Stephen Hayes's Cash Crop at The Giant
551 S. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC 28202
Category: Arts & Culture
Award: Best Art Exhibition You May Have Missed
But Still Have a Chance to See
Year Won: 2012
Pick: Editor's Pick
Bearden got all the fanfare, but this show about slavery—including the kind that continues today (think materialism married with forced labor)—will leave a more lasting impression on its viewers. The installation of life-size sculptures of Hayes’s friends and family members encased in slave ships is arresting and evocative. Hayes, a Savannah College of Art and Design alumnus, is a rising star.