Last-minute gifts that uplift. Pay it forward, Charleston-style.
Maura's Three for the Week in Charleston, 12/23 - 12/29
This week, I received a Christmas card from my dear friend Caroline, along with the message that a donation had been made in my honor in support of hurricane relief in Western North Carolina. It was made in memory of her partner Tommy Eddins, who passed away this year.
If you’re feeling abashed about your own less-than-inspired holiday gestures, here’s a Yuletide boost for you. There is still time to attain a gift that pays it forward in ways that are as artistically engaging as they are deeply meaningful.
True, with the deadline fast approaching, the actual object may well appear in the form of a simple, soulful card.
It may offer a heartfelt heads up to the arrival of the genuine, artful article. Take, for instance, a print by photographer and environmental activist J. Henry Fair. Over the holidays, he will donate half of the profits from the purchase of select photographs to support Southwings, an organization that literally uplifts him for his aerial images.
It could be quite the eyeful, along the lines of a magnificent, hand-crafted textile swooped up from The Ibu Movement, the Charleston-based nonprofit partnering with women the world over to lift them up.
Or it could be an earful, too, by way of tickets to a Charleston Symphony concert, which could even entail wending your way to New York City for the CSO’s February, Charleston-rich concert at Carnegie Hall in February—or a tribute donation, too.
Mulling Caroline’s card offered me a moment of reflection on the last time I saw Tommy, at my home last year on Christmas Day. This year, we’ll toast him together, while supporting those in his beloved Western North Carolina who will benefit from this tribute to his trademark kindness.
Happy Holidays, dear readers. May the season uplift and embrace you all.
Get, and give, a broader view by way of J. Henry Fair
On his Instagram page, acclaimed photographer J. Henry Fair recently shared, “This was one of those days that started overcast and gloomy. I was flying with Southwings pilot Landon to save a valuable bird rookery, and as we passed over the Combahee River, the clouds opened and the sun lit the marshes in the foreground. One of my favorite photos.”
The Charleston native’s work has appeared worldwide in both exhibitions and publications, celebrated for his stunning takes on areas both beautiful and blighted, and frequently in the same click. He got this shot and many others with the help of Southwings, which provides the aerial view for environmental journalists, activists and government officials.
“Their flight support has enabled my work, and I am grateful and support them in return.” Fair will donate half the profit from the purchase of these photographs to support Southwings. To purchase the print, click here.
To add another topical take on this topography, Fair is in the midst of creating an exhibition scheduled for May 2025. The Combahee Raid Project involves pink roseate spoonbills that he spied on early flights for the project, which tells the visual story of the Combahee River Raid that took place 150 years ago, doing so through multiple media, from antique paintings to movies and sound. Supporting this effort in honor of a loved one would also make a fitting tribute to anyone devoted to coastal Carolina.
At Ibu, get a grasp on woman power
The Ibu Movement, 183 King St., Floor 2, downtown Charleston
Now more than ever, women of the world would do well to join together. In Charleston, The Ibu Movement is forever strengthening the ways that women are able to do so.
There’s Tanana in Madagascar, which engages with local farmers on reforestation of the mulberry tree to facilitate the silk worm lifecycle, to thus harvest the silk without harming the worm. Their new wild silk scarves come in purple, blue, and neutral combinations. Read more about the group here, and a project Ibu worked on with Ashley Hall students who were studying the silk worm metamorphoses.
Among the many others with whom Ibu works is Casa Guatemala, including through its grant project to fund new software to help them track production from their 2,600 artisans. These new vibrant, small beaded bags are simply irresistible (and a festive wrap for an Ibu gift card, too).
I had the honor of once interviewing Rangina Hamidi, who has dedicated her life to helping rebuild her native Kandahar, Afghanistan. There, tens of thousands of women have been widowed by years of conflict and struggle to support themselves and their families. Hamidi founded Kandahar Treasure, maker of these perennially popular embroidered cocktail napkins. Ibu just completed a significant U.S, State Department grant with the group this year.
One for the future (that is present perfect)
Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, 57th St. and 7th Ave., New York City, Wed., Feb. 26, 2025, at 8 p.m. (with companion programming on preceding days)
This week, I’m thinking a great deal on an irrepressible, marvelous Charleston advocate Lorraine Perry. Our arts-centric city just suffered a sizable loss with her Dec. 5 passing. Lorraine’s largesse and action-powered love of the arts is legion, as she forever opened her home to artists from near and far. Among her go-to cultural stomping grounds was Charleston Symphony, for whom she advocated tirelessly and ever so inventively. If you’re looking to make a resonant holiday statement, consider supporting the Charleston Symphony, perhaps in Lorraine’s memory if it moves you.
In February, the CSO is set to take their sound on the road to New York City to perform A Charleston Celebration at Carnegie Hall. Joined by the Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra and the College of Charleston Orchestra, the program will be conduced by CSO artistic director Yuriy Bekker, with the Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra conducted by Ryo Hasegawa.
Featured artists include the Harlem Quartet, with works by Charleston natives Thomas Cabaniss (A Charleston Mix); Edmund Thornton Jenkins (Charlestonia) and Edward Hart (A Charleston Concerto); along with those by Jean Sibelius (Finlandia); Yiorgos Vassilandonakis (Corsaro in a world premiere); Trevor Weston (Subwaves); Antonín Dvořák (Symphony No. 9 in E minor’s Finale: Allegro con fuoco) and George Gershwin (An American in Paris).
To purchase tickets, click here.