No upcoming perfomances found for this event.
Friday, February 27: 8:30pm–10:00pm
Saturday, February 28–Tuesday, March 31: nightly from 7:00pm–10:00pm
About the Show
Experience Craig Walsh’s Monuments, a striking outdoor installation that transforms trees into sculptural works of art through large-scale nighttime projections. Celebrating individuals from the Charleston community, Monuments challenges traditional ideas of public monuments and the histories they represent. The result is a powerful, haunting blend of human portraiture and nature, inviting viewers to see both in a new light. Presented free and open to the public, this installation will feature individuals selected through a community call for submissions.
“Monuments is about recognizing those whose everyday actions strengthen and uplift our community,” said Lissa Frenkel, President & CEO of the Charleston Gaillard Center. “We invite everyone to take part in this project by nominating the people whose quiet contributions deserve to be seen and celebrated.”
Taking place in a city engaged in ongoing conversations about how history is remembered and represented, Monuments invites a reflection on who we choose to honor. The project challenges traditional ideas of commemoration—a particularly relevant topic in Charleston following the 2020 removal of the John C. Calhoun monument from Marion Square after 133 years. Situated across the street from the Anson Street African Burial Memorial, which honors the 36 Ancestors uncovered during the Gaillard’s 2013 renovation, Monuments connects past and present through a contemporary lens of recognition and shared humanity.
hauntingly beautiful, a profound meditation on what we value as communities
The Guardian
Runtime: 4 hours
Please note all times are approximate and subject to change without notice.
Experience Craig Walsh’s Monuments, a striking outdoor installation that transforms trees into sculptural works of art through large-scale nighttime projections. Celebrating individuals from the Charleston community, Monuments challenges traditional ideas of public monuments and the histories they represent. The result is a powerful, haunting blend of human portraiture and nature, inviting viewers to see both in a new light. Presented free and open to the public, this installation will feature individuals selected through a community call for submissions. Craig Walsh is a visual artist based in Brisbane, AUS. Over the last 30 years, Walsh has become widely known for his pioneering works – including innovative approaches to projection mapping in unconventional sites. His site-responsive works have animated natural environments and features such as trees, rivers and mountains, as well as public art projects in urban and architectural space. He is also renowned for his site interventions at live events, including iconic works at music festivals across Australia and internationally.
Walsh’s work remains distinctive for its conceptual underpinnings and deftly woven narrative. Over recent years he has extended his digital arts expertise into work with diverse communities, enabling large-scale participation as collaborators in contemporary art projects such as Home Gwangju (South Korea, 2012), Traces — Blue (Setouchi, Japan, 2013), and FIVE (DADAA Inc., Western Australia, 2013 -14).
Honorees
Diane Hamilton
ABOUT DIANE HAMILTON
Diane Hamilton is a retired educator from the Charleston County School District, where she served in various capacities, including teacher, social studies department chair, presenter, and teacher coach. A native of Charleston, Hamilton remains deeply engaged in her community through her church, her role as historian of her neighborhood association, and her involvement with the public service organization Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., where she has held several elected and appointed positions. She has also presented historical lectures at the Cynthia Graham Hurd/St. Andrews Library, the Lowcountry Senior Citizens Center, the Waring Senior Center, and for numerous other community groups.
In 2025, Hamilton partnered with the Preservation Society of Charleston to install a historical marker for the Fredrick Deming, Jr. Industrial School, formerly located in the Town of Maryville. She served as president of the Maryville/Ashleyville Neighborhood Association for ten years (2010–2020) and has held leadership and advisory roles with several civic organizations, including the Board of Directors for Charleston Habitat for Humanity (2011–2016), the organization’s Family Services Committee (2008–2016), and the West Ashley Senior Services Coordinating Committee (2011–2016). She was appointed by former Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. to the 10,000 Trees Initiative and by former Mayor John Tecklenburg to the West Ashley Revitalization Commission. Hamilton currently serves on the boards of the Charleston Redevelopment Corporation for Affordable Housing and the Charleston Neighborhood Commission. In 2021, Hamilton published Maryville: The Audacity of a People, a history of the Town of Maryville from 1886 to 1936. Her historical research continues both independently and in collaboration with The West Ashley Historians.
Jeffrey Yungman
ABOUT JEFFREY YUNGMAN
Jeffrey Yungman was born and raised in Elyria, Ohio. Upon graduating from Ohio State, he moved to New Orleans where he worked as a police officer before attending graduate school at Tulane University. After receiving his MSW and MPH, he was employed in several social work positions in New Orleans before moving to Charleston, South Carolina.
From 1999 to 2007, he was the Clinical Director of Crisis Ministries, the homeless shelter in Charleston. Recognizing the homeless community’s need for legal services, he enrolled in the first class of the Charleston School of Law. Upon graduation, he created the Crisis Ministries Homeless Justice Project. For 16 years, he was the Legal Director of the Project, which provided free legal services to anyone in the Charleston area who was unhoused. As part of his work, he started the second Homeless Court in the state, and the first Housing Court in the state. In 2023, rather than retire, he joined the staff of the Charleston County Public Defender’s Office where he now represents people who are primarily unhoused in criminal matters.
