Dear Friends,

 On behalf of the Jasper Family, let me take this opportunity to officially say, Thank You!

 I don’t think any of us were prepared for the kind of welcome and support the Columbia arts community has given us as we’ve launched our new publication, Jasper – The Word on Columbia Arts. You’ve been exceptionally generous with your praise, wisdom, and advice. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t have someone offer a suggestion or a word of encouragement, or that a friend at a restaurant or gallery will drop us an e-mail or a text saying their magazine supply is low – will we bring another batch by? And so, for the past two months we’ve been hopping all over town, out to Newberry and Camden, and as far away as Greenville and Spartanburg, replenishing piles of Jasper, visiting with friends, and making ourselves comfortable. Despite the fact that our magazine home is located downstairs in the Tapp’s Arts Center – and please, do stop by and say hello – we’ve come to feel like we have hundreds of neighbors all over town. We have realized even more fully how expansive the Columbia arts community is and how much its individual members have to offer one another.

 You see, I have a philosophy that art and wine have something in common. Much in the way that the most stressed soils tend to produce excellent wines, great art can also result when the political environment in which it is produced is, shall we say, less than encouraging. Despite the fact that our arts advocates must wage an uphill battle against state government for recognition of art and arts education as a cultural imperative, our artists continue to provide us with art that is intellectually stimulating, spiritually satisfying, and emotionally challenging. Even though they, themselves, may be starved for funding, our local artists generously feed the souls of their patrons with healthy helpings of visual, literary, and performing arts that nourish the quality of our lives, making us fat and happy.

 At Jasper, we’re proud to provide this community with a platform upon which artists of differing disciplines can come together to support, appreciate, and learn more about one another. And we are committed to offering comprehensive arts coverage, not only across artistic genres, but also across rivers and counties, into the communities that may not carry a Columbia zip code but still look to the city as the center of this remarkable renaissance in the arts currently underway. Because, as the greater South Carolina Midlands continues to grow as a southeastern arts destination, stretching from the galleries of Camden to the stage of the Newberry Opera House, Columbia will serve as its nucleus – the heartbeat of a living organism that attracts visitors and wanderers and, ultimately, more artists and arts lovers who will also call Columbia home.

 As someone who understands the importance of the arts, Mayor Steve Benjamin writes in his guest editorial in this issue of Jasper, “There is something special about Columbia. Since its creation 225 years ago, our city has continued to attract men and women of unparalleled talent and passion to explore new horizons of creativity and push the boundaries of human expression.”

 Jasper is honored to record these new horizons of creativity in the pages of our magazine. We hope you enjoy reading about them as much as we enjoy bringing them to you.

 Take care,

Cindi