Discover Art Day at SC State Museum

WHAT: Art Day

WHERE: S.C. State Museum, 301 Gervais St.

WHEN: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Saturday, March 5

The S.C. State Museum brings back Art Day, a program that allows the public a chance to learn about South Carolina’s art history through the museum’s collections and surrounding works, for its fifth year.

Throughout the day, there will be demonstrations and discussions by South Carolina artists, guided behind-the-scenes tours of the museum’s more than 4,000 works of art dating from 1590 to present, live music, hands-on activities and art exhibits.

“It’s very rare to have access to our storage areas,” said Paul E. Matheny III, the museum’s director of collections. “We developed this program to provide access to the museum’s collection and to artists currently working in the state. We found a way to make art come to life at the museum.”

Having artists on site creating and interacting with guests is another major draw for the event.

“We’ll have different painters from South Carolina, ceramic artists, printmaking demonstrations,” Matheny said. “We have a couple of ‘luthiers’ coming, people who make guitars. So people will have access to these artists that are normally in their studios hidden away. They can interact with them, talk to them about their work and learn about what they do.”

Sculptor Herman Thompson will showcase his one-of-a-kind folk art made from coat hangers. Gene Speer will be on hand to illustrate the intricate printmaking process. Ceramist Virginia Scotchie and her students from the University of South Carolina will offer demonstrations of ceramic art. Painters Brian Rego, Alicia Leeke, Rick Wells and Allan Anderson will paint on-site.

“I’m always amazed at what the artist ends up painting,” Matheny said, “especially when you have artists who are typically non-representational, abstract artists and they see the museum in an abstract way and they translate that to the canvas. It’s always really cool to see their perspective.”

The hands-on activities for visitors to make their own art are are based on the museum’s collections, like silhouette cutting from the Rice family, architectural collage inspired by the work of Robert Courtright and even a chance to create your own painting inspired by folk art in the museum collection.

“We’ll pull objects out for people to see, and then they’ll create their own work inspired by that,” Matheny said.

The Fine Arts Ramblers, a string band from Greenville, will set up in front of the train display in an open atrium so live music will flow throughout the building. Band member Jim Campbell also happens to be a musical instrument maker whose work is featured in the current “Carolina Makers” exhibit in the Lipscomb Art Gallery. This will be the last week for the Makers exhibit.

“There are amazing artists all over South Carolina, and there always have been,” Matheny said. “A lot of times when people think about art, they think of major urban cities like New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Berlin, but we have our own amazing art history in South Carolina.”

THE VIBE: Throughout Art Day, the museum will have a number of activities for you to choose from. Whether it’s exploring the archives, picking an artist’s brain while you look over his shoulder as he works, or trying your hand at being an artist yourself, there’s no shortage of entertainment. A great way to spend the day if you’re exploring by yourself, on a day date, or looking for an interactive family outing.

THE VERDICT: A comprehensive, behind-the-scenes exploration of the State Museum’s art collection, interacting with South Carolina’s premier artists and the opportunity to be creative artistically? What’s not to love? If life imitates art, as they say, then this event paints a beautifully vivid picture.

This story was originally published March 1, 2016 at 4:14 PM with the headline "Discover Art Day at SC State Museum."