South Carolina Arts Foundation

South Carolina Arts Foundation The SC Arts Foundation is dedicated to recognizing, encouraging and supporting the art and artists of South Carolina. What do the arts mean to you?

When was the last time a work of art left you nearly breathless? Or brought back a fond memory? Or inspired you to take action? Was it a piece of symphonic music or a painting by a South Carolina artist? Was it a piece of public art that enhances your walk to lunch, or a singer's thrilling ending to a song? We want to know: what's your arts story this year? In the past, we've told you about 1536 g

reat reasons to lend your support to the arts in South Carolina. Your generous donations have helped artists, arts organizations and schools to do what they do best: make art while also making our state a more vibrant and liveable place. For more than four decades, the South Carolina Arts Commission has developed the arts, making them accessible to South Carolina citizens through consulting, training, grants and statewide leadership for the arts community. This investment has increased arts activities, awareness and participation in every part of this state, and there's a good chance it's benefited you and your family. Tell us your story, and make sure others can be enriched with their own stories by donating to the Arts Growth Fund and by attending the South Carolina Arts Gala in May.

South Carolina Artists, are you looking to Grow Your Creative Business?The South Carolina Arts Commission’s Artist Entre...
08/19/2026

South Carolina Artists, are you looking to Grow Your Creative Business?

The South Carolina Arts Commission’s Artist Entrepreneur Incubator kicks off its 2026/27 series this Saturday with a free, full-day session focused on grants and artistic growth.

The program is designed for South Carolina artists who want to build or grow their arts-based businesses. During Saturday’s session, artists will:

• Work through grant writing and budgeting activities
• Explore ways to diversify income and plan for growth
• Connect with other South Carolina artists and SCAC staff
• Get practical resources for developing their businesses and brands
• Have the opportunity to receive a free professional headshot

📍: Greenville Center for Creative Arts
📅: Saturday, August 22
⏰: 10 AM–4 PM
💰: Free

The program is open to South Carolina residents who are at least 18 and are not currently enrolled in a degree-granting program.

Know an artist who could use this? Send this their way.

We’ve received so many questions about how to apply for the 2026 MOJA Juried Art Exhibition, so we put together this sim...
07/28/2026

We’ve received so many questions about how to apply for the 2026 MOJA Juried Art Exhibition, so we put together this simple step-by-step guide to help make the process a little easier.

Whether you’re applying for the first time or you’ve submitted work before, we hope this guide answers some of your questions and helps you navigate the application with confidence.

📅 Application Deadline: August 11, 2026

If you have any additional questions, leave them in the comments, and we’ll do our best to help.

If you know an artist who might be interested, feel free to share this post with them!

South Carolina artists, here's an opportunity to showcase your work.Submissions are now open for the 2026 MOJA Arts Fest...
07/21/2026

South Carolina artists, here's an opportunity to showcase your work.

Submissions are now open for the 2026 MOJA Arts Festival Juried Art Exhibition at Charleston's City Gallery.

Artists from South Carolina, along with eligible artists from select areas of Georgia and North Carolina, are invited to submit original work in:
• Painting
• Sculpture
• Drawing
• Printmaking
• Photography

Selected works will be featured during the 2026 MOJA Arts Festival, taking place September 24 through October 25 at Joe Riley Waterfront Park in Charleston.

This year's exhibition will be juried by artist and gallerist Arun Drummond.

🗓 Submission deadline: August 11, 2026

Opportunities like this help artists gain visibility while celebrating the rich artistic and cultural heritage that makes South Carolina's creative community so vibrant.

Learn more and submit your work through the City Gallery of Charleston.

At first glance, you see texture. Look closer, and you'll find history.This week's featured artwork is Collage Construct...
07/13/2026

At first glance, you see texture. Look closer, and you'll find history.

This week's featured artwork is Collage Construction (1964) by Robert Courtright.

Drawing inspiration from Mediterranean Romanesque architecture, Courtright explores space, texture, natural light, and the idea of reuse. He was particularly inspired by the way older buildings often incorporated salvaged Roman stones and materials, originally intended for a different purpose, into entirely new structures.

He approached collage in much the same way. Papers and materials with their own histories, each once serving a different purpose, are brought together to create a new visual language. As Courtright described it, collage is "a very definite reuse of the past," even if that past is only as recent as yesterday's newspaper.

He believed that little in a work of art is ever completely new. Instead, ideas and materials are passed on, rediscovered, rescued, and reimagined, with traces of their earlier existence contributing to the meaning of the finished piece.

Artwork Details
Collage Construction (1964)
Mixed media collage
36 × 36 in.

What details or stories do you notice when you look a little closer?

06/09/2026

A Sunday Gathering for the Love of the Arts 🎨 🥂

A look back at a wonderful afternoon spent celebrating creativity, community, and the artists who help make South Carolina's cultural landscape so vibrant.

