Explore art exhibits and engage in exciting programs centered around “pushing the boundaries of art” during this year’s Art Charleston festival. The five-day festival is organized by the Gibbes Museum of Art and offers an exciting lineup of events with artists, curators, collectors and more. The lineup will engage diverse artistic interests, including painting, digital art and public art.
The festival launched last spring and is now set to take place annually at the Gibbes during the last week of April.
“Art Charleston is the only festival of its kind in Charleston with a specific focus on celebrating the visual arts,” said Addy Smith, the Gibbes’ special events manager. “We decided to bring together several of our signature events to create a week full of arts programming and fundraising.”
The festival takes over the museum April 26-30. Though Art Charleston is focused on the visual arts, the festival incorporates a range of programming that includes music, dining and more. It all begins on April 26 with the Art of Design, a daytime luncheon and lecture sponsored by the Gibbes Women’s Council, this year featuring leading contemporary art collector Arthur Lewis.
On April 27, a fun-filled culinary street fair experience takes over Meeting Street, presenting a taste of some of Charleston’s best restaurants. April 28 offers cocktails and a musical performance by the two-time Grammy Award-winning musical ensemble Ranky Tanky in the Gibbes’ Lenhardt Garden.
During the festival, the Gibbes will unveil Full Circle, a new special exhibit by Durham, North Carolina-based contemporary painter, Beverly McIver. The exhibit features nearly 50 works from the last 25 years and demonstrates the diversity of the artist’s bold thematic approach to portrait painting. It will be on display through Aug. 6. From her early self-portraits in clown makeup, which explore expressions of individuality, stereotypes and ways of masking identity, to portraits of family members and friends, McIver’s poignant large-scale paintings reveal her personal journey.
“We are incredibly excited to bring this retrospective exhibition of Beverly McIver’s work to the Gibbes,” said Sara Arnold, the Gibbes’ director of curatorial affairs. “She has been a force in the art world for over two decades. Her contemporary portraits are intimate and earthshaking at once. Her portraits reflect her own personal journey as a Black woman living in America, a woman with loving friends and family, a woman who has experienced racism, illness and death. Her portraits are provocative, heartfelt and soulful. It will be a powerful exhibition experience.”
The Gibbes will host a lunch and interview with McIver and exhibition curator Kim Boganey on the day of the exhibition’s opening, April 28.
There are two chances during the festival to participate in “Art at the Crossroads: A Public Art Tour.” The walking tour will be led by local artist and muralist David Boatwright and Tyler Page Friedman, the founder of the tour group Walk & Talk Charleston. Boatwright and Friedman will guide participants through downtown and discuss questions surrounding public art, such as what is the difference between street art and graffiti? The tour will depart from and return to the Gibbes, and shuttle transportation is included.
Local vendors and artists will share their work at the all-day artisan market on April 30. A panel discussion will be held on April 29 on “artistic visionaries” highlighting digital and NFT artists.
“Artistic Visionaries is in keeping with the theme of Art Charleston 2023,” said Chase Quinn, curator of education and programs. “We were interested in speaking with artists of diverse backgrounds who are approaching digital art, AI and other boundary-pushing mediums in their own unique ways. This panel discussion will include artists working in Charleston and beyond.”
Perhaps the most exciting offering in the lineup is the April 29 event in partnership with the world-famous NFT artist known as Beeple, who sold his “Everydays,” the first purely digital artwork to be offered at Christie’s auction house, as an NFT for $69.3 million.
Beeple is based in Charleston and opened a new studio and gallery space March 11 on Clements Ferry Road, where the Gibbes will host an evening of digital art, cocktails and light fare. This is a sponsored event with a limited number of tickets for sale at $200 a piece and a unique chance to get to visit the new 50,000-square-foot studio. Addy Smith said this event will give guests an “immersive experience with a groundbreaking medium expanding the art world, happening right here in Charleston.”
To view the full lineup and register for events, visit gibbesmuseum.org.
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