The City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs presents two exhibitions at City Gallery that re-examine the lives of the enslaved by their descendants. Sleeping with the Ancestors: How I Followed the Footprints of Slavery uses recent photography by a collection of South Carolina photographers to highlight the work of the Joe McGill and the Slave Dwelling Project, a local non-profit that works to preserve extant slave dwellings throughout the country. “Payne-ful” Business, Charleston’s Journey to Truth pairs reproductions of historic advertisements with paintings of the enslaved by artist John W. Jones. The exhibitions are on view December 1, 2023 – February 11, 2024, at City Gallery. City Gallery will host a reception on Friday, December 1 from 5:00-7:00 p.m.; it is free and open to the public.

Sleeping with the Ancestors
Sleeping with the Ancestors uses more than 40 photographs by a collection of SC photographers to highlight the work of the Slave Dwelling Project. The Slave Dwelling Project, founded in 2010 by Joe McGill, focuses attention on the lives of the enslaved through the examination of the buildings where they lived. The Slave Dwelling Project has reached more than one hundred fifty sites in twenty-five states and the District of Columbia, engaging with diverse audiences at historic locations where experts, including McGill, conduct programs, give lectures, and spend nights in the dwellings. McGill and co-author Herb Frazier recently released the book, Sleeping with the Ancestors (Hachette Publishing, 2023, bit.ly/3sb9S0R), focusing on the history of each location that the Slave Dwelling Project has visited.

The Slave Dwelling Project envisions a future in which the hearts and minds of Americans acknowledge a more truthful and inclusive narrative of the history of the nation that honors the contributions of all people, is embedded and preserved in the buildings and artifacts of people of African heritage, and inspires all Americans to acknowledge their Ancestors.

“Now that I have the attention of the public by sleeping in extant slave dwellings, it is time to wake up and deliver the message that the people who lived in these structures were not a footnote in American history” says McGill.

“Payne-ful” Business, Charleston’s Journey to Truth
John W. Jones, legacy preservationist and acclaimed artist, has created a powerful series of paintings of the enslaved in the antebellum period. Drawing on the historical research of Margaret Seidler, fourth great-granddaughter of domestic slave trading auctioneer William Payne, Jones references the descriptive text gleaned from newspaper advertisements as he respectfully brings to life the people who were vital to the success of this community and beyond. For this exhibition, Jones has created over 40 paintings; each is accompanied by the textual images of the supporting newspaper advertisement, including its archival provenance.

Seidler’s upcoming book, “Payne-ful” Business, Journey to Truth (Evening Post Books, February 2024, evepostbooks.com), incorporates Jones’ compelling images in support of the historical interpretation of her recently discovered ancestors. The artist takes the Payne newspaper ads offering for sale blacksmiths, cooks, child nurses, brick masons and dozens of other talents, and transforms their trades, skills, and labors into a compelling visual narrative of the pervasiveness and magnitude of the contributions of the enslaved.
Born May 11, 1950, in Columbia, SC, John W. Jones has been a freelance artist and illustrator for more than 25 years. His former clients include Time Life Books, IBM, Westinghouse, Rubbermaid, NASA, Gadded Space and Flight Center, and the U.S. Postal Service. Jones explores life through art. This multi-talented artist uses oils, acrylics, and watercolors for his painting.
Jones’ goal is to paint the African American experience starting with the slave trade in Africa, through the Middle Passage and pre-Civil War era, and contrast it with African Americans today. Mr. Jones is the artist and author of the book and traveling exhibition, Confederate Currency: The Color of Money, Images of Slavery in Confederate and Southern States Currency. In addition, he has painted a series on the Buffalo Soldiers, the 54th Massachusetts and other African Americans in the military. He is currently working on a project that puts focus on the everyday lives of the Gullah people and the struggles and issues they face in trying to sustain their culture in modern day America. His paintings are available at the Rita Smith Gallery in Columbia, SC and Gallery Chuma in Charleston, SC.
Jones has received several awards, including merit awards for his works in the 1998 and 1999 Piccolo Spoleto Festival Art Show. Jones, who graduated from high school in 1968 and self-taught, has been drawing since early childhood. Drafted into the U.S. Army in 1970, Jones served in the Vietnam War, where he also took illustration classes in military School. Jones has lectured widely as an artist, activist and motivational speaker at various universities and colleges, conferences, and corporate events.

Those interested in viewing the upcoming exhibition are invited visit City Gallery from December 1, 2023 to February 11, 2024 on Wednesdays through Sundays between 12 and 5 p.m. Gallery admission is free, and walk-ins are welcome.