Coastal Carolina University will host a discussion with celebrated South Carolina Gullah artist Jonathan Green titled "Unchained Melodies: A Talk with Jonathan Green" on Thursday, April 2, at 4:30 p.m. in Edwards Recital Hall. Admission is free and open to the public.

The evening discussion will focus on Green's art, life and projects. Employing a style called "narrative realism," Green captures the history of the Gullah community he was raised. Projects like The Lowcountry Rice Culture Project, an organization whose goal is to restore the legacy of rice cultivation as well as to start conversations on various topics concerning the Southeast. After the lecture, Green will be available for a calendar/book signing. The Nancy Smith Distinguished Visiting Lecture series is sponsoring the event.

Green received the honorary degree Doctor of Fine Arts from CCU in 2009. Born in Gardens Corner, near Beaufort, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1982. Green's work, known for its vibrant color and dramatic depiction of rural Gullah scenes, is prized by collectors and critics throughout the world. His paintings are displayed in major museum collections in California, Florida, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Japan, Germany and Sierra Leone.

The Edwards Recital Hall is located in room 152 of the Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts at 133 Chanticleer Drive. For more information, contact Paula Gwaltney, 843-349-2637.