Events Calendar
Explore family friendly events, theatres, galleries, concerts, nightlife, things to do, and more in the Greenville, SC and Upstate areas.
Interested in adding an event to our calendar? Please click the green “Post Your Event” button below.
|
Learn the history of origami and try your hand at a hobby practiced for centuries. For teens ages 12-18 or in grades 7-12. |
|
|
Think anatomy is too hard? This crash course on figure drawing will include live models, wooden figures, and anatomical illustrations. For teens ages 12-18 or in grades 7-12. |
|
|
Create custom buttons of everything you love with our button maker. For teens ages 12-18 or in grades 7-12. |
|
Uncensored expression: anyone is invited to step up to share song, music, poetry, comedy, rants & raves!
The most eclectic open mic around, in a welcoming gallery setting! 6 pm signup, perform 6:30-8:30 pm.
Join us Friday, March 1 from 6-8pm for the opening reception of our Members’ show! Members were asked to submit a piece made of used/repurposed/recycled materials for this exhibition, which will be judged by fiber artist Bryant Holsenbeck with a cash prize to the winner! Show runtime is March 2 – April 13 and can be viewed in Tryon Arts & Craft School’s Main Gallery.
Baker Exhibit Center
In an age of complex environmental challenges, why not look to the ingenuity of nature for solutions? The forms, patterns, and processes found in the natural world—refined by 3.8 billion years of evolution—can inspire our design of everything from clothing to skyscrapers. This approach to innovation, called biomimicry, is becoming increasingly popular.
Nature’s Blueprints is supported in part by The North Carolina Arboretum Society, The Laurel of Asheville, RomanticAsheville.com Travel Guide, and Smoky Mountain Living Magazine.
TUESDAY – FRIDAY 9 AM – 5 PM
SATURDAY 11 AM – 3 PM
n Long Overdue, Traci Wright Martin and Michelle Radford underscore the importance of recognizing and acknowledging women’s contributions. Traci Wright Martin’s charcoal and mixed media series, “Art Herstory and the Moth,” focuses on underrepresented women in art history, paying tribute to them through visual quotations and symbolism. Michelle Radford highlights the historical oversight of women’s textile work and aims to bring recognition to their innovative designs as valuable artistic expressions.
Both artists challenge traditional perceptions of gender norms, albeit in different contexts. Wright Martin challenges the overshadowing of female artists in art history by drawing a parallel to imagery of moths. Often an overlooked organism, the moth in Martin’s work symbolizes the need for representation of the feminine art experience. Meanwhile, Radford challenges distinctions between art and craft, conceptual and decorative, urging viewers to reconsider their attitudes toward women’s stitchwork and handicrafts.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
MICHELLE BERG RADFORD
Michelle Berg Radford is a multi-disciplinary artist working at the intersection of women’s craft and what is considered “fine art painting.” Michelle earned an MFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design where she studied landscape painting and fiber arts. Michelle is also an educator with 16 years of teaching experience in higher education.
For millennia, women have expressed their creativity and skill in clothing their families and
caring for their private spaces through textiles. Their innovative designs have often been
overlooked as art, but are now slowly being recognized for the innovative and insightful
works that they are.
In this work, I join women’s handicrafts with landscape painting, a well-trodden genre in art, to introduce a new way of looking at both. These pieces begin as flat canvas studio paintings which I then fold and stitch to create dimensional smocked paintings. I borrow a time-honored heirloom sewing technique traditionally employed by women to construct garments and translate it through scale into contemporary sculptural paintings. By
presenting these works in a gallery setting in which fine art is viewed, the viewer is called to
acknowledge women’s stitch-work as valuable expressions of the maker and to question their own attitudes about the common distinctions between art versus craft, skilled versus
unskilled, conceptual versus decorative, and fine versus ordinary.
In the process a substantial portion of the painting is hidden, an apt metaphor for the
hiddenness of much of women’s valuable work of caring.
TRACI WRIGHT MARTIN
Traci Wright Martin is an award-winning charcoal and mixed media artist. The overall narrative in her portrait and figurative work addresses the idea of representation, weaving contemporary realism with abstract design elements. Her pioneering approach to mixed media utilizes charcoal as the foundation and brings in various combinations of paint, patterned paper collage and other experimental techniques to the finished design. The primary thematic focus in Martin’s work is the legacy and evolution of the female experience and its influence on artmaking and cultural traditions. She ties an autobiographical visual philosophy to the broader, shared human experience through symbolic elements of nature in a unique, yet relatable style.
After graduating with a BA in Art from Southeastern Oklahoma State University, she spent her early career showing extensively in the Oklahoma and Texas art scenes, with artist teaching residencies in Oklahoma, Arizona and Alaska. Solo and group shows have included the Oklahoma State Capitol gallery, Oklahoma Contemporary, The Charles B. Goddard Center, IAO Gallery, 33 Contemporary Gallery in Chicago, the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, Brookgreen Gardens Museum, The Grand Bohemian Gallery, and both the Equity Gallery and the Salmagundi Club in New York City. She has received numerous awards and top accolades in international, national and regional juried shows, claiming multiple “Best in Show” titles. Her work has been featured in a number of publications including Fine Art Connoisseur, Artist’s Network: Best of Drawing, American Art Collector, International Artist, Pastel Journal, New Visionary Artist Magazine, and a selection of titles for PoetsArtists. Martin’s first book, a retrospective of her work entitled “North/South”, is being published in 2024 by Snap Collective in Copenhagen, Denmark.
