Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art

Mark Sloan was Director and Chief Curator of the Halsey from 1994 to 2020. Katie Hirsch served as Director and Chief Curator from 2021 to 2024. In addition to exhibitions, the Halsey presents a publishing program, visiting-artist lectures, a membership program, a reference library, film screenings, and an educational outreach program.

• Name — The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art • Former Name — Halsey Gallery • Established — 1983 • Location — 161 Calhoun Street Charleston, South Carolina • Type — Art Museum • Owner — College of Charleston • Website — halsey.cofc.edu

The Halsey Institute was originally named the Halsey Gallery after artist William Halsey, an accomplished Charleston native whose modernist works were exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Halsey was the first individual to teach a studio art course at the College of Charleston, beginning in 1964. Upon his retirement in 1984, the Studio Art faculty voted to name the art gallery after him to honor his contribution to the arts in Charleston. William Halsey died in 1999, the same year he was awarded the Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Award. Halsey's wife Corrie McCallum was an artist and educator. She was the first artist to teach printmaking at the College of Charleston. Under her guidance, the Gibbes Museum of Art conducted the first comprehensive art appreciation program for Charleston County public school students. She held education positions at several institutions, including the Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah, the Gibbes Museum of Art at the College of Charleston, and Newberry College in South Carolina. Throughout her life, McCallum remained an outspoken advocate for the visual arts, and was awarded the Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Award in 2003. She died in 2009. Since 1984, the gallery bearing the Halsey name has presented exhibitions by regional, national, and international artists. In 2005, the gallery changed its name to the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art to reflect the broad range of programming produced. In 2009, the Halsey Institute moved into an expanded gallery space in the newly constructed Marion and Wayland H. Cato Jr. Center, anchoring the first floor of the new arts building. In 2012, the South Carolina Arts Commission presented the Halsey Institute the Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Award with special recognition to director Mark Sloan. In 2018, Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg declared March 14 as William Halsey and Corrie McCallum Day in Charleston.

The Halsey regularly features emerging, mid-career, and "oddly overlooked" artists. Over its history, HICA has produced more than 275 exhibitions and shown work from more than 2,000 artists. Behind-the-scenes videos are often commissioned to accompany an exhibition, giving visitors an in-depth view into the life and working method of an exhibiting artist.

The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art often hosts an artist-in-residence for the period of a few weeks to several months. During their residencies, artists have the unique opportunity to work on-site to produce new works of art to be exhibited at the Halsey Institute. The artist in-residence engages with the local community through lectures, workshops, and other public events. Past artists-in-residence include Chen Long-bin, Tiebena Dagnogo, Eames Demetrios, Rikuo Ueda, Motoi Yamamoto, Hung Liu, Lonnie Holley, Renee Stout, Jumaadi, Kendall Messick, and Patricia Boinest Potter, among others.

Established in 2010 and supported by The Henry and Sylvia Yaschik Foundation, HICA Looking to See program's free tours provide a guided and structured view of the current exhibition(s) to Charleston-area K–12 students via after-school programs, youth and or community groups.