OPEN Arts Expo

Held in the beautiful historic Cistern Yard at the College of Charleston, the OPEN Arts Expo introduced people from the all over to a variety of arts organizations in the community and kicked off the dynamic fall arts calendar in Charleston.

Held in the beautiful historic Cistern Yard at the College of Charleston, the OPEN Arts Expo introduced people from the tri-county and beyond to a variety of arts organizations in the community and kicked off the dynamic fall arts calendar in Charleston.

In 2013, approximately 1,700 people came to OPEN to explore fifty-nine organizations involved as vendors, performers, sponsors and community partners. We had live music hosted by This is Noteworthy, an art walk curated by Gris Galerie, and outdoor performances in the Cistern, on George Street, and at our booth on Second Sunday on King.

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What is the OPEN Arts Expo?

The Charleston Regional Alliance for the Arts invites you to participate in the annual OPEN Arts Expo held in September each year at the College of Charleston Cistern Yard on St. Philip Street in historic downtown Charleston, SC in partnership with the College of Charleston School of the Arts.  OPEN is the region's only Arts Expo and is a joint marketing effort co-hosted by the College of Charleston School of the Arts to break down the barriers to participation in the arts and introduce our member organizations to the community regardless of gender, race, creed, or socio-economic status.

“OPEN turned out to be the perfect name for this event, which exhibits Charleston’s highly collaborative arts community while making all of it open and accessible to the public." 

- the Charleston City Paper

Why produce the OPEN Arts Expo?  The OPEN Arts Expo serves as the unofficial kickoff celebration to Charleston's fall arts season and allows members of the community to learn more about their favorite organizations, meet new arts groups, and participate in hands-on arts opportunities to fully experience all the arts have to offer in Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester counties.  Participating organizations will provide a behind the scenes look at what their organization does, have information about their upcoming season, special events, and classes, and will offer discounts on tickets and merchandise exclusively to OPEN attendees.

In addition to celebrating the start of the fall arts season, OPEN introduces a new audience to the arts, some of whom have never participated in the arts before.  See what our arts vendors and community attendees have said about OPEN:

28% of attendees described themselves as new to the arts in Charleston of which 93% reported that, as a result of attending OPEN, they are more likely to participate in an arts event this season

Of those who described themselves as "arts lovers" who regularly participate in local arts opportunities, 80% reported they are more likely to purchase a season membership or donate money to an arts organization as a result of attending OPEN and 20% said they are interested in volunteering with an arts organization this season.

Participating organizations have reported that as a result of participating in OPEN they experienced record attendance at their venue, they gained anywhere from 10-60 new sign-ups for their mailing lists, they had new enrollments for their arts education classes, and that their participation has connected them to a new audience and with other organizations in the arts community for future collaborations.

OPEN attendees can expect to find all of the arts under one roof, family-friendly children’s arts activities, live music and theatre performances, plein air painting demonstrations, and one-on-one contact and conversations with local arts organizations.  In addition to our arts vendors, the Arts Alliance invites our community partners made up of local businesses, galleries, artist collectives, and other community-based organizations to participate.

For information on how to participate or get involved in an upcoming OPEN Arts Expo please email us: info@artscharleston.org.