Horse Around Aiken Treasure Hunt
No cost – stop by to get your map

In 2004, Aiken Center for the Arts asked local artists to create 32 horses for a project entitled Horseplay. These horses were auctioned off and the money raised supported the completion of our second floor classrooms as
well as 20 years of scholarships.

Join us as we continue to celebrate horseplay through the nine original horses, created by local artists and situated in historic sites throughout downtown Aiken. Your amazing treasure hunt begins and ends at Aiken
Center for the Arts at 122 Laurens St. SW.

 

Everyone is invited to “Just Sharing: Building Community through Stories of Our Past” on Thursday, April 25, 6- 8pm at Aiken Center for the Arts.

It will be an evening of celebrating our shared local histories. The panel of scholars and historians will share stories of our past and lessons learned that will inspire our community to strengthen our collective trust and empathy. This April 25th Aiken “Just Sharing” event is part of a series of panel discussions in communities across South Carolina from September 2023 through June 2024, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities United We Stand: Connecting through Culture initiative.

The panelists in Aiken include distinguished historian, Clemson University Professor of History and author, Dr. Orville Vernon Burton, who will be giving a talk entitled “Reconstruction and Beyond: Memory and History of Edgefield County.” Dr. Burton is also a prolific author and scholar whose works include: Justice Deferred: Race and the Supreme Court (Belknap Press of Harvard University, 2021), and In My Father’s House Are Many Mansions: Family and Community in Edgefield, South Carolina (1985) among others.

Joining the panel from University of South Carolina in Columbia will be Dr. Jennifer Gunter, a scholar of race who was recognized as a Racial Healing Practitioner Fellow in 2022 by the National Compadres Network with support from the Kellogg Foundation. Her talk “Hippocratic Hypocrisies: Coercive Sterilizations in 1970s Aiken County” looks at issues of reproductive rights and race. Anchoring the panel will be local community historian Daniel Lloyd, Jr. who will talk about “Community, Resilience, & Faith: African American Contributions to Graniteville’s History.”

Dr. Heather Peterson, Associate Professor of History at USC Aiken will moderate the evening which will serve as an opportunity for our community to come together, learn from one another and gain new insights into our collective history.

This exciting program is a partnership project of SC Humanities with Clemson University and the University of South Carolina. Make plans to come to Aiken Center for the Arts on Thursday April 25 from 6-8pm

Exhibition Opening – March 21, 6:00-8:00pm, no cost
Exhibition runs March 21 – April 30
Main Gallery | Over Land and Sea: Wildlife Art from the Hearts and Hands of Internationally Acclaimed Artists and Sculptors

This exhibition brings our community the rare chance to see internationally acclaimed painters and sculptors working in the genre of animal art. Learn what draws them to the animals they choose to portray in their art and their methodologies for creating. Many of these artists are members of the The Society of Animal Artists (SAA) exhibiting their works in galleries and museums across the world. President of SAA, Renee Bemis, addressed the members by saying, “As animal artists, we share a deep connection to Mother Earth – and we express our appreciation and concern for our planet through our art. In doing so, the public is made aware of just how important the animal kingdom is to our human spirit. Be inventive, inspired and courageous in your art, for you are the voice of the animals.”

Works by Joy Beckner, Jeff Birchill, Beatrice Bork, Carel Brest van Kempen, Jamie Cassaboon, Lori Dunn, Martin Gates, Christine Knapp, Judy Lalingo, Walter Matia, Carrie Nygren, Patricia Pepin, Anne Peyton, John Plishka, Jan McAllaster Stommes, Chris Wilson, Sherrie York

Brooks Gallery {upstairs} | Wildlife: Animal paintings created in our workshops for individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities under the guidance of South Carolina Arts Access Master Teacher, Keith Tolen.

Aiken Artist Guild Gallery | Samantha Hamrick and Jessica Graham

Aiken County Public Schools The District Fine Arts Festival
Friday, May 3, 5:00-7:00pm
Saturday, May 4, 10:00am – 2:00pm
No cost

This festival highlights visual art students’ work from across the school district along- side performances in the areas of music, theatre, chorus, and dance

Rock Painting with Mental Health of America.
Saturday, May 4, 11:00am-2:00pm, No cost

Join us out front as we paint rocks with Mental Health America. Rocks painted will be placed around Aiken to spread hope! This program of MHA, Barnwell, and Edgefield brings hope through the painting of rocks and sharing them with others to bring education and resources to the people that find the rocks around town.

Exhibition Opening – May 9, 6:00-8:00pm
Exhibition runs May 9 – Jun 13
Main Gallery | Aiken Artist Guild Annual Member Show

The highlight of the AAG year is the Member Show here at Aiken Center for the Arts which invites each member to submit two works, which are eligible for awards and available for sale. Come see the wealth of talent in our community! (Image: Lisa Anne Tindal, Best of Show 2023)

Brooks Gallery {upstairs} | Jefferson Elementary Jefferson Elementary will showcase the face mugs from 4th grade’s Artist in Residence Program with Aiken Center for the Arts

Aiken Youth Orchestra, Ensemble and Group Strings Concert
Creativity Out Loud Performance
Monday, May 20, 6pm
Amentum Theatre, 126 Newberry Street, No cost

This performance marks a special milestone in our music program. Over the past year and a half individuals age 5 to adult have embarked on the journey of learning a string instrument. Enrollment in this program has tripled and moving our Spring performance to Amentum Theater gives all the students a chance to share what they have learned. Young voices in our Creativity Out Loud program will also be performing on this special evening.

Exhibition Opening – June 20, 6:00-8:00pm
Exhibition runs June 20 – July 25

Main Gallery | Summer Art Camp and Student / Member Show

AAG Gallery | Lisa Anne Tindal, June Klement, Chilly Waters

Main Gallery | Summer Art Camp and Student / Member Show

This exhibition showcases the broad range of artists found at the art center. Open to 2023-24 students and members of Aiken Center for the Arts. Art drop off: June 3-7 from 10am-4pm. Click below for application & rules.

SCAC Canvass of the People – Rural Arts Community Forum
Tuesday, June 25, 5:30-7:00pm, Main Gallery

Exhibition Opening – August 1, 6:00-8:00pm
Exhibition runs August 1 – September 5
Main Gallery | Bailey Mennetti and Sunny Mullarkey McGowan
Aiken Artist Guild Gallery | Sharon Taylor Padgett and Patricia Sharp

Bailey Mennetti is a graphite artist who creates realistic imagery and brings her imagination to the paper. She has a way with manipulating the pencil to create beautiful detail within each drawing. Her main emphasis is graphite on paper. Bailey is a Savannah College of Art and Design graduate, born and raised in South Carolina, currently living in Denver, Colorado.

 

 

Sunny Mullarkey McGowan is a fine artist residing in Greenville, South Carolina. In addition to creating her fine art pieces in her studio located in the arts district of West Greenville, she also paints murals and signage, as well as teaches printmaking in her studio. Sunny is also a Teaching Artist with SmartArts, an arts integrated education program with the Greenville County School District.

Brooks Gallery | Joy in the Journey
Artwork from area Alzheimer and Dementia residents that have participated in our Joy in the Journey program.

Arts Alive Open House
August 24 from 11:00am-2:00pm

You are invited to our open house celebrating youth through the arts and through local
community organizations.
LIVE MUSIC • PERFORMANCES • FACE PAINTING • CRAFTS
BALLOON ANIMALS • ARTIST DEMOS AND MORE!
No cost! Everyone Welcome
Artwork by Marius Valdes