From Alumna to ArtFields

Photo Credits: Mike Baker, Second Floor Media

Some choose the conventional career. Jamison Kerr (’14) chose to make art her field. 

Literally, almost. 

Kerr is the Director of Art Town Development for ArtFields, the world famous arts festival and ongoing celebration of the arts in Lake City, S.C. 

So far, it’s been a career that’s fulfilling and rewarding. “It is a dream come true,” Kerr says. 

Despite originally planning to move far from Florence, S.C., after graduating from Francis Marion University in 2014, the Florence native found herself moving just 30 minutes away to little ole’ Lake City, all due to her career in art management. 

Kerr always recognized her creativity, but she never felt a clear pull in any artistic direction, and wasn’t certain where that would lead her. Once she reached college, her fascination with art history led her to major in history and minor in art history, and that ultimately led to her career choice. 

After graduation, Kerr leveraged her connections with FMU’s Fine Arts Department into an internship in arts management with ArtFields in Lake City. Eventually, that opportunity launched her career with ArtFields. She started the internship during her final semester in 2014 and has worked with the organization since. 

“Dr. (Sam) Howell in the Fine Arts Department at FMU was a huge mentor to me,” says Kerr. “When I was starting to gather materials to apply for graduate school to continue studying art history, he told me about an internship with ArtFields in my final semester in the Spring of 2014. So, I drove to Lake City (for a meeting). I had no idea what to expect. In the ArtFields office, there were a group of women who were accomplishing things that I was blown away by. I was like ‘Can I please come and be an intern?’ I would basically not leave them alone until they gave me a paying position.” 

The internship changed Kerr’s perspective. She saw the ways ArtFields was giving back to the Lake City community, and uncovered a new potential career path. This inspired her to stay committed and see where it would lead. 

Kerr explains that Dr. Howell wanted all students who were engaged in art to have the opportunity to travel and see art around the states. She believes being able to travel really changed her perspective on life. She credits Dr. Howell as a mentor and is thankful to share ArtFields with him post graduation. 

When she began taking art history classes, everything began to matter to her. She says, “Whenever I could look at things through the lens of art, it suddenly became interesting.” 

Kerr was given opportunities to travel to Boston, Massachusetts, and California while in college. Those types of experiences coupled with the education she received, truly primed her to take on the world in an unconventional way. She believes her university experience as a whole is a huge, crucial component to the life she lives today. 

ArtFields is a cash prize arts competition and festival held in Lake City, South Carolina, every spring. It promotes art, while at the same time, promoting the town of Lake City. Thousands of artists, art lovers, and festival enthusiasts gather for a good time and to judge artwork from a dozen Southeastern states. Out of thousands of entries submitted, 400 pieces are selected for display in Lake City businesses and special art venues during the festival. 

At the end of the festival, the art deemed best by judges and a popular vote of the “people,” receives cash prizes of over $100,000. The festival boosts the arts and has been a real boon to Lake City as well. 

Lake City native (and FMU donor) Darla Moore is the driving force behind the festival, which connects with her personal mission of turning the former “bean market” of the Pee Dee into a vibrant, 21st century city. 

Explains Kerr, “The goal of ArtFields was to bring commerce, energy, and hope back to Lake City. … There are now about 50 competition venues. We very purposefully put pieces of art into businesses around the town. It all started as a way to give back to our business community and to make Lake City a place where small businesses could survive.” 

Kerr points to the opening of the artist studios in Lake City, Acline Studios, as an example of the magical connections that the festival is making with the town. 

Acline Studios, an arts venue, brings together a diverse group of people from the Lake City area, many of whom may never have had a space like it. The Studios hosts individuals who have found themselves in Lake City because of ArtFields as well as locals who have lived there forever. Kerr says it has been incredible to watch the two groups come together and find a community in that space. “To see Acline Studios come together has been a dream. To see it come to fruition has been more than rewarding.” 

Acline Studios features individual studio spaces rented to ten artists, a gallery space, and an outdoor space with a soda kiln. They offer studio rentals, workshops, and host a variety of events throughout the year. 

Originally, Kerr commuted back and forth to Lake City for work, but eventually, she and her husband, Emmett, moved to the city they fell in love with. They’ve called it home for the past seven years and are raising their family there. Emmett has also opened his own business, Sip Co. Wine & Beer, in Lake City. 

Kerr is a big believer in “don’t just talk the talk, walk the walk.” She believes if she is trying to convince people that Lake City is a place you should want to live and work, then she should live and work there. 

Another significant accomplishment Kerr has been a part of is not only helping launch Acline Studios, but also helping with the public art program, specifically managing the major art projects like the murals in the town. She believes it allows her to form deeper connections with the artists, which is significant and needed. 

“Every year there is so much hustle and bustle with ArtFields, but I have been really lucky as my position has changed when thinking about building a year-around art town versus pulling off a festival. One of the things I have been able to do throughout my career with ArtFields is the public art program. Managing major projects like the murals and sculptures allows me to form deeper connections with those artists. You end up getting to watch people grow and mature, and they have watched me grow up. I think that opening the studios is my biggest accomplishment, but the experience as a whole over the last eleven years has been so rich with opportunities. Every year, what we put into the festival, we get back, not just for ourselves, but for the people here.” 

Even though Kerr initially had plans to move far from her hometown, she has come to realize that life’s plans often change for the better. She says, “As someone who grew up in Florence, I had circumstances that prevented me from leaving, so I ended up at Francis Marion. I learned that just because something is accessible to you or is from where you are from does not mean it does not have value. FMU is such a testament to that. I am so grateful for what FMU did to prepare me for life.” 

Kerr reflects on her career trajectory and the lasting impact she’s made not only in Lake City, but also in her own personal growth. “I love ArtFields. I love Lake City. I love seeing Florence County and South Carolina growing beyond what I grew up thinking it was. Not only has Lake City grown, but so have I.”