Head to the Halsey. Bake some babka. Swing to SC blues.
Maura's Three for the Week in Charleston, 5/12/25 - 5/18/25
When it comes to Culture South, there’s always a new way to consider what frames a place and its people, and this week in Charleston is no different. Take artist Joshua Parks, who draws from an array of photographic images to explore Afro-descendant communities. Or Elana Pearlman, an Asheville-based baker and author who is now elbows deep in her grandmother’s babka. Then there’s Elise Testone, a Mount Pleasant-sprung, American Idol-elevated vocalist who this week embraces South Carolina blues greats like Aiken great Etta James. Enjoy.
Explore “Born in We“ with artist Joshua Parks
Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston, 161 Calhoun St., downtown Charleston, Sat., May 17, 2 p.m. - 3 p.m.
I always look forward to what’s on this time of year at Halsey, as the institute’s locally curated shows serve as a local point of departure for the coming Spoleto Festival USA (and in recent years have informed subsequent festivals). Up now is the first solo show of Joshua Parks, a Southern-raised Black image-maker and cultural worker with Gullah Geechee and Gulf Coast Creole heritage, whose considers images past and present to analyze Afro-descendant communities of the Atlantic. Born in We: African Descendants of the Atlantic World runs through July 26, with an artist talk slotted for this Saturday.
For more information visit halsey.cofc.edu.
Become a babka master
Charleston Wine + Food Test Kitchen, 635 Rutledge Ave., downtown Charleston, Sat., May 17, 10 - 11:30 a.m.
Join Elana Pearlman, Asheville-based author and founder of Nana Mary’s Bakeshop, and her mom for Baking with Mom: A Babka Workshop, a morning of tradition, storytelling and, of course, babka. Pearlman discovered a box of her great-grandmother’s recipe cards during the pandemic and was inspired to keep her family’s recipes and heritage alive by starting a mail-order babka service before eventually writing her debut cookbook, With Love & Babka.
Guests will learn about the history of babka as they are led through a hands-on experience in making their own beautifully braided breads which will celebrate Elana’s playful and modern spin on a beloved classic. Be ready to nosh and sip while you become a babka master.
For tickets and information, click here.
Swing the blues with Elise Testone and Charleston Jazz
Charleston Music Hall, 37 John St., downtown Charleston, Sat., May 17, 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
This sounds like a good way to swing and sulk one soulfully gorgeous go, dual impulses for me these days. There are still a few seats to revel in Charleston Jazz Orchestra and powerhouse vocalist Elise Testone at Swingin’ The Blues, a night of soul, rhythm and unforgettable music. The program will include The Gullah Suite: Part III, a moving tribute by Slide Hampton that honors Charleston’s rich cultural roots and the musical legacies of Buddy Johnson and jazz icon Dizzy Gillespie, while also celebrating Charleston’s rich jazz heritage with hits honoring Etta James, Billie Holiday, B.B. King and more.
For tickets and and information, click here.
One for the Future: Buddy up to Beeple at a Bitcoin Pizza Party
Beeple Studios, 2325 Charleston Regional Pkwy., Charleston, Thurs., May 22, 6 - 10 p.m.
If you’ve never been to the screens-on-steroids studios of Beeple—the Charleston-based digital artist who sent reverberations through the art world with the $69.3 million sale of his work—then you may want to get with the digital program. And certainly Beeple and bitcoin go together like pepperoni and extra cheese. Next week, Beeple Studios will put their bitcoin where its mouth is to celebrate Bitcoin Pizza Day, a holiday marking the very first item bought with bitcoin—a 10,000 BTC pizza purchase. Enjoy bitcoin trivia, live art, community hangs and, of course, a whole lot of pizza. Must be 21 or over to attend.
For information, click here.