South Carolina State Museum

 

This exhibit traces the history of piracy from ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome through today’s pirates in Somalia.  The exhibit will highlight the fearless exploits of sword-wielding, pistol-toting characters such as Stede Bonnet, Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and the most famous of all —  Blackbeard.  Featured in the exhibit will be artifacts from the shipwreck of Blackbeard’s infamous ship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, as well as real coins from the golden age of piracy, reproduction weaponry, maps, and ship models.  The exhibit will allow young visitors to imagine being a pirate by handling reproduction weapons, trying on pirate costumes, watching for pretend pirates from a crow’s nest, and other hands-on opportunities.

Photographs capturing South Carolinians at work and play across the state are the focus of this engaging exhibit.  Created in conjunction with MUSC and the College of Charleston’s Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, the Palmetto Portrait Project features 300 original photographic portraits by 24 South Carolina photographers along with related works of art and other elements.