NEW EDUCATIONAL DISPLAY AT BROOKGREEN GARDENS
INFORMS ABOUT GULLAH HERITAGE
Murrells Inlet, SC- “Cross-Continental Cultural Connections†educational display showcases stunning artifacts about Gullah and West African cultures. The exhibit opened on Monday, January 14 and runs through March 30 in the Wall Lowcountry Center at Brookgreen Gardens. The exhibit is free with Garden admission.
“The display is informative and visually appealing and includes artifacts by two Gullah folk artists of Pawleys Island,†said coordinator Ron Daise. Daise is Brookgreen’s Vice President for Creative Education and a Commissioner with the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. “It features handsome walking sticks carved by Franklin Reed of Parkersville Road and a Gullah strip quilt by Bunny Rodrigues of Gullah O’oman Shop and Museum. These and other Gullah artifacts complement ones that parallel West African cultural linkages in customs, heritage, slavery, and spirituality. Intricately hand-carved West African gourds and stools and colorful fabric arts also are displayed.â€
Bobbi Adams of Bishopville donated the West African artifacts to the Brookgreen History Collection. She collected items from 1962 to 1966 when she lived and taught in Sierra Leone.
“Cross-Continental Cultural Connections†also includes historic photographs of
Gullah residents on Sandy Island during the 1930s and shows their involvement with rice culture. Through a short video, viewers learn about Bunce Island, a slave castle and prison in Sierra Leone, from which hundreds of thousands of West Africans were trafficked to North America, the West Indies, and Brazil during the Slave Era. Africans from countries along the Grain Coast, including Sierra Leone, were enslaved and brought to present-day Gullah communities because they were skillful rice producers.
“This exhibit is particularly important in light of world-wide observances that end this year for the bicentenary of the end of the Transatlantic Slave Trade,†Daise said.
On Wednesdays at 1 p.m. throughout the exhibit, Daise presents “Priscilla’s Posse: A Press Conference about Gullah Heritage†in the Wall Lowcountry Center Auditorium. It is free with Garden admission.
Brookgreen Gardens, a National Historic Landmark and non-profit organization, is located on U.S. 17 between Myrtle Beach and Pawleys Island, South Carolina, and is open to the public daily. For more information, consult our web site at www.brookgreen.org or call 843-235-6000.