WHAT’S NEW FOR THE 12TH ANNUAL ARTISPHERE IN 2016
(Greenville, SC) Celebrating its 12th year, Greenville’s signature cultural event Artisphere, presented by TD Bank, returns to downtown on May 13-15. Each year, the increasingly popular art festival draws thousands of art collectors, foodies, music lovers, aspiring artists, children and families to enjoy a spring weekend that has something to offer everyone. Artisphere patrons relish the opportunity to converse with artists, watch art making demos, create their own artworks, and purchase original works of art from some of the most talented fine art and fine craft artists in the country.
This year, the festival will showcase some returning favorites like Brian Olsen’s Art in Action sponsored by Berkshire Hathaway, C. Dan Joyner Realtors and Wells Fargo, ScanSource’s Kidsphere craft making area for children, the Furman University ArtLab instructional area for DIYers, Clemson University’s STEAM exhibit where art and technology collide, and the Culinary Arts Café with a taste for every palate. Lively street performers and puppet parades will again ignite the high-energy weekend. For a complete schedule of festival attractions, visit http://artisphere2.wpengine.com.
Festival hours are: Friday, May 13: 12PM to 8PM*, Saturday, May 14: 10AM to 8PM*, and Sunday, May 15: 11AM to 6 PM. *Artisphere After Hours Concert Series on the WYFF-4 Main Stage ends at 10PM.
What’s NEW for 2016?
- Making the Connection – London artist Julian Wild will make his U.S. debut of Making the Connection, a communal sculpture project in Falls Park sponsored by Metromont. The installation offers patrons of all ages the opportunity to participate in the construction of a large-scale sculpture made of low-tech everyday material like plastic tubing and elbow joints. Artisphere guests are encouraged to join Julian in making a one of a kind sculpture throughout the weekend.
- Artists – 2016 Artisphere will includes 135 fine art and fine craft artists selected from a pool of 1,090 applicants and the festival has increased its downtown footprint to host the expansion of new artist booths on South Main Street. 55 brand new artists were selected in the highly competitive jury process to join the festival this year. 135 artists is the largest number of artist’s booths to date, a 12% increase from last year.
- Acoustic Café Stage – Artisphere is adding its fourth stage in 2016 to accommodate the region’s growing list of musicians. The Acoustic Café Stage is located on South Main Street and will showcase local favorites Charles Hedgepath, Kylie Odetta, Reeve Coobs, Rachel Troublefield, Chaquis Maliq and more!
- Food Trucks At Artisphere After Hours Concert Series – When the sun goes down and the artists close up shop for the night, relax and enjoy the music with treats from local food trucks Automatic Taco and Highway 301. The Artisphere After Hours concert series comes to life on Friday and Saturday evening with national performing acts like Major & the Monbacks, SHEL, Diane Coffee and Brett Dennen on the WYFF-4 Main Stage.
- Windstream Social Media Listening Center – Take a moment to step into the Social Media Listening Center and watch as technology tracks social media happening throughout the event on 4 large screens. Become part of the social media community of posts while posing in front of the large Find Your Happy Medium backdrop with fun and artsy props to record your favorite selfie of the weekend. Like, share, tag and tweet your way through the festival!
New Merchandise – You will want to stop into the Artisphere Official Festival Merchandise booth to admire the 2016 commemorative poster by Katherine Mathisen and the extremely fashionable festival T-Shirt with graphic images by Artisphere artist Ellie Ali. You can also purchase our private label wine with colorful labels also by Ali. Make the weekend a memorable occasion by purchasing Artisphere official merchandise!
