Student Happenings: Senior Puts Gallery Fundamentals Into Practice

Q&A Spotlight With Senior Neal Rice

Neal Rice is what you’d call an overachiever. At the age of 22, he’s already opened his own art gallery, Beresford Studios, in the heart of downtown Charleston, all while taking a 17 credit hour course load at the College. Like many students in the Arts Management program, Neal grew up with a passion for the visual arts. But opening your own gallery in a vibrant art scene like Charleston’s is no small feat. What helped fuel his drive to embark on such an ambitious endeavor before he’d even graduated college? The Arts Management program had plenty to do with it.

“I was in the Gallery Fundamentals class,” Rice says. “We were learning about fundraising proposals, and it just kind of hit me. Rather than just stowing that information away for future use, I went home that night and began to write out a proposal for the gallery.”

The gallery he envisioned came to fruition in February with a successful opening which featured an exhibition from local artist Chambers Austelle. Rice plans to utilize the gallery as a singular showcase for artists, granting them full, month-long exhibitions.

1) What specific area of Arts Management is your focus? 

This major taps into so many different aspects of the arts industry, and that’s what I love about it. Although an actual visual arts focus doesn’t exist yet, I’ve just kind of created one in my head by taking all the material I learn in class and asking myself, “how would this apply in a gallery or a museum setting?”

2) Why did you choose to study Arts Management at the College? 

I was kind of ping-ponging around my freshman year trying to figure out what I was about to do with my life, and took the Introduction to Arts Management class with Charlotte Tiencken. I remember as she talked to us on the first day of class there was no sense of the hypothetical. She never said “if you become arts managers,” instead she was saying, “now that you’re becoming arts managers.” According to her I was already on my way. I was hooked.

3) What about the program has helped you the most with opening your new gallery? 

Class-wise: Gallery Fundamentals, Marketing, and Entertainment Law. Major-wise: all the incredible connections we make within this major. Our professors are a whole lot more than just a person who stands in front of the class. These are professionals who have been in this field for a long time (some longer than I’ve been alive) and being able to tap into that kind of knowledge and experience is crucial.

4) What is the artistic focus of your gallery? What messages are you trying to get across?

My focus for the gallery is to develop a dynamic schedule of installations and exhibitions to feature the work of local contemporary artists. Charleston has a very prominent gallery scene, however I feel that the opportunities for young contemporary artists are limited, and that’s exactly the gap I’m trying to fill. I want to provide a clean, professional gallery space for emerging artists to show Charleston what they’ve got.

5) Do you have any advice for incoming freshmen or underclassman who are interested in the arts? 

This city has so many ways to get a foot in the door of the arts industry through internships and once you lock one down, really run with it. Take pride in your internships, because after all, they chose you over someone else.

Also, don’t just look at your tasks as a checklist to complete. Instead, once you finish the work you have on your plate, start asking the people you’re working with if there’s something they need help with. It’s situations like this where you build relationships and connections that last much longer than a temporary internship.

Beresford Gallery is located at 20 Fulton St., Charleston, SC, and is open Friday and Saturday from 12-4, and by appointment. For more about the gallery, check out recent features in the Charleston City Paper and the Post & Courier!

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