Sunday, October 12, 2008

DARLINGTON COUNTY ARTS SECTOR SET FOR VIBRANT FUTURE

County has Infrastructure, Leadership, Support & Talent Needed for Excellence in the Arts


With the recent public launching of The Art of Good Living, now is a great time for all businesses, organizations, and citizens to examine our community. In doing that with the arts sector in Darlington County, one quickly sees that our county has a lot to be proud of, and enjoy, in terms of the arts.

In regards to the arts, Darlington County has it all; from facilities to organizations and even tremendous support from non-arts based retailers. The icing on the cake is the number of highly talented and outgoing artists we have.

The Black Creek Arts Center on College Avenue provides the county with a remarkable amount of studio, classroom, and exhibition space. The Performing Arts Center at Coker College is a vacation destination for many ballet companies. The Center Theatre in Downtown Hartsville is as charming and versatile as any theater in the Pee Dee. With the school district’s recent facilities upgrade, Darlington County has all the venues necessary to support a thriving arts community.

In addition to magnificent facilities, Darlington County also has arts-related organizations that are second to none. The events put on by Hartsville Downtown Development are dynamic in terms of entertainment and artistry, as well as being great for local economic development. Many other organizations, including Hartsville Civic Chorale, Hartsville-Coker Concert Association, the Community Players, and Butler Heritage Foundation, are consistently bringing great performances to Darlington County

Our wealth in the arts does not end with facilities and organizations. Darlington County also has a retail community with many businesses that are committed to promoting local and regional artists. Works by dozens of local artists including Heidi Bond, Ina Ingram, Susan Reynolds, Walter Cooks, and Pollie Bristow can be found in various stores in our county.

One crucial aspect of this equation yet to be emphasized is our county’s abundance of talented and creative artists. This is evident in the fourteen Darlington County artists among the 23 total artists in the newly formed Artisans of the South Carolina Cotton Trail.

With state-of-the-art facilities, proactive arts-based organizations, creative partnerships with retailers, and an abundance of artists who produce professional-quality work, it is not a stretch to say that the arts sector in Darlington County epitomizes all that The Art of Good Living is aimed to be: progress in community and economic development through partnerships and unique experiences.

The mission of Black Creek Arts Council is to promote and foster the Arts in Darlington County. BCAC’s offices are housed in a state of the art 10,000 square foot facility at 116 West College Avenue. BCAC offers a variety of programs including art classes of all styles, after-school activities, pre-school aged programs, private music lessons, and various types of gallery exhibits. BCAC also offers assistance with arts management, funding, education, and program coordination to arts and cultural organizations in Darlington County.

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