June Events
City of Columbia to Host Public Meeting on Williams Street Extension Project
This drop-in style meeting offers attendees a chance to learn more about the project’s progress, including design features, environmental considerations, and the construction timeline. City officials and members of the consultant team will be available to discuss the project and collect feedback from the public.
About the Williams Street Extension
The Williams Street Extension aims to improve connectivity between Blossom Street and Senate Street, integrating with Columbia’s broader street grid and extending west past Huger Street. The first phase of the project will include:
- Approximately 4,700 feet of new and upgraded roadway
- 4,700 feet of new sidewalks for pedestrians
- Multimodal design enhancements to accommodate bikes, pedestrians, and vehicles
- Related infrastructure to support safe and efficient travel
This project supports several community-driven goals, including:
- Expanding public access to the riverfront
- Stimulating economic growth in adjacent areas
- Enhancing public safety and transportation connectivity
- Promoting recreational use of outdoor spaces
- Reinforcing community pride and strengthening neighborhood ties
With design work nearing completion, the City anticipates submitting the project for Planning Commission review in the summer of 2025, with construction to follow soon after.
Stay up to date on the project by visiting www.columbiasc.gov or following the City of Columbia on social media and through its e-newsletter.
Make your voice heard drop by, learn more, and share your feedback to help shape this important infrastructure project for Columbia’s future.
Draw, Paint, and Connect with the About Face Group at Stormwater Studios – Tuesday, June 17!
Mark your calendar for an evening of artistic exploration with the About Face Drawing Group on Tuesday, June 17, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Stormwater Studios.
This dynamic session will feature two live models—one for figure drawing and one for portrait work—offering a unique opportunity to sharpen your skills in a welcoming, creative atmosphere. Whether you’re a seasoned artist or picking up a pencil for the first time, this session is open to all experience levels.
Bring your favorite materials—sketchpad, paints, brushes, or even your easel—and get ready to dive into a night of creativity and community. Admission is just $10, and first-timers attend free!
Want to stay in the loop? Reach out to Jordan Johnson at [email protected] or follow the group on Instagram: @about_face_drawinggroup.
Join us for an inspiring night of drawing, painting, and artistic connection.
the embodiment: A Multidisciplinary Exhibition by Shaneen Tyrese
We’re thrilled to present the embodiment, a powerful and immersive multidisciplinary exhibition by Shaneen Tyrese, on view from Wednesday, June 18 through Sunday, June 29, 2025, at Stormwater Studios.
Step into a sacred space where art becomes ritual, and creation becomes homecoming. the embodiment is a body of work that explores refuge—both spiritual and physical—as a space carved between polarities. Through mixed media painting, textured layers, poetic language, and abstract forms, this exhibition reveals a landscape where the sacred meets the broken, and where the broken meets GOD.
Drawing from deeply personal and universal themes of identity, faith, trauma, and transcendence, Shaneen transforms raw material into a healing ritual. Earth-toned textures converge with quiet minimalism; painted surfaces are inscribed with fragments of writing, memory, and prayer. In the liminal space between light and shadow, silence and sound, body, and spirit, the embodiment offers not escape—but reckoning, healing, and a return to self.
This work invites viewers into contemplative dialogue and emotional resonance, gently guiding them toward their inner sanctuary—a freedom too often buried in the heart.
Opening Reception
Thursday, June 19 | 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Artist Talk with Shaneen Tyrese
Saturday, June 21 | 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. (Q&A to follow)
Shaneen shares the inspiration behind the embodiment—multidisciplinary artworks shaped by rupture, ritual, and return. Through paint, texture, and prayer, she opens a conversation between body, soul, and spirit.
Art as ritual. Creation as homecoming.
Poetry Reading & Open Mic
Friday, June 27 | 6:00 p.m.
Step into the sacred. Join Shaneen Tyrese for a live poetry reading from the embodiment—a soul-stirring journey through refuge, faith, memory, and healing. Afterward, share your voice, your truth, your words, and your poem. Words as ritual. Language as home.
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