Columbia City of Women: Now accepting nominations
by WREN team on Nov 6, 2019
As a part of our Columbia City of Women initiative, we want to share our honoree for the month of November: Anna Heyward Taylor. Her story is indicative of the many creative, inspiring, and innovative women who have shaped the culture of Columbia and South Carolina.
Born in 1879 to Columbia’s elite ruling class, Taylor’s artistic career spanned countries and cultures. After studying at the New York School of Art, Taylor moved back to Columbia in 1907 to work as a teacher. An avid traveler, she spent time in many nations including Japan, China, Korea, British Guiana, and across Europe while honing her artistic style. During the first World War, she set aside artwork and worked as a Red Cross nurse, serving in France from 1917 to 1919. Upon return, she worked from Columbia and Charleston, creating watercolors, batiks, and colored woodblock prints that were exhibited across the country. Taylor held an important role in the emerging Charleston Renaissance in the 1930s and helped transform the visual representation of South Carolina. Learn more about the life of Anna Heyward Taylor here.
Columbia has a strong legacy of remarkable women. Let’s celebrate their victories, connect through their stories, and empower one another. Right now Columbia City of Women is accepting nominations for 2020 Honorees through November 15, click here to submit a woman who inspires you.
On behalf of WREN and Historic Columbia, One Columbia for Arts and Culture (a non-profit organization formed to support and promote tourism in Columbia, South Carolina) is also seeking to commission an artist or artist team to design, fabricate, and install an original work of art to be located across from the South Carolina State House at the Northwest corner of Main and Gervais streets. Click here to read more and submit an RFQ.