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August Issue 2005
Inaugural Artisphere Festival in Greenville, SC, a Great Success!
The Board of Directors of Artisphere recently
held their annual board meeting June 15, 2005 to review final
reports of its inaugural April festival in downtown Greenville,
SC. By and large the festival was a great success! Finishing with
revenues in the black, not a small feat for any first year of
a non-profit organization, Artisphere is well on its way
to building a strong, viable future.
Mayor Knox White attended Artisphere's annual meeting, presenting a plaque to Henry Horowitz, Chairman of Artisphere's Board of Directors. This plaque honors Mr. Horowitz with a Mayoral Commendation "in Recognition and Appreciation for [Artisphere's] outstanding contribution to the improvement of our community."
While the festival was unable to measure the exact attendance, the festival site was full with visitors throughout the weekend, even in spite of the chilly, windy weather on Saturday and Sunday. Artisphere leaders more than exceeded their expectations of high attendance.
Many visitors traveled from across the state to attend Artisphere with a large portion of visitors coming from Asheville, NC, where the festival was heavily advertised in the Asheville Citizen Times. An abundance of thank you letters and e-mails were received from visitors who were blown away by the growth of the downtown area and Greenville's impressive artistic offerings.
The feature musical theatre performance of
"Celebration-Congo", brought an international flare
to the first festival having traveled from Africa to showcase
their talent. This feature performance brought together the most
diverse audience as guests gathered at the Peace Center's outdoor
stage on Saturday evening. This group, along with a feature Indian
Classical music performance, was the international highlight of
Artisphere 2005. Each year Artisphere plans to showcase
different cultures featuring artistic performances from their
country, adding a mix of international styles to the festival
atmosphere.
Visual artists exhibiting at the festival had above average sales compared to other festivals they attend throughout the country. Many were very pleased with their sales considering this was a first year event. Artists hope that next year will bring even more art enthusiasts and purchasers upon which to build a strong art market.
Artists were marveled by Greenville's beautiful downtown and the hospitality and kindness of its residents. During the festival's Friday storm, local restaurants and retail shops came together to assist artists, opening their doors to shelter both the artists and their artwork, in order to help minimize damages.
To festival organizers' pleasant surprise,
the Children's area was packed all three days, and additional
volunteers were even called in throughout the weekend to work
with children in Artisphere's various international craft
booths making crafts from all over the world. In the future, Artisphere
plans to provide more refreshments in this section of the festival,
and to continue to develop the high quality craft items as take
home keepsakes for the kids.
The participants in Artisphere's Arts Partnership program
were pleased with the overall event, although hopeful for better
food sales in future years. Artisphere donated over $4,000
in food income, spread between a total of thirteen participating
local arts organizations. Artisphere plans to centralize
the food area in future years in order to increase sales and to
look at ways to simplify the Arts Partner volunteer process.
Artisphere's Board of Directors has scheduled a strategic planning retreat in mid-July in order to review the festival successes in this first year and to address areas of improvement for the 2006 festival and future years. The initial vision and mission statement will be revisited, and a long-term vision will be developed with a plan of action for the next three to five years.
Artisphere is pleased to announce the appointment of two new board members: Stephanie Norris and Richard Heusel.
The Artisphere 2006 festival dates have been set for Friday Apr/ 21 - Sunday, Apr. 23, 2006. Please mark your calendar and join us again for the festivities!
Artisphere is an annual signature event for Greenville to showcase the arts, reflect the area's international flair and maximize awareness of local existing art programs. The festival will provide a diverse menu of experiences that center around the arts, both visual and performing, and multicultural and international offerings to appeal to visitors from throughout the world, as well as citizens throughout the region.
Artisphere 2005 Sponsors include: Carolina First, Bowater, Belk, First Citizens, Wachovia, Henderson Advertising, The Greenville News, WYFF, The Greenville Journal, B 93.7, Magic 98.9, The Walk 103.3/103.9, NewsRadio Word 1330/950AM, Canal Insurance, The Cliffs Communities, Greenco Beverage Co., Verizon Wireless, Cadillac, Coldwell Banker Caine, The Peace Center, Coca-Cola, Design Strategies, Duke Power, Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd P.A., Indexx Printing Solutions, Liberty Corporation, Rodgers Builders, Rosen Associates Development, 80 Waves Web Design, Kudzu, Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart, Liberty Property Trust, and Oxford Capital Partners.
For further information contact Mary Ellington by calling 864/271-9398 or at (www.artisphere.us).
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