Saturday, Sunday mark National Craft Open Studios Weekend
Staff reports
Penn Center invites the public to experience the artistry, history, and cultural significance of handmade crafts during a special exhibition featuring Lowcountry artists Torreah “Cookie” Washington, Amiri Farris, Bruce Ingram, Monique de La Tour, and Teniqua Pope.
The workshops will be held from noon to 5 p.m., Saturday, July 18, and Sunday, July 19, 2026, at the York W. Bailey Museum on the Penn Center campus as part of the inaugural National Craft Open Studios Weekend. The nationwide event brings together artists from across the country to welcome visitors into their creative spaces while celebrating the enduring traditions of American craft.
The St. Helena Island event was spearheaded by Washington, Penn Center’s 2026 Artist-in-Residence, in partnership with the University of Georgia’s Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, with support from the Mellon Foundation.
“The National Craft Open Studios Weekend provides a unique opportunity to showcase the artistic traditions of the Gullah-Geechee community while welcoming visitors to Penn Center,” Penn Center Executive Director Robert Adams, Ph.D., said in a media release. “We are proud to partner with Cookie Washington and the University of Georgia’s Willson Center for Humanities and Arts to celebrate the artists and cultural traditions that continue to shape this community.”
Visitors will have the opportunity to meet a diverse group of artists whose work reflects the history, culture, and creative traditions of the Lowcountry.
— Monique de La Tour, Penn Center’s Interpretive and Exhibitions Lead, curated the current Bruce Ingram exhibition at the York W. Bailey Museum. She also shares her knowledge of traditional Lowcountry arts through indigo dyeing workshops and guided medicinal plant walks that explore the connections between culture, history, and the natural landscape.
— Teniqua Pope is an artist, abolitionist, and healing arts practitioner with deep ancestral roots in South Carolina’s Lowcountry. A 2025 Gullah Geechee CREATE artist, she transforms ocean debris and natural materials into works that explore resilience, displacement, and heritage. Her projects include Selah Sound, which combines art, agriculture, and activism to support Gullah Geechee cultural and land preservation, and Sojourner’s Staff, a collection of hand-carved walking sticks inspired by personal stories of the Great Migration.
— Amiri Farris, Penn Center’s 2023-24 Artist-in-Residence, is a Bluffton-based interdisciplinary artist whose work has been featured in more than 50 solo and museum exhibitions nationally and internationally. During his residency, themed “Land and Justice,” Farris explored Gullah Geechee culture, land conservation, heirs’ property, and the history of Penn Center through photography, painting, and other media.
As the 2026-2027 Artist in Residence, Washington has engaged community members and students through workshops, collaborative quilting projects, and intergenerational programming exploring Gullah Geechee history through textile arts. Her vision is to ensure these traditions continue to thrive, not only as artistic practices but also as living records of family, place, and identity.
“This residency at Penn Center allows me to root that work in place, history, and community, connecting past to present through hands-on making and a practice of craftivism,” Washington said. “For me, Gullah rag quilting is a language of memory, an act of honoring the lives, labor, and creativity of those whose stories were rarely recorded but deeply felt,” Washington said. “Every stitch carries history forward and reminds us that craft is not only an art form but also an act of cultural preservation.”
The community is encouraged to experience Gullah rag quilting, indigo dyeing, artist demonstrations, and other hands-on craft activities during National Craft Open Studios Weekend. Admission is free, and all are welcome.
RSVP for Crafting Workshops at https://bit.ly/4fhv4Hi.
As part of the weekend’s festivities, visitors are also invited to an opening reception for Bruce Ingram’s exhibition at 6 p.m., Friday, July 18, at the York W. Bailey Museum. The reception offers an opportunity to meet the artist and celebrate the exhibition in advance of the weekend’s public programming.
Details are available at https://bit.ly/3TynjVW.
RSVP for the Bruce Ingram Opening Reception at https://bit.ly/3TdmbqH.