Recent News

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07/13/2010

Charleston, S.C. ñ July 13, 2010: Coastal Community Foundation named Elizabeth McKeever as the 2010 Griffith/Reyburn Lowcountry Artist of the Year. She will receive $5,000 to support her artistic pursuits and the creation of an oil-on-canvas piece representative of Lowcountry culture. She competed with 23 other artists in a rigorous application and Panel Review process to win.

ìThis award would allow me to enroll my son in a pre-school program, giving me more time to paint,î said McKeever. She went on to say, ìIncreased work hours and visibility will help me further my long-term goals, including that of obtaining local gallery representation.î

About the Fund:
Mike Griffith and Donna Reyburn established the Griffith/Reyburn Lowcountry Artist Award Fund of Coastal Community Foundation in 2003 to support the work of visual artists who create works of art that reflect Lowcountry culture. Each year applications are accepted from Charleston County residents. The award ($5,000) is intended to support the creation of a work of art which will then be the personal property of the artist to keep, show, give away, or sell.

Qualified applicants for the award must complete a brief application form and submit it to a review panel. The panel then convenes to select the winner based on the applicantsí answers to each question. The final choice is made on how close those answers resonate with the mission of the Griffith/Reyburn Lowcountry Artist Award Fund of Coastal Community Foundation, which is to promote the Lowcountry through the work of the local visual artists in Charleston County.

About the Artist:
Elizabeth McKeever is a local Charleston artist with a recent calling to landscape scenes as a metaphor for the spiritual and emotional state.

She went to college on an academic scholarship with the intent to pursue law and politics, but then chose to become an artist. ìThe choice to become an artist was not a light matter for me, because I knew that the path would be more uncertain and require a strong amount of self-reliance,î said McKeever justifying her decision for the change.

After receiving her B.A. in studio art and a minor in philosophy, McKeever worked in advertising for one year before returning to graduate school. She was selected as the first artist-in-residence for the Gibbes Museum of Art and taught art classes to adults there for seven years. In the past she has also done interior design work and waited on tables for supplemental income. Now, she has her own business, is married, and the proud parent of an almost 4-year-old.