SAVANNAH, GA — Time is running out to experience the magical story of an island that inspired generations of artists. Off the Coast of Paradise: Artists and Ossabaw Island, 1961–Now,the first major exhibition to explore the profound impact of an undeveloped, 26,000-acre barrier island off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, closes on September 6, 2026 at Telfair’s Jepson Center.
Now in its final weeks, the landmark exhibition considers Ossabaw Island through historical, environmental, social, cultural, and personal lenses of 32 artists over the last 65 years. The exhibition focuses on the Ossabaw Island Project (OIP) and Genesis—a pair of revolutionary multidisciplinary residency programs that ran on the island from 1961–1982—and their legacies in its examination of Ossabaw as a site for creative experimentation. Off the Coast of Paradise features the work of Harry Bertoia, Agnes Denes, Marcy Hermansader, Suzanne Jackson, Ellen Lanyon, Doris Lee, Jack Leigh, Sally Mann, Michael Mazur, Ross McElwee, Athena Tacha, Betty Tompkins, and Anne Truitt, among many others.
“With just a few weeks left, I hope visitors will take the time to learn about the incredible local artistic legacy of Ossabaw Island that had a national impact on the history of American art,” said Erin Dunn, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. “The exhibition explores how the unique environment of Ossabaw has influenced artists for decades, continuing to this day.”
Exhibition-related programming has served over 800 people through museum-organized trips to Ossabaw, Free Family Days, lectures and gallery talks, and communal viewings of artist and filmmaker Allison Janae Hamilton’s narrative short film “Venus of Ossabaw” commissioned by the museum. Now, Telfair invites visitors to attend the closing programs related to the show. On Thursday, August 20, enjoy a screening of writer and filmmaker Megan Mayhew Bergman’s short film “A Taste of the Wild: The Legacy of Sandy West” which tells the story of the conservation icon’s love affair with Ossabaw Island and her pioneering interdisciplinary vision for its conservation. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion between Bergman and Beryl Gilothwest, grandson of Clifford and Eleanor “Sandy” West and co-curator of Off the Coast of Paradise, moderated by Erin Dunn.
On Thursday, September 17, Telfair Museums welcomes back Allison Janae Hamilton for the 2026 Lawrence Lecture for a final screening of “Venus of Ossabaw” followed by an in-depth conversation.
Off the Coast of Paradise: Artists and Ossabaw Island, 1961–Now is organized by Erin Dunn, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at Telfair Museums, and Beryl Gilothwest, Guest Curator and Deputy Director of Research and Exhibitions at Calder Foundation, New York.
About Telfair Museums
Opening in 1886, Telfair Museums is the oldest public art museum in the South and the first U.S. museum founded by a woman. The museum features a world-class art collection in the heart of Savannah’s National Historic Landmark District and encompasses three sites: the Jepson Center for the Arts, the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters, and the Telfair Academy. For more information on Telfair Museums, please visit www.telfair.org.
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