The Koger Center, USC School of Music professor Gail Barnes and USC School of Visual Arts and Design alumnus Wade Sellers have been named winners of the 2025 Governor’s Awards for the Arts by the South Carolina Arts Commission, recognizing exceptional practice or support of contemporary and traditional art forms. The Koger Center won in the government category, Barnes in the individual category, and Sellers is winner of the artist category.
The Koger Center for the Arts, Government Category
The Koger Center for the Arts supports exceptional art by hosting and presenting experiences that enlighten, educate, entertain and inspire. Opening the Koger Center on Jan. 14, 1989, USC invested in local community needs through inclusive support for local arts organizations’ programming and technical requirements.
- As a home to all the arts, it houses a large permanent display of visual art and hosts a revolving series of exhibits in several gallery spaces.
- Its 2,256-seat main auditorium regularly hosts local performing arts organizations and large touring shows such as Broadway’s Wicked and Hamilton, the Philharmonic Orchestra of London and well-known artists like Alice Cooper and James Taylor.
- The Koger Center also hosts seasons of performances by the School of Music, Department of Theatre and Dance and Koger Center Presents, as well as local and touring educational performances.
- Expanding its uses, the Koger Center has converted its Grand Tier lobby into a 150-seat music venue, incorporated a permanent stage on its exterior plaza and transformed its rehearsal hall into a black box theater.
Gail V. Barnes, Individual Category
Gail V. Barnes is professor of music education and director of the USC String Project, teaching stringed instrument methods and orchestra literature. She believes her greatest contribution to the state are the 150 teachers who have graduated from the program during her tenure.
- Barnes’s research centers on community and school orchestra programs toward equitable access to music education for underserved youth. Her work has shed light on the positive impact of parental involvement and a supportive home environment on students’ musical development.
- She has shared her expertise through insightful presentations across the United States and in countries such as Australia, Italy, China, Greece, Scotland and Brazil.
- Barnes is a co-author of Measures of Success for String Orchestra, a method book for young string players.
- As director of the USC String Project, she continues to work with student-aged musicians and has conducted all-state orchestras in South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Michigan.
Wade Sellers, Artist Category
Wade Sellers, ’96 media arts, is an independent filmmaker in Columbia and 2020 distinguished SVAD alumnus. He produced his first film just months after graduating from USC and became an in-demand lighting director and gaffer on commercials and corporate projects.
- His short film Gordon’s Ride was featured at the Independent Feature Film Festival.
- In 2002, Sellers co-founded the nonprofit Hybrid Films, which would establish Columbia’s independent Beg and Grovel Film Festival.
- He received his first Southeastern Emmy Award nomination for directing South Carolina ETV’s South Carolinians in World War 2.
- His production company, Coal Powered Filmworks, promotes independent filmmaking in South Carolina, and in 2013 he founded the 2nd Act Film Project, helping in-state filmmakers create 84 films for screening at 2nd Act.
- He has supervised more than 25 interns from USC and Benedict College, has lectured and taught USC media arts classes and has served as board president for The Jasper Project since 2019.
Members of the University of South Carolina community are often represented in the annual Governor’s Award for the Arts, a testament to the university’s prominent role in the artistic and cultural life of the state. In recent years, USC professors Minuette Floyd, Ray McManus and Ed Madden have also earned the award.