First Thursday returns to downtown Columbia

Listen to this article

First Thursday is returning to downtown Columbia and will include a celebration of the Friends of African American Art & Culture’s 10th anniversary at Boyd Plaza.

The affinity group of the Columbia Museum of Art will hold its annual meeting at 5:30 p.m. The public is invited to meet board members and enjoy appetizers, a cash bar and curated tour of African American art at the museum.

Pieces on view include Symphony in Red, a collage by Sam Middleton; a bronze sculpture, Reclining Nude, by Elizabeth Catlett; and Tetramorphic Form, a welded steel sculpture by S.C. native Winston Wingo. Nancy Tolson, a CMA docent and assistant director of African American studies at the University of South Carolina, will share perspectives and historical context on each piece.  

This is also the final week of the museum’s exhibition of the works of M.C. Escher. The Imaginative Worlds of M.C. Escher will run through Sunday and features more than 130 works, including woodcuts, lithographs and drawings.

The monthly First Thursday event, on hiatus during the pandemic, showcases businesses on Columbia’s Main Street and will feature refreshments and live music at Boyd Plaza.