Professor guides DI audience on virtual tour through Avery Research Center

In honor of Black History Month, Dr. Patricia Lessane of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture presented a virtual tour of the museum on Feb. 6 at the Berkeley County Library on Daniel Island.

“The mission of Charleston’s unique center is to collect, preserve and promote the story of African Americans in Charleston and the Lowcountry,” Lessane explained to her Daniel Island audience. “Avery’s archival collections, exhibitions, and public programming reflect diversity of local populations as well as the wider African Diaspora.”

Affiliated with the College of Charleston, the Avery Research Center maintains several galleries and public program spaces.

“Each year, the Avery Research Center develops exhibitions from its rich archival, art, and rare manuscript collections and hosts temporary art exhibitions featuring prominent and burgeoning artists from South Carolina and throughout whose work supports the Center’s mission,” according to Dr. Lessane.

As she guided the virtual tour that showcased the Avery Center’s extensive collections, Lessane said that while the museum is currently closed for renovation, the institute will continue to educate the community through lectures and programs that spotlight local and national African American culture.

The museum, located at 125 Bull Street in Charleston, will reopen this summer and will resume hosting tours at that time.

The Avery Research Center currently holds nearly 4000 primary and secondary-source materials that document the history, traditions, legacies, and influence of African Americans and their place in the American narrative. Over 3000 patrons visit the Avery Research Center annually, ranging from scholars and lecturers, to school groups and universities, to families and community members from all over the world.

In addition to its historical focus, the Avery Center promotes African American talents in various forms of art and creative expression. In order to educate and extend the Avery Research Center’s reach into local communities, the center partners with the Charleston County School District, the Berkeley County School District, the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs’ MOJA Arts Festival: A Celebration of African-American and Caribbean Arts, and other community groups.

According to the center’s website, the museum is located on the site of the former Avery Normal Institute, a hub for Charleston’s African-American community from 1865–1954 that trained its students for professional careers and leadership roles. In 1985, the institute joined with the College of Charleston to establish the Avery Research Center in order to preserve the legacy of the original institute and educate the community on the rich and vital culture of African Americans in Charleston and South Carolina at large.

For additional information on the center, visit http://avery.cofc.edu.