At the start of this 50th anniversary year for the magazine, I shared with readers what a disaster my office is. Well, here’s proof (right). There are quite literally decades of issues pulled from my archives, either stacked, tagged, or strewn about the floor in the kind of organized chaos that only an editor can claim. There’s a method to the madness, I can assure you. But first, I must thank my neatnik husband, Wally, for enduring months of this mess. I tell him that oft-used quote, “If a messy desk is a sign of a genius, what is a clean desk?” He just cringes and closes the door, leaving me to my time-travel through past issues of Charleston.
I’ve been having a ball, diving in and learning more about the city in the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s and playing a bit of “This Is Your Life” as I skim the stories we’ve produced since I took the helm in 2000. This archive has been a treasure trove as we map out our content for this milestone year, especially for this annual Arts Issue and the feature “A Charleston Arts Timeline: 1975 to 2025” (page 86). Through it, you can soar through the decades, witnessing the dynamic shift in the city after the first Spoleto Festival in 1977.
You’ll meet some of the many talented characters who have enriched our lives and laid foundations for future creatives—remember Chopstick Theater? By no means is this a comprehensive survey, but hopefully an entertaining and enlightening look at the Holy City’s artistic and cultural growth.
For another nod to our big 5-0, we present “Where Is This?” (page 112), 50 photographs of Lowcountry locales—some easily recognizable, others not so much—from the peninsula, to the islands, and points in between. Think of it as a visual scavenger hunt and turn it into a fun outing. And if you’re stuck, you can find the answers at charlestonmag.com. I would join you, but first I have to dig my way out of my office.
Darcy Shankland
dshankland@charlestonmag.com