He has made presentations on legal issues facing the unhoused at conferences across the country, had articles published in legal journals, and as an adjunct professor teaches a class on Public Interest Law Practice and the Indigent at the Charleston School of Law.
Leroy Moore
ABOUT LEROY MOORE
Leroy Moore is a Charleston, South Carolina, native whose life’s work is rooted in service, compassion, and the belief that communities are strengthened through care and opportunity. With academic training in human services, criminal justice, and substance abuse counseling, Moore has dedicated nearly three decades to supporting youth and families across the Lowcountry. His work includes service with the Department of Juvenile Justice, juvenile detention centers, suicide prevention and crisis hotlines, and teen support programs, addressing some of the community’s most vulnerable moments with understanding and grace.
Beyond direct service, Moore has led as a PTA president, Title I vice chair, and longtime member of Neighbors Together, giving back to the community for over 20 years. A minister at New Life Christian Fellowship under the leadership of Pastor Dexter Easley and Lady Lisa Easley, he is also the founder and CEO of Leroy Moore Cleaning, creating pathways to employment for teens and adults while affirming dignity, purpose, and collective responsibility.
Jury
Rabbi Stephanie Alexander
Rabbi Stephanie M. Alexander serves as the senior rabbi of Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (KKBE) in downtown Charleston. As vibrant as it is historic, since Rabbi Alexander’s arrival in 2010, KKBE has expanded its opportunities for lifelong learning, made multiple trips to Israel and other worldwide destinations, welcomed dynamic scholars and artists in residence, and deepened its involvement in social justice. Rabbi Alexander and KKBE are proud founding members of CAJM, the Charleston Area Justice Ministry.
Dr. Thaddeus John Bell
Dr. Thaddeus John Bell is a family physician in Charleston, SC and native of Columbia, SC. He is a graduate of South Carolina State University (BS – Biology, 1966), Clark Atlanta University (MS – Science Education, 1970), Medical University of South Carolina (Doctor of Medicine, 1976), United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine (Certified Flight Surgeon, 1983), and Charleston Southern University (Doctor of Humane Letters, 2000).
Dr. Bell considers his most important career accomplishment, other than the care he has provided to his patients, to be the development, growth, and positive influence of his nonprofit, Closing the Gap in Health Care (CTGIHC). Under the umbrella of CTGIHC, Dr. Bell established the Lowcountry Jazz Festival, which is an annual festival held in Charleston during Labor Day weekend, featuring world-class smooth jazz and R&B artists in efforts to fund scholarships for students attending any of MUSC’s six colleges.
In 2022, Dr. Thaddeus J. Bell received The Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor awarded by the Governor of South Carolina. The Order of the Palmetto recognizes lifetime achievement and service by South Carolina residents and those born in the state.
Now 80 years old, Dr. Bell leads a very active life, still maintaining his private practice in North Charleston and running both the nonprofit and the jazz festival, with the help of his dedicated family and staff. His continued efforts have led to him becoming known as a community and statewide leader in medicine.
LaVanda Brown
YWCA Greater Charleston, Executive Director
Lee Deas
Obviouslee, Founder
Jayme Host
Jayme Klinger Host is Dean of the School of the Arts at the College of Charleston, bringing over 25 years of leadership in higher education and student success. She has served in senior academic and artistic roles at public and private institutions, including East Carolina University and Lock Haven University, and was the founder of the Lewisburg Dance Conservatory in Pennsylvania.
A choreographer, dancer, and STEAM educator, Host has created over 50 original works and performed with companies such as Tandy Beal Dance in Tokyo, Pennsylvania Dance Theatre, and as an independent artist. Her commissioned works span universities and professional companies across the U.S., including Ririe-Woodbury Dance and Momentum Dance in Panama. Internationally, she has taught in Prague, Nairobi, and Croatia, and co-leads the annual Eco-Librium conference in Italy through T.E.A.C.H., promoting arts-based climate action.
She holds a B.A. with Honors and Distinction in Dance from Goucher College and an M.F.A. in Modern Dance from the University of Utah, where she was a Phi Kappa Phi fellow. Her performance credits include works by Tandy Beal, Doug Varone, Murray Louis, Pearl Primus, Violette Verdy, and others.
Asiah Mae
AsiahMae, stylized A$iahMae, (they/she) is a Black, non-binary Southern poet, and cultural worker with roots in Georgia, South and North Carolina. A trans-disciplinary artist, their background spans across film, curation, production, performance and language arts. Their work is a grounded attempt of devotion to documenting and preserving the Black South through the lens of community, domesticity, and devotion to land and sea. They are currently serving as the Second Poet Laureate of Charleston, SC.
John Powell
John Powell | President & CEO, Southeastern Wildlife Exposition
John Powell serves as President and CEO of the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (SEWE), the Southeast’s premier celebration of wildlife art and the outdoor lifestyle. A native of Greenville, North Carolina and a graduate of Davidson College, he joined SEWE’s staff full-time in 2007 and has since guided the organization through remarkable growth and national recognition.