GENEROUS SUPPORT PROVIDED BY MEDIA SPONSOR
For any artwork purchase inquiries, please visit the gallery during regular business hours or contact Gallery Director, Ben Tarcson for more information.
Weekly art camps at GCCA are designed to let kids ages 5-12 explore their creativity through a range of materials and concepts. Each week features a different engaging theme for children to explore through multiple mediums and includes professional guest artists who demonstrate technique and discuss what makes their work unique.
Monday-Friday
9am-12pm
Multi-Color Magic, June 3-7
Animation and Creation, June 10-14
Dive into (Water)color, June 17-21
Homegrown Art, June 24-28
ARTcycling, July 8-12
Out of this World Art!, July 15-19
Jurassic ART, July 22-26
Back to School is COOL!, July 29-August 2
| Chips off the Old Block |
|
Upstate collage artist and teacher Roscoe Conn describes his artwork and art career as “chunks” of himself that do not fall far from his personality and approach to life. He will share himself and his collage and mixed media art in his solo exhibition, “Chips Off the Old Block: A Retrospective of Roscoe Conn’s Art,” Jan. 2 through March 2, 2024, in the Solomon Gallery of the Artists Collective | Spartanburg. |
|
Conn says his “vision and spirit are evident in the collection’s style, content and form. Ranging from meditations on politics and identity to landscapes of my environment, the exhibit showcases a consistent appreciation and appraisal of the things in life we often take for |
|
|
The heart and soul are two “essential aspects of humanity,” says Upstate mixed media artist Robyn Crawford. That’s why she and artist Lady Pluuto came together to present a joint exhibition, “Heart & Soul: A Celebration of Love and Spirit,” Feb. 6 through March 2 in Gallery II of the Artists Collective | Spartanburg.
Drop by the Inman Library to knit (or crochet) with friends. This social knitting group meets every Friday morning, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Knitting/crochet needles and yarn will be provided, or you can bring your own. Adults ages 18+, no registration required.
Upstate potter Jim Weber doesn’t consider himself an artist, but many of those who own some of his works may disagree, choosing to display their pieces in their homes or offices as decorative art. Weber will exhibit his “traditional utilitarian and decorative” pottery Feb. 6 through March 2.
Have you heard library staff talking about eBooks or audiobooks and want to know what all the fuss is about? Join us as we work though how to get electronic books and audiobooks on your personal device, so you can enjoy the library wherever you go.
This First Friday, March 1st from 5-7pm, GCCA will host the 2024 Greenville County Schools Elementary art show reception in the second floor Gray Loft. Over 200 student artworks will be showcased representing over 50 elementary schools from across Greenville County. The Greenville County Schools Elementary art show will be on display at GCCA through March 8th during normal visiting hours.
Parents and family of the artists please note:
K-2nd, please come from 5:00-6:00 pm
Winners are announced at 5:15
3rd-5th, please come from 6:00-7:00 pm
Winners are announced at 6:15
Make Greenville Center for Creative Arts (GCCA) your first stop on First Friday! Located in the historic Brandon Mill complex in the creative arts district of West Greenville, GCCA is a perfect place to begin the Metropolitan Arts Council’s monthly art walk.
The Art Center is open for extended hours, 6pm to 9pm, on the first Friday of every month for First Friday activities. In addition to viewing multiple exhibitions from both locally and nationally-recognized artists, at GCCA you’ll have the opportunity to meet the resident working artists, see their studio spaces and works in progress, and learn more about their personal style and artistic process.
The mission of GCCA is to enrich the cultural fabric of the community through visual arts promotion, education, and inspiration. Founded by a dedicated group of artists, teachers, and community leaders, the Art Center offers programs for people of all ages, backgrounds, and economic circumstances.
Greenville’s Downtown Trolley (Route 903) provides visitors to the downtown area easy and free transport to the West Greenville area from July through September, every Thursday and Friday, 6pm to 11pm, and Saturdays, 5:30pm to 11pm. For real-time scheduling, download the FindGreenlink app on your phone and come visit!
Baker Exhibit Center
In an age of complex environmental challenges, why not look to the ingenuity of nature for solutions? The forms, patterns, and processes found in the natural world—refined by 3.8 billion years of evolution—can inspire our design of everything from clothing to skyscrapers. This approach to innovation, called biomimicry, is becoming increasingly popular.
