Art Charleston

The Gibbes Museum of Art welcomes you to Art Charleston, April 24–28, 2024. Designed to innovate, elevate, and cultivate Charleston’s thriving arts culture, this annual festival exemplifies “Art is the Reason.”

A 5-day focus on the visual arts with signature events, unique experiences, artist lectures, panel discussions, gallery walks, professional workshops, and exhibition tours led by experts, Art Charleston is our city’s premier visual arts event. Launched in 2022, Art Charleston successfully raised over $800k and generated another $200K in ticket sales to benefit educational programing at the Gibbes. In turn, Art Charleston has invested more than $500,000 in support to local vendors and businesses.

Art Charleston enhances the cultural landscape through immersion in the visual arts and highlights the Gibbes as a place where strong and diverse human stories are expressed through the arts.

  • Art of Design

    LUNCHEON & LECTURE
    Wednesday, April 24

    PRESENTED BY THE WOMEN’S COUNCIL OF THE GIBBES MUSEUM OF ART

    One of Charleston’s most iconic events of the year, the Art of Design is a beautifully styled, seated luncheon featuring multiple courses prepared by Salthouse Catering, wine pairings, lively conversation, and Instagram-worthy décor set against the backdrop of the Gibbes’ classical European-style garden. This year’s featured speaker, Hannah Cecil Gurney, Director of de Gournay, will take you behind the scenes of de Gournay’s dreamy interior designs of custom hand-painted wallpapers, fabrics, and porcelains. Carrying the legacy of the business founded by her father, Claud Gurney, Ms. Gurney brings you on her journey to transform de Gournay from cult niche to industry leader. Interviewing Ms. Gurney will be Flower Magazine’s Founder and Editor-in-Chief Margot Shaw, a sought-after speaker and author on floral designs and lifestyle.

  • Gibbes on the Street

    STREET PARTY
    Thursday, April 25

    Experience Charleston’s world-renowned culinary scene under the stars. This one-of-a-kind evening transforms Meeting Street into a foodie’s delight. Featuring top chefs, an open bar, live music, and surprise entertainment, we invite you to experience one of the city’s busiest streets magically cast as an enviable dining and entertaining hotspot.

  • Freshly Foraged Dinner

    INTIMATE DINNER
    Friday, April 26

    An intimate farm-to-table al fresco dinner in our Lenhardt Garden, this elegant experience celebrates Art Charleston honorary co-chairs and longtime Gibbes supporters and local philanthropists, Mrs. Sally Smith and Mr. Roy Green. The evening features the culinary masterpieces of one of Charleston’s most recognizable and accomplished chefs, Kevin Mitchell. An instructor, historian, author, and scholar of historical foodways of the American South, Chef Mitchell will welcome guests with hors d’oeuvres and an open bar before gathering for a four-course dinner served alongside lively, interactive conversation around the significance of the ingredients, the farm-to- table movement, sustainability and its importance in our culture, and the pure joy and sense of community we feel when we come together to share a meal.

    *Dairy-Free, Nut-Free, Gluten-Free and Vegetarian options available upon request.

  • Artisan Fair

    COMMUNITY MARKET
    Sunday, April 28

    The week ends with our second annual Artisan Fair: a curated market where local artisans not only showcase their creative processes but also sell their works. The Artisan Fair is free and open to the public, and all purchases go directly to the artisans.

    Free and open to the public.

Programming

  • For Which it Stands Panel: Art and Public Planning

    Wednesday, April 24 | 6–7pm

    What is the role of the arts in city planning? We’ll discuss this and other critical questions with past Visiting Artist Tom Stanley, Kendra Stewart, Professor and Director at the Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Center for Livable Communities, and others.

  • Exhibition Spotlight: Harvard Glass Flowers

    Thursday, April 25 | 11am–12pm

    Inspired by the Rory McEwen exhibition, the Gibbes welcomes Jennifer Brown, collection manager of Harvard’s iconic Blaschka Glass Flower Collection. These 4,300 glass flowers were commissioned by Harvard University as a teaching collection and museum exhibit.

  • Closer Look Tour: Blades of Glass

    Thursday, April 25 | 2–3pm

    Drawing on her knowledge of Harvard Museum’s Blaschka Glass Flower Collection including 4,300 specimens, collection manager Jennifer Brown will offer a new take on Rory McEwen: A New Perspective on Nature.

  • Closer Look Tour: Art of Abstraction: Modernism in Quilting

    Friday, April 26 | 10:30–11:30am Location: Charleston Museum

    The Charleston Museum’s exhibition The Art of Abstraction: Modernism in Quilting pairs quilts from their collection with paintings from the Gibbes collection. Join Virginia Theerman, Curator of Historic Textiles of the Charleston Museum, and Gibbes Director of Curatorial Affairs, Sara Arnold, as they examine the works with new perspectives.

  • Gibbes art observation

    Closer Look Tour: Flora and Fugue

    Friday, April 26 | 1–2pm

    Explore Rory McEwen: A New Perspective on Nature from a musician’s point of view with Lydia Chernicoff, Artistic Director of New Muse Concerts.

  • Closer Look Tour: Bees and Blossoms

    Sunday, April 28 | 2–3pm

    Local beekeeper and apiary expert Tom Knaust will lead a conversational tour of Rory McEwen: A New Perspective on Nature from the pollinator’s perspective. Knaust serves on the board of directors for The Bee Cause Project and is a lifelong beekeeper.

Visiting Artists

Museum Store Pop-Ups

  • Jahde Leather Atelier

    Wednesday, April 24

    “The Evolution of the Council Belt Bag” resin cast molded leather

  • Cleod Glass + Works

    Thursday, April 25

    A glass installation unveiled in the Museum Store

  • Zuriel Kingdom Collections

    Friday, April 26

    One of a kind fashions by Shaniequa Washington

  • J Melissa Designs

    Saturday, April 27

    Artfully hand-wired jewelry creations inspired by nature

Art Charleston Calendar

Art Charleston 2024 Calendar View

2024 Art Charleston Sponsors

— TULIP SPONSOR —

  • Mr. and Mrs. Rowan G.P. Taylor

— POPPY SPONSOR —

  • Mr. and Mrs. Timothy W. Hughes

  • Ms. Sally J. Smith and Mr. Eugene Byers

  • Dr. and Mrs. Scott L. Woodfield

— MAGNOLIA SPONSORS —

— VIOLET SPONSOR —

— THISTLE SPONSORS —

— AMARYLLIS SPONSORS —

— OAK SPONSORS —

— IN-KIND SPONSORS —

Sponsorship Opportunities