Under his leadership, SEWE continues to champion its mission of promoting wildlife art, conservation awareness, and community engagement through one of Charleston’s most beloved annual events. Powell oversees the organization’s strategic planning, partnerships, and year-round operations.
He lives in downtown Charleston with his wife, two children, and two dogs. An avid outdoorsman, Powell brings his passion for art, nature, and community to his professional and volunteer work alike.
Jonatan Guerrero Ramirez
We Are Family, Program Director
A graduate of the Art Institute of Charleston and proud DACA recipient, Jonatan began his creative journey in his hometown of Waynesboro, Georgia, inspired by music, theatre, and fashion—a passion that led to a feature in Teen Vogue. His work promoting inclusion and community collaboration has been featured locally and nationally. He was named one of Charleston’s 40 under 40 by Charleston Business Journal. He is currently the Program Director at We Are Family (WAF) where he manages Closet Case Thrift Store, a gender-inclusive social enterprise by WAF supporting LGBTQI+ youth across the South.
Marka Danielle Rodgers
Marka Danielle Rodgers was raised and trained as a dancer in Baltimore, MD, at the Harriet Sauber Eisner Studio and The Baltimore Ballet. She also regularly performed with The Baltimore Actors Theater, Spotlighters Theater, The Vagabond Players and other local professional theater companies.
After high school she was offered a full scholarship at The Boston Conservatory and then The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, where she was invited into Ailey’s prestigious Ailey II Performance Company. In 1981, she was offered a job to teach Modern and Ballet in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She worked there for nearly 8 years, training dancers and actors. She also performed in and choreographed for Concert Dance, Broadway and other International Musical Theater Productions, Television and Movies.
A cervical spinal cord injury in 1994 could have left Marka paralyzed from the shoulders down. However, she used her dance-based fitness program, “Universal Physicality”, which she created in Argentina, as her own physical therapy. As she gained strength through her own rehabilitation, one of her doctors suggested that she work out at MUSC’s Wellness Center. In 2001, She was invited to teach “Universal Physicality” at the Medical University of SC and at other dance and fitness studios.
Marka sustained a second cervical SCI in 2012. This left her with incomplete quadriplegia, with very limited movement. She became a full-time wheelchair user. Because her injury caused weaknesses in her muscles used for breathing, the breath work of Yoga became more important than ever. She became a certified Yoga Instructor and then an Accessible Yoga Instructor, adapting Yoga for all different abilities as she does for herself.
Marka’s passion for dance and other movement modalities takes her to a new level of awareness. She’s more determined than ever to help others, of all ages and abilities, to stay fit and healthy. Marka is happy to share with anyone who wants to learn the modalities that she uses daily for herself. SCI and other physical challenges, don’t mean life as you knew it has ended. It only means the journey has changed directions. #Life is DoAble #LookUPandSmile
Timothy Rogers
Timothy Rogers, Managing Director, Charleston Stage
With over two decades of leadership experience across multiple industries, Tim Rogers has built a career defined by strategic growth, innovation, and community engagement. Throughout his career, he has held key executive roles, developing trusted partnerships, driving revenue growth, and leading organizations through periods of transformation.
As Managing Director of Charleston Stage, Tim serves as Chief Executive Officer, overseeing the organization’s financial management, fundraising, audience development, community outreach, and strategic planning. Working closely with the Board of Trustees, he is committed to preserving and enhancing Charleston Stage’s artistic excellence while expanding its impact across the Lowcountry. His leadership ensures that the company not only produces world-class theatre but also deepens its educational initiatives and community engagement programs.
Prior to joining Charleston Stage, Tim was Vice President of Engagement at Floyd Lee Locums, where he led brand positioning and go-to-market strategies for the Charleston-based firm. From 2014 to 2022, he served as Senior Vice President at the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, where he played a key role in strengthening the region’s business community. Overseeing membership growth, corporate sponsorships, and strategic partnerships, he worked to foster thought leadership and deeper engagement within the local business sector, ensuring the Chamber remained a valuable resource for its members.
Tim’s career began in Washington, D.C., where he spent 16 years dedicated to fundraising, philanthropy, and civic engagement. His ability to build relationships, cultivate donor support, and drive mission-based impact helped fuel the success of several major organizations. A graduate of Baylor University, Tim’s leadership and contributions have earned him significant recognition, including being named to Washingtonian Magazine’s “40 Under 40” and receiving the prestigious Best Chamber in America award from the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE). He is also a Leadership Charleston graduate.
Born in New York City and raised in the New Jersey suburbs, Tim’s connection to the performing arts runs deep. He was actively involved in theatre and television commercials from childhood through his late twenties. Most recently in the summer 2024, he had the honor of performing at Carnegie Hall as part of Lauren Daigle’s backing choir. Since 2014, Tim and his husband Jeff have called Charleston home, where they now live downtown with their 16-year-old cocker-beagle, Maddi.
Nicole Taney
Charleston Gaillard Center, VP of Artistic Programming
This program is supported in part by
Photo Credit: Monuments at Strathmore; Photographer: Jim Saah