Rock Hill arts ‘mini-crawl’ to highlight downtown’s new cultural district
Rock Hill’s cultural and arts scene is so compact, organizers won’t call Thursday’s downtown tour of the new state-recognized cultural district a “crawl.” It’s more of a “mini-crawl.”
The mini-crawl – which doubles as the formal announcement of downtown Rock Hill’s designation as the state’s first “cultural district” by the S.C. Arts Commission – will only cover a few square blocks along East Main Street, while still encompassing many of the city’s cultural attractions.
Led by Mayor Doug Echols, the tour will start at 11:30 a.m. in the Old Town Market parking lot off Caldwell Street. The tour group, including Arts Commission Executive Director Ken May, will then head down Caldwell, taking in several businesses before reaching the Gettys Art Center and its myriad attractions.
The group next will head east on Main Street to the Community Performance Center across from Fountain Park, before turning around and heading west toward the future Woolworth Walkway and the Main Street Children’s Museum. The tour will finish at the Center for the Arts on Main Street.
The mini-crawl also will highlight several pieces of public art in downtown Rock Hill, concluding with lunch at the Center for the Arts catered by Amelie’s and the Flipside Cafe.
“Rock Hill’s cultural initiatives thrive because of successful partnerships among local government, community organizations, the business community and patrons of the arts,” Echols said. “We are confident this designation will lead to increased notoriety and economic development opportunities.”
Rock Hill’s downtown was named a recognized cultural district in February by the Arts Commission, citing the geographic concentration of so many arts and cultural facilities. The Arts Council of York County worked with state leaders for months to earn the distinction, collecting its own inventory of amenities and developing a strategic plan for the district.
“We anticipated it was coming, so when it hit, we were able to get the designation very quickly,” said Debra Heintz, executive director of the Arts Council. “We’re very happy to be the first in the state.”
Besides the cultural recognition, Heintz said, the district also can be a boost to economic activity. Downtown businesses, especially restaurants, can see business increase by more than 25 percent during cultural events, she said.
“We welcome the opportunity to raise awareness,” Heintz said. “There are a plethora of artists and arts organizations here. It’s a real attraction.”
In addition to the cultural district announcement, Thursday’s mini-crawl will double as the unveiling of the lineup for the Old Town Amphitheater’s summer concert series, as well as upcoming events planned for Fountain Park and the Community Performance Center.
Bristow Marchant • 803-329-4062
What’s in Rock Hill’s cultural district?
Gettys Art Center
201 E. Main St.
Originally built as a U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, today it houses the Rock Hill Pottery Center, where a half-dozen potters craft, fire and sell their own pottery. Painters, photographers and filmmakers also use the facility’s studios, galleries and arts-related businesses, like the arts marketing firm Social and the Cordial Churchman, a custom bow tie and waist coat business.
Community Performance Center
249 E. Main St.
A former bank branch, the performance center now hosts classes by the York County Ballet and performances by the Rock Hill Community Theater in a 150-seat facility. The center just completed its fifth season of dance, theater and musical concerts.
The Woolworth Walkway
Between East Main and East White streets
A redesigned walkway being built at the site of the demolished Woolworth store and the Five and Dine restaurant, between East Main Street and East White Street. Both buildings were the site of civil rights protests in the 1960s. The site of the former McCrory’s store contains the lunch counter where nine students from Friendship Junior College were denied service and arrested. Bricks in the walkway will feature a basket-weave pattern reflecting the region’s Catawba Indian heritage.
‘Spirit of Place’ public art
In front of the Gettys Art Center
A 240-pound sculpture by Bob Hasselle, a studio artist at the Gettys Art Center. Inspired by an essay on Native American culture, the sculpture is a composite of pop art and artifacts, including the face from the Buffalo nickel and a Coke bottle headdress. The sculpture attempts to bring pop art toward a magico-religious, anthropological inspiration.
‘Emerging Spirit’ public art
Elk Avenue pedestrian mall
A 12.5-foot tall sculpture of a woman in a steel bodice with intricate roots and copper wings that spread and reach for the sky. The artist, Betty Bate, associates the statue with the women of Converse College, her alma mater, and the spirit of possibility the college cultivates in its students.
Center for the Arts
121 E. Main St.
Located in a restored 1930s dime store, the Center for the Arts holds the offices of the Arts Council of York County, as well as seven studios ranging from 200 to 1,165 square feet, the Edmund D. Lewandowski classroom, a 1,000-square-foot learning space, and Dalton Gallery, which features rotating exhibits of local, regional and national interest.
Want to know more?
For more information on these and other arts destinations in York County, go to yorkcountyarts.org.
Want to go?
What: ‘Mini-crawl’ of downtown Rock Hill’s arts scene
When: 11:30 a.m. Thursday
Where: Downtown Rock Hill (starts at Old Town Market on Caldwell Street, works its way up and down Main Street)
Who: Open to the public
This story was originally published March 25, 2015 at 5:50 PM with the headline "Rock Hill arts ‘mini-crawl’ to highlight downtown’s new cultural district."