Raleigh Artist Named Artist in Residence at Coastal Discovery Museum, Hilton Head.

May 28

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Andie Freeman • andie@andiefreeman.com

(919) 924-4955

Raleigh contemporary artist, Andie Freeman has been named the Artist in Residence for the Coastal Discovery Museum of Hilton Head for 2020 – 2022. The Coastal Discovery Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate, is a regional museum that highlights the natural ecology of the area and the history, art and culture of the region

The museum states, “With the Coastal Discovery Museum you may explore our beautiful yet fragile environment; learn about the region’s history, culture and art; and discover what makes the 68-acre Historic Honey Horn property so special. Most importantly, leave with the knowledge that you can make a difference by actively caring for our environment and heritage.”

Freeman is a fine artist who grew up in Massachusetts and Hilton Head. As a long-time resident of the island, she has a connection to the area and the museum that has spanned 30 years. In her oil paintings, the artist utilizes still life as a narrative tool to tell the story of people and their daily lives and rituals. By placing the cherished objects in settings with natural elements, a connection between the user, the viewer and nature is revealed. This connection to the past, and future is a theme for the artist. As the last child of a large, blended family and older parents, Andie was acutely aware at a young age that life is short. This combined with a lot of time to wander and create in nature alone, and an early fascination of history and antiques, brought her art to explore themes of life, death, time passage and ritual.

The Artist Residency at the Coastal Discovery Museum is an opportunity for Freeman to create a large body of work showcasing the missions and collection of the museum. Paintings will utilize still life objects, historical photos, and nature. Paintings will feature Gullah heritage and contributions to the region, Sea Turtle conservation, cash crops of the area such as rice, cotton, oysters and shrimp.

As part of the Residency, the artist will create community engagement projects and two solo exhibitions. The first exhibition, in May 2021, will feature the contributions of the Gullah people to the area. This solo exhibition will take place at the Culture HHI (Office for Cultural Affairs for Hilton Head Island) Gallery within the Island Recreation Center and is planned to include excerpts from interviews with local Gullah leaders for cultural context. The second, large exhibition will take place in November 2022 in temporary gallery space at the Discovery House, a large gallery space of the Coastal Discovery Museum.

As the artist states, “This exhibition is about being an outsider and insider, examining the treasures of the history of the island and making art from them. It’s an opportunity to share about a museum I have loved for a long time by taking the stories of the museum, Hilton Head and the Lowcountry and bringing them together to connect people to this beautiful island.”

To learn more about Andie Freeman, visit andiefreeman.com.

To learn more about Lowcountry Soil, visit lowcountrysoil.com

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Photo Files (low resolution files available for download from gallery below. High resolution images available within 24 hours upon request.)

ABOUT ANDIE FREEMAN

Andie Freeman’s oil paintings evoke movement representing time passage utilizing cherished and natural objects. Her paintings encourage meditation of the moment as a response to a rapidly changing lifestyle of modern communities. The work explores what it means to be human, and how we relate to each other and nature in our daily rituals.

Freeman (b.1971) earned her BFA from College of Charleston followed by a graphic design degree from Miami Ad School, Atlanta. Andie Freeman is a 2019 Fellow in the Clark Hulings Fund’s Art-Business Accelerator Program. Her work can be found in public and private collections, including the City of Raleigh, the Coastal Discovery Museum of Hilton Head, and the publication, Richeson 75 Small Works 2016. She is a member of Oil Painters of America and Artspace in Raleigh, NC. She is represented by City Art in Greenville, NC and Camellia Art in Hilton Head, SC.

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