Several hands submerge swatches of pale fabric into an inky stew. The swatches disappear briefly, but emerge transformed into a brilliant blue, the distinctive mark of the indigo plant.
The art of dyeing fabric with indigo, a valued source of revenue for South Carolina in the 18th and 19th centuries, is at risk of fading into obscurity, along with other enduring artistic traditions of the South, as the upper peninsula of Charleston becomes increasingly gentrified.
That’s where people like Kaylee McMullan come in. The George Mason University arts management graduate student is spending her summer interning at Enough Pie, a Charleston based nonprofit.
As part of her internship, she spends humid summer days in the Vat Shack, a tiny mobile house where community dye days are hosted to educate visitors on the art and history of indigo.
Indicative of its name, Enough Pie has the mission of ensuring that everyone—rich or poor, longtime Charlestonian or recently arrived transplant—gets equal share and involvement in the quickly changing area.
“It’s an unusual name and people ask what it is; you really get a chance to explain what you do,” McMullan said. “They aren’t fighting gentrification; they want to make sure community members have a voice and that they are heard by doing things that are artistic.”
Visitors to the Vat Shack are encouraged to bring their own fabrics from home to dye. McMullan works closely with the indigo artists there.
“We refer to them affectionately as ‘Den Mamas’—we like to have fun here,” she said. “I go every morning to stir the indigo … to bring up any reduction from the bottom, but also because it is a living organism that needs to be checked on every day.”
The Vat Shack made its debut in June at Enough Pie’s Awakening IV: Indigo event, which featured oral storytelling in Gullah, a language spoken along the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia by a people of the same name. Awakening is held annually, and each year has a different theme.
The culture of the area “can be easily forgotten,” McMullan said. “It’s important to remind people of that aspect of their history. The area is growing so fast and people coming to the area don’t know about it.”
McMullan, a Virginia native, said she earned an undergraduate degree in South Carolina and feels vested in the area.
Her most memorable experience this summer was surveying the community as a part of Enough Pie’s strategic planning and its effort to understand the needs and wants of the community.
“I found that a lot of people really like that their neighborhood in the Upper Peninsula is quiet and peaceful, but they would like to have more activities for children, more community gatherings and more connection among the races,” she said.
“Mason has helped me prepare for this internship by giving me confidence. The arts management program is taken from a practical approach, so that I can leave the classroom and apply my learning to my internship.”