardens and Edisto River, Keith said.

Each panel requires sponsorship. Some panels are already sponsored.

Once panels are painted, they will be returned to Keith’s art studio where he’ll refine them, he said. Then they will be installed on the side of the building.

The goal is to have the mural completed and installed in time for next year’s S.C. Festival of Roses.

Keith said the paneled mural is influenced by traditional quilt designs.

“Quilts repeat patchworks of our society. They are visual representations of how we exist as a society and how we come together for the greater whole,” he said.

“What is color?” Keith asked, saying, “Color is reflected light. Light is energy. The reflected light that we see is life. All life is love.”

“Every stroke that person paints is a stroke of love,” Keith said.

“So when people pass through downtown Orangeburg, they’ll know that love lives here,” he added.

Keith said he’s excited about the project.

“I’m thrilled because Orangeburg is a blank canvas for public fine art,” he said. He noted that Orangeburg’s own Claflin University has the oldest art department in the state.

This isn’t the first time for Keith to erect a mural using the same technique; he also did it in France.

He has downtown murals in other cities in South Carolina too, such as Lake City and his hometown, Anderson.

Orangeburg’s mural is also part of Keith’s initiative, the South Carolina Rural Arts Project, known as SCRAP.

Keith said SCRAP’s mission is when, “Artists and communities unite together through a harmonious process of storytelling based in the culture of mural making, to create art that transforms public spaces and individuals lives while building an appreciation of a particular town or community in the State of South Carolina.”

Orangeburg County Fine Arts Center artist Dr. Leo Twiggs said he consulted with Keith on the mural’s design.

Twiggs said the mural’s design is “very heavy on the roses at the (Edisto Memorial) Gardens, not so much on the buildings because if you drive through downtown, you can see the buildings.”

“One of the most important and popular items in Orangeburg is the (Edisto Memorial) Gardens,” Twiggs said.

Orangeburg City Council member Annette Dees Grevious also spoke in favor of the mural project.

“I know the benefit public art has on a community in general,” she said, noting it helps in revitalization.

Grevious said the downtown mural will “inspire community engagement and beautify the area.”

Reservations are required for Thursday’s launch of the Uniting Orangeburg Through Art program.

Light fare will be provided.

To make reservations, call 803-536-4074 or email hrast@orangeburgarts.org.