This info is in our May issue of Carolina Arts, but we wanted readers to have a jump – as distribution of the paper does take time and some of these events are time sensitive.
The North Charleston Arts Festival in North Charleston, SC, starting on Apr. 30 and continuing through May 8, 2010, is organized and presented by the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department and numerous volunteers. The festival was launched as a one day community celebration at Park Circle in 1982 and has evolved with the addition of new facilities throughout the City. The festival moved to the North Charleston Coliseum in 1995 and expanded to two days. In 2000, the opening of the Charleston Area Convention Center, North Charleston Performing Arts Center, and other new venues, provided the springboard for the festival to expand to nine full days of performances and activities for residents and visitors throughout the City. In 2008, the Arts Festival was recognized by the Southeast Tourism Society as a Top 20 Event.
Today, the festival maintains the spirit of a community celebration with the mission of presenting a comprehensive, multidiscipline event schedule that provides an array of performing, visual, media, and literary arts events for people of all ages and backgrounds. The festival is accessible to all with numerous free and moderately priced events.
The Festival’s Main Event, takes place May 1 (10am-4pm) & 2 (2pm-5pm), 2010, at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center & Charleston Area Convention Center. Bring the whole family to enjoy over 40 stage performances on 4 separate stages and many of the following exhibits. Check out the details at this link. The event is free with free parking.
The North Charleston Arts Festival offers many visual art exhibits and installations including:
The annual North Charleston Arts Festival Fine Art and Photography Exhibits will take place at the Charleston Area Convention Center, located at 5001 Coliseum Drive in North Charleston, from May 1–2, 9am–6pm; May 3–7, 9am–5pm & May 8, 9am–noon. View entries in Fine Art and Professional & Amateur Photography.
The annual SC Palmetto Hands Fine Craft Competition & Exhibition takes place at the Charleston Area Convention Center, located at 5001 Coliseum Drive, from May 1-2, 9am-6pm; May 3-7, 9am-5pm & May 8, 2010, 9am-noon. The state’s only juried fine craft competition and exhibition includes works in clay, fiber, glass, metal, wood, and 3-D mixed media. The competition was juried by Brian Lang, Associate Curator of Decorative Arts at the Columbia Museum of Art.
Colors of the Wind by Muriel Lanciault
An exhibit of works by Muriel Lanciault will be on view at the North Charleston City Gallery, at the Charleston Area Convention Center, located at 5001 Coliseum Drive, from May 1-2, 9am-6pm and May 3-26, 2010, Mon.-Sat., 9am-5pm. Muriel Lanciault, winner of the 2010 North Charleston Arts Festival Design Competition, will display a variety of subjects in watercolors and oils, including the winning design, Colors of the Wind. Meet the artist at the gallery during the Main Event, May 1 & 2.
The 5th National Outdoor Sculpture Competition & Exhibition takes place at the North Charleston Riverfront Park, located at 1001 Everglades Avenue (on the former Charleston Naval Base) from May 2010 through March 2011. The public park is open daily. Selected pieces from this annual juried competition are installed throughout the picturesque grounds of Riverfront Park. The competition was juried by Stuart Horodner, Artistic Director of the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center.
The Art & Fine Craft Co-op Gallery & Sale will take place at The Meeting Place, located at 1077 East Montague Avenue through May 29, 2010, Fri.–Sat., 11am–7pm. This venue presents paintings, prints, sculpture, fine crafts, and jewelry by local artists – all available for sale.
The exhibit, Honoring Zora: Stitching Wise Words, Art Quotes and Art Quilts, will take place at 10 Storehouse Row (Noisette Blvd), at the Navy Yard at Noisette (former Chas, Naval Base) through June 13, 2010, Mon.–Fri., 8am–8pm and Sat., 10am–7pm. The quilts and fiber art works in this unique exhibition explore and depict themes and images of the Harlem Renaissance, garnering inspiration from quotes by Zora Neale Hurston, considered one of the pre-eminent writers of twentieth-century African-American literature. A short film about local African-American quilters will be presented during the exhibition. Co-presented with the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs & the Piccolo Spoleto Festival.
Works by Robert Maniscalco will be on view on the 2nd floor of the North Charleston City Hall, located at 2500 City Hall Lane in North Charleston, through May 8, 2010, from 8am-8pm. The City’s 2010 Artist-In-Residence and nationally known portrait artist, Robert Maniscalco, will display classical portraiture in the tradition of Rembrandt, Velazquez, and Sargent.
An exhibit of collage works by Sriharsha and Siddhartha Sukla will be on view on the 2nd floor at the North Charleston City Hall, located at 2500 City Hall Lane through May 8, 2010, from 8am-8pm. Sriharsha and Siddhartha Sukla, are hearing impaired artists from Orissa, India. They will display intricate portraits and landscapes in paper collage.
The Festival will also be presenting a number of art installations including:
Family Tree, an indoor installation presented in the lobby at the North Charleston City Hall, 2500 City Hall Lane, through May 8, from 8am-8pm. Artist Julie Klapper, owner of Artistic Spirit Gallery, located at 10 Storehouse Row, at the Navy Yard at Noisette, explores the parallels of her feelings on family and nature in this installation of photographs and fabric wrapped tree branches.
Confluence: Mary Edna & Rocket, an indoor installation will be presented on the 3rd floor at the North Charleston City Hall, 2500 City Hall Lane, through May 17, 2010, 8am-8pm. Mary Edna Fraser’s large scale batiks on silk and Rebecca Rocket’s fabric and found-object jellyfish transform North Charleston City Hall. This installation features Fraser’s 21′ x 9′ adaptation of Buckminster Fuller’s 1930s Dymaxion Map, as well as aerial and underwater batiks. Fraser’s dreamy monotypes surround Rocket’s floating jellies. Viewed from above and below, the combination is a confluent dance of surface design.
Ant, an outdoor installation by Lauren Rackley will be presented on the grounds of the North Charleston & American Lafrance Fire Museum and Education Center, located at 2975 Centre Pointe Drive, in North Charleston, through May 8, 2010, on view daily. This interactive installation is a whimsical interpretation of an often overlooked creature. Created by College of Charleston sculpture student, Lauren Rackley.
An untitled outdoor installation by Hudson Hamrick will be presented inside the traffic circle at Wescott & Oak Forest Boulevards in North Charleston, through May 8, 2010, on view daily. The four metal figures in this piece represent the stages of life, from childhood to wizened old age, with the tallest figure reaching 10 feet high. Created by College of Charleston sculpture student, Hudson Hamrick.
The Luminous Forest, an outdoor installation by Corey Anna Moore will be presented at Palmetto Gardens Park, located on East Montague Avenue in North Charleston, through May 8, 2010, on view daily. Constructed of 7 foot tall pipe “stems” topped with acrylic orbs, this forest glows with solar lighting at dusk. Created by College of Charleston sculpture student, Corey Anna Moore.
What is a Garden?, is an outdoor installation by JR Kramer, located at the intersection of East Montague & Spruill Avenues, in North Charleston, on view daily through May 8, 2010. This plant-based installation will explore our perception of ‘Greenwashing’ in a culture where buzzwords trump reality. Created by landscape architect JR Kramer, with assistance from Southern Lumber & Mill Work Corp., Green Acres Landscaping, Todd Brazell Painting, Fieldstone Center, Fisher Recycling, Cottage Garden, and Stone Casting.
Check the Festival’s weekly schedule for related events offered in conjunction with these exhibits and installations.
For further information contact the North Charleston Cultural Arts Department at 843/745-1087 or at (www.northcharleston.org).