The Metropolitan Arts Council (MAC) celebrated the community’s service to the arts during its annual meeting and awards ceremony held on March 23. Shane Howell, Visual Arts department head and lead professor in graphic design at Greenville Technical College, received the Carl R. Blair Educator Award at the event.
A 29-year college employee, Howell has been instrumental in ensuring that the Visual Arts program is a highly respected hiring source for employers seeking job candidates in advertising, public relations, graphic design, website design, and professional photography. Thanks to his leadership, graduates in the program’s fine arts transfer tracks are also welcomed at four-year colleges and universities including USC Upstate and the Savannah College of Art and Design, both of which have established transfer agreements with GTC that ensure a seamless and successful transition.
Howell has grown the program’s Annual Upstate High School Art Exhibition into an event that showcases hundreds of works from regional high school artists. The show has received MAC grant funding for most of its 36-year history.
In 2014, Howell received the South Carolina Faculty Award for Service Learning given by South Carolina Campus Compact for a project he instituted in which students contributed over 284 volunteer service hours to build free websites for local non-profits, a service that could typically cost a non-profit organization $1,500 if completed by a contracted graphic designer.
Howell earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Southern Indiana and a Master of Fine Arts from Clemson University. Prior to joining the Greenville Technical College faculty, he taught at Anderson University, the Museum School of Arts, and Clemson University. His industry experience includes positions in graphic design and creative direction.
Two other awards presented at MAC’s annual meeting went to former Visual Arts students. Shay Black was selected as DEW-Eurodrive Teaching Artist Fellow, and Jonathan Skinner was named a Dwain Skinner Fellow.
“We are tremendously proud of Shane and his outstanding legacy of excellence in visual arts education,” said Dr. Candice Lewis, chief academic officer at Greenville Technical College. “Thanks to his leadership, our Visual Arts program is well known across the state and beyond for the highest quality career preparation.”
MAC provides support to area arts organizations, individual artists and arts education programs through its grants program, through its cultural planning process, by advocating on behalf of all artists and arts groups, and by providing cooperative marketing opportunities promoting arts groups that might not have resources available to them. The organization has served as a trusted champion of the arts since 1973.