The City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs presents two photography exhibitions that examine personal and cultural histories of the Lowcountry. Calling Me Home: A Visual Ode to the Low-Country by Marcus Middleton and Children of Indigo by Caroline Gutman will be exhibited at City Gallery December 13, 2024, through February 9, 2025. Children of Indigo is a documentary project that explores the plant’s painful history in South Carolina and spotlights women in the Lowcountry today who have revived indigo cultivation and dyeing, building a flourishing community of textile artists and homesteaders. Calling Me Home: A Visual Ode to the Low-Country is a tribute to Wadmalaw Island and its environs.

Calling Me Home: A Visual Ode to the Low-Country is photographer Marcus Middleton’s tribute to Wadmalaw Island, or what he likes to call a “living museum.” “The American South is both turbulent and beautiful, and my hope is to share that dynamic and sometimes contradictory experience with the audience; to capture Wadmalaw as it is, unspoiled by progress,” says Middleton. “Crossing over Esau Jenkins Bridge is like going back in time. And I believe that nostalgia is medicinal. Whenever I return home, I feel recharged and refreshed. It’s the little things, right? I live in a big city, but low-country living is a part of my culture. This body of work is an attempt to express the gratitude I feel for where I grew up. I will forever be enamored with this place I call home.” Middleton’s visual tribute to his home includes more than 100 images.