The Message is Clear: A Mentored Photography Exhibition

Event Details

The City of Charleston’s Office of Cultural Affairs declares The Message is Clear: A Mentored Photography Exhibition on view at City Gallery February 20-May 3, 2026. The Message is Clear presents the work of 9 photographers—Toyia Brown, Rush Dixon, Ben Egelson, Kirsten Hoving, KELA, Grace Kreider, Jackie Levesque, Rome, and Vito—who participated in an intensive mentorship program with internationally famend photographer Nigel Parry. This exhibition represents a particular mannequin that pairs creative improvement with skilled recognition, showcasing each the transformative mentorship course of and the compelling our bodies of labor that emerged from it. This exhibition is made potential by way of the assist of Redux Contemporary Art Center, who shall be printing all chosen works. An opening reception shall be held on Friday, February 20 from 5pm-7pm; it’s free and open to all.

Through two in-person classes, Parry guided every photographer to look at an important query: What message does your work convey? The first assembly challenged the artists to articulate the intentions behind their pictures with precision and readability. Following this foundational dialogue, the photographers created work that mirrored their refined imaginative and prescient. In the second session, Parry and the artists engaged in deeper vital dialogue, collaboratively curating our bodies of labor that authentically signify every photographer’s distinct creative voice and goal.

The ensuing exhibition options work by each rising and established artists, every pursuing their very own imaginative and prescient whereas unified by a dedication to intentionality and readability of message. The Message is Clear invitations viewers to have interaction with images which might be deliberate of their building, significant of their content material, and refined by way of rigorous creative dialogue.