Thank you to everyone who joined us in sharing a love for the arts.

Charleston's Marion Square is once again being transformed into an open-air gallery as part of the 46th Annual Piccolo S...
05/29/2026

Charleston's Marion Square is once again being transformed into an open-air gallery as part of the 46th Annual Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibition.

Running from May 22 through June 6 (with an optional exhibitor day on June 7), the exhibition features local and regional artists showcasing original works in oil, watercolor, acrylic, photography, mixed media, and more. Visitors have the opportunity to meet artists, explore their work, and experience creativity in one of Charleston's most vibrant public spaces.
Events like Piccolo Spoleto remind us that art doesn't only live inside museums and galleries. It thrives in public spaces, sparks conversation, and brings communities together.

At the South Carolina Arts Foundation, we are proud to celebrate the artists whose creativity continues to enrich communities across our state.

South Carolina recently lost one of its most recognizable self-taught artists.Pearl Fryar, the visionary behind the famo...
05/19/2026

South Carolina recently lost one of its most recognizable self-taught artists.

Pearl Fryar, the visionary behind the famous Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden in Bishopville, passed away earlier this year at 86. Through sculpted trees, found objects, and imaginative landscapes, Fryar transformed his garden into a work of living art that drew visitors from around the world.

What made his work so powerful was its originality. His designs were unconventional, deeply personal, and created with a sense of joy and curiosity that made art feel accessible to everyone who encountered it.

Over the years, the garden became more than a destination. It became part of South Carolina’s cultural identity and a reminder that creativity can grow in unexpected places.

Artists like Pearl Fryar leave lasting marks on communities, not only through what they create, but through the inspiration they pass on to others.

Supporting the South Carolina Arts Foundation helps preserve and celebrate the artists, stories, and creative traditions that continue to shape cultural life across the state.

For 65 years, South Carolina Ballet has been part of the cultural heartbeat of the state.This spring, that legacy was ce...
05/14/2026

For 65 years, South Carolina Ballet has been part of the cultural heartbeat of the state.

This spring, that legacy was celebrated at the Koger Center, where Artistic Director William Starrett received the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest civilian honor, recognizing decades of contribution to the arts.

But milestones like this are about more than an anniversary.

They reflect years of performances that moved audiences, arts education that reached young dancers, and creative work that became part of community life across South Carolina.

The arts leave lasting marks on people and places. They bring generations together, create shared experiences, and remind us how much creativity can shape the identity of a community.

Supporting the South Carolina Arts Foundation helps make those experiences possible by continuing to invest in artists, arts education, and creative communities across the state.

For more than six decades, South Carolina Ballet has helped shape South Carolina’s cultural life through performance, education, and community engagement.

For a few weeks, Lake City became something else entirely.ArtFields 2026 turned the town into a living, walkable gallery...
05/06/2026

For a few weeks, Lake City became something else entirely.

ArtFields 2026 turned the town into a living, walkable gallery, where art appeared in storefronts, cafés, galleries, and unexpected corners.

From April 10 through May 2, hundreds of works filled more than 40 spaces across the community, inviting people to experience art as part of everyday life.
You didn’t just visit one exhibition.

You moved through many, one step at a time, one space into the next.
Moments like this stay with a place.
They shift how it feels, how it’s seen, and how people connect within it.
Even after it ends, that energy continues. It carries forward in the artists, the community, and the work that grows beyond the festival.

Supporting the South Carolina Arts Foundation helps ensure that moments like this, and the creative work behind them, continue to reach new audiences and take shape across the state.

In 1987, artist Howard Woody transformed the sky over Charleston into a moving work of art.Carolina Sail, part of his Sk...
04/22/2026

In 1987, artist Howard Woody transformed the sky over Charleston into a moving work of art.

Carolina Sail, part of his Sky Sculpture series, was created to respond to the invisible forces of nature, turning wind, temperature, and atmosphere into motion. Measuring 100 feet by 60 feet and constructed from metalized mylar, the sculpture was launched from Brittlebank Park during the Spoleto Festival.

Over the course of 98 minutes, it traveled 7 miles at an altitude of 1,500 feet before landing on Daniel Island. Tracked from above by a Cessna aircraft, the flight became one of the more intimate journeys in Woody’s larger body of work, where some sculptures traveled hundreds of miles across continents.

Commissioned for the State Art Collection by the South Carolina Arts Commission, Carolina Sail reflects a unique moment where art, science, and environment came together in the open sky.

Works like this remind us that art is not always something you stand in front of. Sometimes, it moves above you.
Supporting the South Carolina Arts Foundation helps preserve and share works like this, ensuring that art in all its forms continues to reach communities across the state.

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1026 Sumter Street, Ste 200
Columbia, SC
29201

Telephone

+18037348696

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