Today I am honored to share the news of one of my favorite Gullah Artisans. Lowcountry based, Sonja Griffin Evans exhibits her latest art pieces on the south end of a historic culturally rich Lowcountry town of Hilton Head, SC.
No one tells history through visual storytelling better than Sonja Griffin Evans. Known for her cultural Gullah-Geechee mixed-media artwork and paintings, the internationally renowned artist is a crucial player in the cultural preservation of American History through her art. Each piece encapsulates the lifestyle of African Americans after the civil war. The stories that they tell are monumental and are rooted in the foundations of love, culture, family, tribulation, perseverance, and faith. Sonja’s art collections have been featured nationally and internationally, and her latest collection ‘American Gullah’ was most recently dedicated to the historical Reconstruction Era National Historic Park landmark in Beaufort, SC, where the artist was born and raised.
Sonja’s beautiful masterpieces are more than just a work of art; they are the fabric of a very robust lineage, and fascinating culture that is paramount to American History as we know it. She feels her purpose as an artist is to share her culture with the world and to illuminate its value. She uses her art to capture the spirit of her ancestors and to educate people about the greatness of her ancestors. ” My ancestors were not slaves,” she says.”They were masterful craftsmen and agricultural engineers before they were enslaved because of their intelligence. That’s what I try to convey through my artwork,” she adds. Her mission is for tourists who visit the Lowcountry region of South Carolina, where the Gullah culture originated, to be able to meet the natural people of the land and to experience their culture, authenticity, and artwork when they patron these local areas. Sonja has opened a brand new art studio on the South End of Hilton Head Island, a popular tourist destination of South Carolina, native to the unique Gullah Culture.
The Sonja Griffin Evans art studio is located at 32 Palmetto Bay Road, Suite 10A, in Hilton Head Island, SC. Her gallery and studio feature her collection of paintings, mixed media art, and authentic handcrafted Gullah jewelry and market gifts. You can also find her artwork at the McLeod Plantation in historic Charleston, SC, Red Piano Too Gallery in St. Helena Island, SC and Coastal Discovery Museum, also in Hilton Head Island, SC. Prints of her artwork are available online via Fine Art America and her paintings are now available for art streaming download, via Loupe Digital Art Streaming Services.
www.sonjagriffanevans.com
Learn more about the Sonja Griffin Evans Art Studio: https://vimeo.com/331461209?ref=em-share
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