Anytime

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.

 

MARCH 2024

March 21

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

March 22

Lecture: American Animalier: A Brief History of Animal Sculpture in America with Robin Salmon, Brookgreen Gardens
VP of Art and Historical Collections and Curator of Sculpture
Friday, March 22, 1:00pm, Brown Pavilion, No cost, please RSVP

The lecture presents an overview of important artworks and prominent sculptors of wild and domestic animals from the mid-1800s to the present. Some of the images are of sculptures in the Brookgreen Gardens collection and some are from material housed in the Brookgreen Archives.

March 26

Lecture: Death on the Nile with Rose Hayes
Tuesday, March 26, 6-7pm
Main Gallery, No cost, please RSVP

Dr. Rose Lee Hayes, a medical anthropologist, shares her extensive photography collection and field work in the valley of the Nile River. Traveling 1,400 miles on the river through Sudan and Egypt, by camels, lorries and feluccas, she demonstrates verbally and visually how building barriers, like dams, to restrict the natural flow of surface water, can destroy environments and cultures.

APRIL 2024

April 4

Author Talk with David Wolman
Thursday, April 4, 6:00-7:00pm
Main Gallery, No cost, please RSVP

Some people have known David Wolman as the Physician Assistant who helped them in the Emergency Department of Aiken Regional, but Wolman is also the author of numerous novels. Mr. Wolman received a Pulitzer nomination for his libretto for the cantata, The Long Bright, a series of poems documenting Mr. Wolman’s late wife’s battle with breast cancer. “There are continual, impressionistic glances at the sun: lingering sunsets, warming sun rays, the long bright of sunrise.” James Freeman, artistic Director of Orchestra 2001 said: “An hour-long cantata on a husband’s poetic response to the death of his wife from breast cancer might have been maudlin and depressing. Instead, this is a terrific piece, uplifting, optimistic, and hopeful.” Mr. Wolman will speak about how he wrote The Long Bright, read selections of the poetry, and play recorded musical excerpts of the piece with a discussion of how lyric writing differs from other kinds of poetry and how he adapted his poetry for the cantata. Mr. Wolman will also discuss his other written works.

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