Gullah Geechee Exhibit

The Gullah Geechee people are descendants of enslaved people from west and central Africa who were exploited for their agricultural expertise on the rice, indigo, and cotton plantations of the Southeast United States. The nature of their enslavement on semi-isolated island and coastal plantations in the Lowcountry meant they retained many of their rich heritage of African cultural traditions. The distinctive arts, crafts, foodways, music, and language of the Gullah Geechee are celebrated in this exhibit.

Client
Port Royal Sound Foundation Maritime Center

The Foundation’s mission is to preserve
the Port Royal Sound for the environmental,
cultural and economic well-being of the area.

Location
Okatie, South Carolina

Completed
Spring 2022

Process

In the early development of this exhibit, Michael Smalls of Gullah Sweetgrass Basket Creations was commissioned to create a custom fanner basket. As Sweetgrass baskets are such a well known Gullah art form, we decided to make that artifact the focal point of the display. The other cultural traditions were arranged on wedge shaped panels in a circle around the basket. Along with text provided by local Gullah scholars and experts in their field, we displayed several other three dimensional objects, books, framed works of art, and a flipbook for visitors to test their knowledge of Gullah words.