Nature’s Blueprints is supported in part by The North Carolina Arboretum Society, The Laurel of Asheville, RomanticAsheville.com Travel Guide, and Smoky Mountain Living Magazine.
| Chips off the Old Block |
|
Upstate collage artist and teacher Roscoe Conn describes his artwork and art career as “chunks” of himself that do not fall far from his personality and approach to life. He will share himself and his collage and mixed media art in his solo exhibition, “Chips Off the Old Block: A Retrospective of Roscoe Conn’s Art,” Jan. 2 through March 2, 2024, in the Solomon Gallery of the Artists Collective | Spartanburg. |
|
Conn says his “vision and spirit are evident in the collection’s style, content and form. Ranging from meditations on politics and identity to landscapes of my environment, the exhibit showcases a consistent appreciation and appraisal of the things in life we often take for |
|
|
The heart and soul are two “essential aspects of humanity,” says Upstate mixed media artist Robyn Crawford. That’s why she and artist Lady Pluuto came together to present a joint exhibition, “Heart & Soul: A Celebration of Love and Spirit,” Feb. 6 through March 2 in Gallery II of the Artists Collective | Spartanburg.
Upstate potter Jim Weber doesn’t consider himself an artist, but many of those who own some of his works may disagree, choosing to display their pieces in their homes or offices as decorative art. Weber will exhibit his “traditional utilitarian and decorative” pottery Feb. 6 through March 2.
TUESDAY – FRIDAY 9 AM – 5 PM
SATURDAY 11 AM – 3 PM
n Long Overdue, Traci Wright Martin and Michelle Radford underscore the importance of recognizing and acknowledging women’s contributions. Traci Wright Martin’s charcoal and mixed media series, “Art Herstory and the Moth,” focuses on underrepresented women in art history, paying tribute to them through visual quotations and symbolism. Michelle Radford highlights the historical oversight of women’s textile work and aims to bring recognition to their innovative designs as valuable artistic expressions.
Both artists challenge traditional perceptions of gender norms, albeit in different contexts. Wright Martin challenges the overshadowing of female artists in art history by drawing a parallel to imagery of moths. Often an overlooked organism, the moth in Martin’s work symbolizes the need for representation of the feminine art experience. Meanwhile, Radford challenges distinctions between art and craft, conceptual and decorative, urging viewers to reconsider their attitudes toward women’s stitchwork and handicrafts.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
MICHELLE BERG RADFORD
Michelle Berg Radford is a multi-disciplinary artist working at the intersection of women’s craft and what is considered “fine art painting.” Michelle earned an MFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design where she studied landscape painting and fiber arts. Michelle is also an educator with 16 years of teaching experience in higher education.
For millennia, women have expressed their creativity and skill in clothing their families and
caring for their private spaces through textiles. Their innovative designs have often been
overlooked as art, but are now slowly being recognized for the innovative and insightful
works that they are.
In this work, I join women’s handicrafts with landscape painting, a well-trodden genre in art, to introduce a new way of looking at both. These pieces begin as flat canvas studio paintings which I then fold and stitch to create dimensional smocked paintings. I borrow a time-honored heirloom sewing technique traditionally employed by women to construct garments and translate it through scale into contemporary sculptural paintings. By
presenting these works in a gallery setting in which fine art is viewed, the viewer is called to
acknowledge women’s stitch-work as valuable expressions of the maker and to question their own attitudes about the common distinctions between art versus craft, skilled versus
unskilled, conceptual versus decorative, and fine versus ordinary.
In the process a substantial portion of the painting is hidden, an apt metaphor for the
hiddenness of much of women’s valuable work of caring.
TRACI WRIGHT MARTIN
Traci Wright Martin is an award-winning charcoal and mixed media artist. The overall narrative in her portrait and figurative work addresses the idea of representation, weaving contemporary realism with abstract design elements. Her pioneering approach to mixed media utilizes charcoal as the foundation and brings in various combinations of paint, patterned paper collage and other experimental techniques to the finished design. The primary thematic focus in Martin’s work is the legacy and evolution of the female experience and its influence on artmaking and cultural traditions. She ties an autobiographical visual philosophy to the broader, shared human experience through symbolic elements of nature in a unique, yet relatable style.
After graduating with a BA in Art from Southeastern Oklahoma State University, she spent her early career showing extensively in the Oklahoma and Texas art scenes, with artist teaching residencies in Oklahoma, Arizona and Alaska. Solo and group shows have included the Oklahoma State Capitol gallery, Oklahoma Contemporary, The Charles B. Goddard Center, IAO Gallery, 33 Contemporary Gallery in Chicago, the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, Brookgreen Gardens Museum, The Grand Bohemian Gallery, and both the Equity Gallery and the Salmagundi Club in New York City. She has received numerous awards and top accolades in international, national and regional juried shows, claiming multiple “Best in Show” titles. Her work has been featured in a number of publications including Fine Art Connoisseur, Artist’s Network: Best of Drawing, American Art Collector, International Artist, Pastel Journal, New Visionary Artist Magazine, and a selection of titles for PoetsArtists. Martin’s first book, a retrospective of her work entitled “North/South”, is being published in 2024 by Snap Collective in Copenhagen, Denmark.
GENEROUS SUPPORT PROVIDED BY MEDIA SPONSOR
For any artwork purchase inquiries, please visit the gallery during regular business hours or contact Gallery Director, Ben Tarcson for more information.