Mary Jackson

Basketry

Mary Jackson, Basket (2016). Sweetgrass. ©Mary Jackson 2016. Courtesy of the artist.

Enslaved West Africans introduced sweetgrass basketry to coastal South Carolina in the early 1700s. Initially a tool-making craft, sweetgrass basketry evolved into an intricate art form passed from generation to generation by the West Africans’ Gullah Geechee descendants.

World-renowned artist Mary Jackson infused this Gullah tradition with a contemporary artistic vision, creating bold, striking sculptural baskets.

Over time, climate change and development took their toll on Carolina’s coasts. High intensity storms and rising seas eroded soils; land uses changed. As access to sweetgrass became difficult, Jackson worked tirelessly – and successfully – with local government, land managers, and researchers to explore growing sweetgrass. Her community now cultivates sweetgrass, preserving a time-honored sustainable art form and the coastal areas supporting it.