Artista Vista

Join us for Columbia’s 32nd Annual Artista Vista, April 19-21, 2024. This art-centric event truly has something to offer for everyone while maintaining safety and following COVID-19 protocols. The Congaree Vista district of Columbia, SC, is an official South Carolina Cultural District. See the schedule of events below.

Art Gallery Crawl — Free — Friday, April 19, 6-9 p.m.

Artista Vista begins Friday night with the annual Gallery Crawl throughout The Vista District. Join us from 6-9 p.m. for a fun evening in The Vista’s distinctive galleries. Enjoy music outside Blue Marlin from Hannah Kaminer and the Wistfuls presented by Grace Outdoor. Participating galleries and specials are below.

• 911 Lady Street – Experience art from Michael Naughton, Siara Pineda and Beth Coker. They will be at 911 Lady Street during the gallery crawl on Friday evening and on Saturday afternoon.
• Aloft Columbia Downtown Hotel & Wxyz Bar (823 Lady Street) – Stop by for live music, drink specials and room discounts!
• City Art (1224 Lincoln Street) – Stop by for the opening reception for painter Mike Williams in the main Gallery entitled “Orientation”.  The other galleries will be open too, featuring select regional artists including the likes of Kathy Morganelli, Max Miller Dowdle, Lee A. Monts, Bruce Nellsmith, Heather Noe, Mark Conrardy, Randy Hanna and Alicia Leeke.
• Coal Powered Filmworks (1217 Lincoln Street) – Coal Powered Filmworks will have live music and Columbia based featured artists showing their works.
• Lewis + Clark (1001 Huger Street) – Stop by for chargebots, lamps, and robots.
• Mike Brown Contemporary (1221 Lincoln Street) – Visit the main gallery at Mike Brown Contemporary for The Field by Cedric Umoja. This solo exhibition has large scale installation, small sculpture and small works on paper. The small works gallery will also have rotating small works, unframed works on paper and small sculpture from a collection of NBC artists. The opening Reception for Umoja is April 18.
• One Eared Cow Glass (1001 Huger Street) – Stop by One Eared Cow Glass and help them celebrate 33 years in the Vista on Friday evening and Saturday!
• PhotoSC (918 Lady Street) – Visit the photography exhibition opening of Chris Aluka Berry’s ‘Affrilachia: Remnants that Remain’ at 918 Lady Street on Friday evening.
• Richland Library (1431 Assembly Street) – Join us for the closing reception for the gallery exhibition entitled, Jasper Presents: A Big Tiny Gallery. There will be light appetizers, beer/wine and 22 participating artists to meet-and-greet.
• Stormwater Studios (413 Pendleton Street) – Stop by Stormwater Studios for the Resident Artists Exhibition on Friday evening and experience everything Stormwater has to offer.

Art Day — Free — Saturday, April 20, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. (1001 Huger Street/413 Pendleton Street)

Artista Vista continues on Saturday with events at Stormwater Studios, Lewis + Clark and One Eared Cow Glass. Visitors will discover collections and view live demonstrations from artists. Stop by Stormwater Studios and enjoy a walk down the path and experience a butterfly release at 11am as part of the dedication of the new observation deck overlooking Kinsler Creek.

At Art Day be sure to visit Lewis + Clark for lamps, robots and more. One Eared Cow Glass will be doing demonstrations and there will be pop-up artists.

Live Art Mart — Free — Saturday, April 20, 2-6 p.m.  (1300 Park Street)

The 2024 Artista Vista Live Art Mart is an exciting, innovative juried art fair. Developed by artists for artists, this market gives customers an extraordinary opportunity to understand how artists create their work. During market hours, all vendors will show their artistic process, either through live demonstration or an approved alternate visual representation of their process. Our goal is to encourage conversations between artists and the public, fostering a Midlands community that appreciates and supports artists and the work they create. Join us on the 1300 block of Park Street and visit the following demonstrating vendors, demonstrating artists, musicians, Grill Marks and more.

Light and Lantern Parade presented by Architrave — Free — Saturday, April 20, 8-9 p.m.

Columbia artist, Flavia Lovatelli, is hosting a series of lantern making workshops every Saturday from January 27-April 13, leading up to the lantern parade. Learn from one of Columbia’s best at one of these FREE workshops. Join us for the Light and Lantern Parade presentd by Architrave at the entrance of the Lincoln Street Tunnel on April 20. Join the crowd as we stroll through The Vista and kick off this event. There will be cash prizes for the best lantern during the parade! Be sure to stop by the lantern parade workshop on Saturday, April 20 at Stormwater Studios from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The parade will be lead through the streets of the Vista by Partly Cloudy.

Click here to sign up to attend.

Live on Lincoln presented by LS3P — Ticketed — Sunday, April 21, 5-8 p.m. (1200 Lincoln Street)

The 4th Annual Live on Lincoln presented by LS3P is on Sunday, April 21. Join us as we continue this wonderful tradition that began in 2020 with the Koger Center for the Arts. This event showcases some incredible performing arts groups that can be found in Columbia. Experience their performances as you dine on the cobblestones of Lincoln Street and enjoy a wonderful meal courtesy of Blue Marlin. All proceeds from this event are split among these wonderful groups so that they can continue their meaningful work. This year’s performers are: The Palmetto Opera, Trutus Theatre, ColaJazz Foundation, Columbia Repertory Dance Company, LionxDen Carolina, Ann Brodie’s Carolina Ballet, Town Theatre, Columbia Classical Ballet, South Carolina Ballet, Unbound Dance, South Carolina Philharmonic and USC Dance.

Click here for information about Live on Lincoln sponsorship opportunities.

Click here to purchase tables & tickets to Live on Lincoln pres. by LS3P.

Additional events happening in the Vista throughout the weekend:

• Bierkeller Columbia (600 Canalside Street, Suite 1009) – Saturday, April 20, stop by for a Volksmarch (walk) starting at Riverfront park and ending at the brewery. Following that, we have vendors selling handmade arts and crafts, and non-profits in attendance. On April 21 we are hosting a book release event in collaboration One Columbia and Jasper.

A comprehensive safety plan has been put in place for all Artista Vista events. Masks are encouraged for all patrons, and hand sanitizer is encouraged throughout events. Social distancing will be encouraged. NO CONCEALED WEAPONS ALLOWED.

The Vista, Columbia’s premier art district, is committed to continuing to keep the art scene in the Midlands thriving, as the past three decades attest. The Vista was synonymous with art by the early 1980s when artists began to move their studios to the area’s affordable abandoned warehouse space. Today’s restaurants, shopping and nightlife in historic buildings along the Gervais Street corridor are still driven by the Vista’s creative energy. The Congaree Vista is an Official South Carolina Cultural District.