South Carolina State Folk Art and Crafts Center

South Carolina Artisans Center

(Walterboro, SC)

Adopted on May 10, 2000.

The South Carolina Legislature enacted legislation that designates the South Carolina Artisans Center in Walterboro, SC, the official folk art and craft center for the state. Governor Jim Hodges signed the bill May 10, 2000.

The Center opened in 1994 and represented 140 SC artists. Today the Center represents the works of more than 240 artists. The South Carolina Artisans Center is the state's official folk art and craft center. All work is handmade and all artists live and work in South Carolina. Each artist was carefully chosen by an independent jury under the supervision of Denise P. Simmons, Executive Director. The artists are chosen for his or her fine craftsmanship, unique style, and professionalism while helping to preserve the rich cultural heritage of South Carolina.

South Carolina State Folk Art and Crafts Center:
South Carolina Artisans Center

It began as a dream in 1990. Mary Hunt of the Downtown Walterboro Development Corporation, Carole Mullis of the South Carolina Park Recreational and Tourist Department (SCPRT), and Denise Simmons, the Executive Director for Walterboro-Colleton Chamber of Commerce, shared a love and admiration of art. All three appreciated arts and crafts and all three realized that there was no single location that housed arts and crafts made by South Carolinians.

Together they worked to nurture their dream, to build a showcase for Southern art, featuring the highest quality of South Carolina art. The Artisans Center was formed as a non-profit organization. Numerous agencies donated money and awarded grants. The Small Business Center in Charleston helped formulate a good marketing plan. Numerous agencies began donating money and awarding grants. The Arts Commission gave a start-up grant, the SCPRT gave funding for more marketing, and SCANA provided the law firm that wrote the tax-exempt status.

The mission of the South Carolina Artisans Center is to interpret, market, preserve and perpetuate the folk art and fine craftsmanship of South Carolina and create a better understanding of our rich and diverse cultural heritage.

The Center, located in downtown Walterboro off I-95, is one of the State's most important cultural resources and a major tourist attraction. The Center provides visitors with interpretive displays of Southern Folk Art, live demonstrations and workshops to enhance the appreciation and understanding of the cultural heritage unique to South Carolina. There is no other facility in the state which provides such an opportunity for artists and the public.

The South Carolina Artisans Center is open 7 days a week. We are open 9:00 am - 6:00 PM Monday through Saturday, and 1:00 - 6:00 PM on Sunday. We are closed in observance of the following holidays: New Year's Day, Easter Sunday, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

The goal of this site is to educate and inform the public about the South Carolina Artisans Center.

1. All about SCAC includes administrative information about the center and how artists may apply to the center to show their works.
2. How to Find Us helps you plan a trip to the South Carolina Artisans Center from anywhere in the continental US and Canada.
3. Artists of the Month features the artists of the Center, showing their works and offering those works for sale through the Southern Comfort Arts and Craft Gallery.
4. Calendar of Events lists the Handmade Crafts Festival dates and artists participating in live demonstations of their crafts at the Center.
5. Heritage Corridor depicts the heart of the rich folk culture that makes South Carolina what it is today.

South Carolina Act 256

(A256, R274, S1250)

AN ACT TO AMEND ARTICLE 9, CHAPTER 1, TITLE 1, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 1-1-708 SO AS TO DESIGNATE THE SOUTH CAROLINA ARTISANS CENTER IN WALTERBORO AS THE OFFICIAL STATE FOLK ART AND CRAFTS CENTER.

Whereas, founded in 1994, the South Carolina Artisans Center is one of South Carolina's most important cultural resources and is a major tourist attraction; and

Whereas, the primary mission of the South Carolina Artisans Center, a nonprofit organization, is to showcase and market the handcrafted work of our state's leading artisans, while ensuring that art inspired by tradition is protected and nurtured; and

Whereas, the center, started with public and private grants, in part, from regional groups and state agencies like the Department of Commerce and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, is unique in that it is the only organization in the State dedicated to preserving the state's cultural history through folk art and crafts; and

Whereas, the South Carolina Artisans Center's sole purpose is to interpret, market, preserve, and perpetuate the folk art and fine craftsmanship of South Carolina artisans, while it creates a better understanding of the rich and diverse cultural heritage of the Palmetto State; and

Whereas, the South Carolina Artisans Center displays and sells original works of approximately two hundred artists from the Palmetto State; and

Whereas, through its educational programming, such as "Handmade: A Celebration of the Elements of Craft", the South Carolina Artisans Center provides a unique opportunity for citizens of the Palmetto State to engage with professional artists as they demonstrate the techniques involved in the creation of their fine craft and folk art; and

Whereas, by promoting the indigenous fine crafts produced exclusively by South Carolina artists, the center creates a better understanding of our state's rich and diverse cultural heritage. Now, therefore,

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

State folk art, crafts center designated

SECTION 1. Article 9, Chapter 1, Title 1 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 1-1-708. The South Carolina Artisans Center, a nonprofit organization, located in Walterboro is designated as the official folk art and crafts center of the State of South Carolina."

Time effective

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

Ratified the 26th day of April, 2000.

Approved the 1st day of May, 2000.

South Carolina Law

The law designating the South Carolina Artisans Center, a nonprofit organization, located in Walterboro as the official South Carolina state folk art and crafts center is found in the South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 1, Chapter 1, Article 9, Section 1-1-708.

Title 1 - Administration of the Government
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
ARTICLE 9. STATE EMBLEMS, PLEDGE TO STATE FLAG, OFFICIAL OBSERVANCES
SECTION 1-1-708

SECTION 1-1-708. Official State folk art and crafts center.

The South Carolina Artisans Center, a nonprofit organization, located in Walterboro is designated as the official folk art and crafts center of the State of South Carolina.

HISTORY: 2000 Act No. 256, Section 1.