NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – The North Charleston week and a half Arts Fest featured performances and exhibitions by painters, storytellers, dancers, educators, musicians, weavers, sculptors and more.
The event from April 30 to May 4 spanned a variety of locations and showcased a range of talents. From puppet shows and improv, to live painting and gospel performances the Arts Fest featured the best of what local talent has to offer.
Events took place at libraries, community centers, businesses, parks and the coliseum. Artists, performers and vendors were selected through an open application process.
The closing event also wrapped up the visual art competitions & exhibitions, including Judged Fine Art and Photography, SC Palmetto Hands Fine Craft, and Tri-County Youth Art and High School Sculpture.
Performers from Academic Magnet and Charleston County School of the Arts performed musical numbers from the 2000s while patrons browsed art submissions from local schools, as well as art for sale from local artists.
John Cusatis is a teacher at the School of the Arts and says it’s an event students look forward to every year.
“The kids feel like they belong to something because they do, and their talent is incredible, and they may not get to express it, because most of them are performing outside of their School of the Arts major, you know. They may be a theater major, playing bass or creative writers singing,” Cusatis says.
One of those students is Rachel Wheelon.
“I’m a creative writing major, so I don’t ever perform and I’ve been singing for a bit, but I don’t sing in front of people so it’s my first time doing that. But it’s been really great because I get to meet new people and share my love of music with everyone else,” Wheelon says.
Others like Madison Deaton are following a music path, but also going out of their comfort zone to participate in the event.
“I’ve never played with a live band before….but at the School of the Arts, we have majors and I’m a vocal major so I sing a lot and it’s what I want to do in college and this really solidified my want to do a career in music,” Deaton says.
Cameron Barnett also performed at last year’s event and says it’s a good way to meet with other students they don’t always work with, create new bonds, and explore new collaborations. The musicians also took the chance to walk through the rows of local art.
“It was a good experience last year and a lot of great artwork and a good chance to play music with all these incredible musicians.”
Quincey Christian and Mariana Becerra performed songs on stage, and said they also enjoyed the large scale displays of the event, especially the local youth artwork.
“Kind of a lot of the artwork is actually from like, my old schools and stuff. So it’s cool to see, like, people that I know make awesome work,” Christian says.
“” It’s pretty epic to see how many kids across our county can do art like this,” Becerra says.
The North Charleston Arts Fest is an annual event that organizers say they look forward to continuing in years to come, showcasing local talent of all ages in a variety of skills.
North Charleston’s Cultural Arts department consists of nine staff members and a total budget of $1.4 million, according to the 2024-2025 fiscal year budget. That budget allocates $5,000 for statewide advertising of the North Charleston Arts Fest. The department also runs youth programs and a cultural center with events year-round.
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