Lecture: “The Ossabaw Island Project, Genesis, and Of the Coast of Paradise”

Presented by: Erin Dunn, curator of modern and contemporary art, and Beryl Gilothwest, guest curator and grandson of Eleanor “Sandy” Torrey West

Dunn and Gilothwest are curators of Off the Coast of Paradise: Ossabaw Island, Georgia, 1961-Now, opening early 2026 at the Jepson Center.

In 1961, Ossabaw Island’s co-owner Eleanor “Sandy” Torrey West and her husband Clifford Bateman West established the Ossabaw Island Project (OIP), a multidisciplinary residencey program that ran until 1982. Unlike similar programs that were tailored towards artists only, the Wests invited intellectuals in the sciences, linguistics, history, mathematics, law and other disciplines to Ossabaw in addition to painters, photographers, sculptors, musicians, and other artists. Residents were given the opportunity to work on projects of their choosing and gain inspiration from the wild and majestic environment of the island. In 1970, the Wests expanded their program to include Genesis, a cooperative, semi sustainable community oriented towards younger and less established creative residents.

These programs form the bedrock of the upcoming exhibition Off the Coast of Paradise: Ossabaw Island, Georgia, 1961-Now at the Jepson Center, which will explore the island’s profound impact on arts and culture in the United States over the last sixty years.