CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS: Grant Opportunities for Creative Entrepreneurs

We’re thrilled to invite you to our next workshop that promises to unlock the secrets of successful grant applications for creative entrepreneurs. Join us as we host four distinguished speakers from the SC Arts Commission, who are eager to share their invaluable insights and best practices. Whether you’re an artist, writer, musician, or any kind of creative, this is your opportunity to learn how to navigate the grant application process with finesse. Get ready to elevate your projects and bring your artistic visions to life. Mark your calendars and get ready to dive into a world of possibilities on Thursday, August 24th.

Our four speakers are staff members at the SC Arts Commission in Columbia, SC, so we’re bringing you the BEST! Here are their individual bios:

Ce Scott-Fitts, Deputy Director:

Ce Scott-Fitts is a Visual Artist, Poet, Chef, Curator and Arts Administrator. She is Deputy Director at the South Carolina Arts Commission, where she oversees the Artists Development, Arts Industry, Rural Arts, Folk and Traditional Arts, Public Art programs and grants. Ce was formerly Creative Director, Chef and founding staff of McColl Center for Art in Charlotte, NC. She was program manager for “Chairs on Parade” Charlotte’s largest Public Art project. Ce has served on selection panels for the NEA, the North Carolina Arts Council, Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, and the San Francisco Arts Commission. She was also Co-Chair for the Artist Service Committee of Alliance of Artist Communities, Providence, RI and Chair of Regional Project Grant Committee for the Arts and Science Council, Charlotte NC. Ce served as co-chair of the Individual Artist Support committee for Grant Makers in the Arts founding staff for SCAiA (South Carolina Artists in Action). Ce has exhibited at Museums, Public spaces, and Galleries throughout the Southeast. Her work is held in Public and Private Collections throughout the US and UK and in Tokyo. Ce holds her Master of Fine Arts Degree in Painting from Maryland Institute, College of Art in Baltimore, MD.

Tanisha N. Brown, Artist Development Director:

Brown provides leadership related to building and sustaining support for individual artists in South
Carolina in all disciplines (literary, performing, visual, etc.) at various stages in their careers (emerging, mid-level, advanced). A Columbia native, she is a multi-disciplined artist-entrepreneur, arts administrator, leadership developer, and business consultant. She received an associate degree from Midlands Technical College and a bachelor’s degree in media arts from USC. Additionally, she has worked in multiple other industries from marketing and IT to higher education and municipal business. Before joining the staff of the Arts Commission, she was Office Manager of One Columbia for Arts & Culture, Columbia’s Local Arts Agency. Tanisha has served on several boards, including Columbia Opportunity Resource (COR) and the Midlands Housing Alliance for the Transitions Homeless Center. She enjoys driving economic development within her home state through advocacy and amplification of local arts and culture.

Rebecca Pearson, Rural Arts Director:

Rebecca Pearson is the agency’s first rural arts director. Pearson will provide consulting, assistance, and leadership for activities related to building participation in the arts and strengthening rural South
Carolina communities through arts initiatives. The long-time Laurens County resident has lived and
worked in rural South Carolina all their life. They have been active in local and state theatre since 2006 and hold a bachelor’s degree in English, theatre, and art history. Pearson previously taught at Laurens District 55 High School since 2015.

Margot Strasburger, Public Art Coordinator:

Margot is a creative enabler bringing her background as a freelance arts marketer, artist manager, and public art consultant to the agency. She has a decade of experience in the arts industry in Australia, the U.S., and Europe. She is a project manager and cultural consultant as well as a passionate believer that art is the key to vibrant, liveable spaces. She holds a BA in cultural anthropology from Boston University and an MA in material and visual culture from the University College London anthropology dept. She specializes in community engagement, large-scale public artworks, site-specificity, and artist’s legal rights.