ARTISTS COLLECTIVE | SPARTANBURG

Artists Collective

The Mission of the Artists Collective | Spartanburg

Artists Collective History In A Nutshell
Our mission is to create a community of artists wherein members mentor and support one another. In addition, our goal is to provide affordable studio, display, and performance spaces to established and emerging artists living in and around Spartanburg, South Carolina. From our inception, we have strived to provide the public with opportunities to view original art and to interact with the artists.

The Artists Collective has come a long way from its conception. Formerly the West Main Baptist Church, renovations and artist sweat equity transformed the empty and nearly forgotten landmark into a showcase of artists for the state to see.

The church was purchased in the fall of 2009 with the great notion of providing affordable work spaces for local artists; this is not the only attribute found at the Artists Collective by any means. Many artists are realizing that with such a diverse group around all of the time, the progression of the individual’s work never stops. This is constantly forming a catalyst that drives each person to question his or her art and where it is going.

The Artists Collective is the only studio art co-op in Spartanburg County and art is everywhere in this 20,000 square foot building. The exhibition, workshops, performance, and educational spaces, along with artist’s studios subsist in the creation of something that Spartanburg has never seen, a one of a kind facility that houses like-minded individuals that share a common consciousness.

About the Printery

The Printery at Artists Collective is a unique letterpress operation which has been created to offer educational opportunities for the local community. The equipment and other resources have been gathered to give everyone hands on using lead type, platen presses, and the use of ink and paper to create printing as it was done in the last century.

In addition, historical material has been collected to broaden the knowledge of the materials used, trends in type styles, and how the written word has influenced mankind over the centuries. The Printery also mounts monthly exhibits of different aspects of early printing including; wood type, copper engraving, early mechanized typesetting as well as book production and die cutting.

The Printery continues to add items of historical interest, and is always looking for donations of equipment, and historical material. They also have a series of DVD’s about different aspects of the printing industry.

Printing Equipment

The Printery was started with the acquisition of a Vandercook proofing press #2, and a complement of type faces and other miscellaneous items which were acquired from the Print Museum outside Boston, MA.. With the addition of a Chandler & Price platen press 8” x 12” which was purchased from a printing company in Gaffney, South Carolina, we expanded our capabilities to produce printed material, and also teach others about letterpress printing techniques.

We are currently working to restore a Chandler & Price 12” x 18” press to working condition. This will allow us to print small signatures for books and other printed material. We have been able to expand our foundry type library, from miscellaneous sources, some gifted, some purchased as they became available. We now have about 96 fonts of foundry type in various families, and also we have a small assortment of wood type.

We continue to look for equipment and type, and our latest acquisition is a 25 rack galley cabinet with galleys to store type jobs which have been set by students taking classes in letterpress composition.

ARTISTS COLLECTIVE SPARTANBURG

Board Members

Governing Board Members

President - George "Buck" Brandt, III
Erin Strickland
Coleman Edmunds
William Mayrose
Laura Pinkley

ARTISTS COLLECTIVE | SPARTANBURG

Committees & Chairs

Facilities Committee

Facilities Chair - 
Helps care for the physical aspect of the Collective - the building and grounds.

They manage contract employees who work on the facilities

Exhibitions Committee

Exhibitions Chair - Judy Martin
Main activity is to make the halls and exhibition galleries look fresh and interesting just before each art walk. Plus, they take down art, move it around, and add new art.

They also receive and review application requests for exhibitions from members and non-members.

Membership Committee

Membership Chair - Sydney McMath
Receives the applications of prospective new members.

They check references, update membership databases, interview new applicants and mentor new applicants.

Retail Committee

Retail Chair - Lady Pluuto
Responsible for accepting the work from all members wishing to sell their work.

They arrange the displays, schedule the workers for the retail store, send emails to members to remind them to bring in or pick up work, and work with the finance group to pay the members for sales.

Finance Committee

Finance Chair - Chuck Reback
Assists the treasurer in the management of the Collective's financial affairs.

Receptions Committee

Receptions Chair - Brandi Tucker
Plans, and produces the various parties and social events that the Artists Collective | Spartanburg hosts.

Marketing Committee

Marketing Chair, Webmaster - Cynthia Manuel
Shares all the news of the Artists Collective by creating posters/cards for events, write and distribute press releases to the media, and post our news on social media sites.

Workshop Committee

Workshop Chair - Carol Story
Manages and coordinates the workshops offered by members and guest artists of the Collective.

VISIT OR DONATE NOW TO SUPPORT LOCAL ARTISTS

Artists Collective | Spartanburg 

32 Studios | 50+ Local Artists

VisitDonate
578 West Main Street
Spartanburg SC, 29301
(864) 804 - 6501
Tuesday - Saturday: 10am - 4pm
Sunday - Monday: Closed
Holidays: Closed
Funded in part by
© Copyright 2023
Artists Collective | Spartanburg   All Rights Reserved
error: Alert: Content is protected !!
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram