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Once upon a time, Spartanburg, South Carolina was known as the Lowell of the South, with upwards of 40 textile mills operating full tilt throughout the county. Now it has a new identity—as a center for artists and the art they create.
Spartanburg
Walking Spartanburg’s Downtown Cultural District, you have a hard time deciding where to look first. Public art is everywhere—colorful graffiti-like paintings on brick walls, restored 19th-century store signs, sculpture-rimmed fountains, six-foot-tall painted fiberglass lightbulbs, steel bicycle sculptures. Even the traffic signal utility boxes are beautiful, covered with icons and images from the seven colleges in Spartanburg.
It’s a beautiful surprise, downtown Spartanburg: a place an art lover could come to and not want to leave for a long while. Even corporate structures like longstanding textile producer Milliken & Company has art decorating its beautifully landscaped grounds, interspersed with walking paths and wide vistas.
The question is…where do you start?
The Inside Story
A good choice is the breathtaking new downtown AC Hotel Spartanburg. From the 360-degree view from the 10th-floor verandas to the art-museum exhibits in the lobby and second floor, there’s no doubt you’re in a City of Art. Thanks to Spartanburg art collectors and philanthropists George Dean and Susan Pipher Johnson, the AC Hotel features work by Robert Rauschenberg, Elaine de Kooning and Ruth Asawa (as well as, interestingly, a piece by Robert de Niro’s father, who was a student of Josef Albers at the avant-garde experimentalist Black Mountain College in the late 1930s).
The 1,000-piece Johnson Collection at 154 West Main is a must-see for its innovative focus on Southern art as a shaping force in the larger American scene. So is the Chapman Center, where you’ll see find ballet dancers practicing, actors rehearsing, set builders hammering, children looking and drawing, and weekend artists painting…in short, art in all its glory. There’s also the West Main Artists Co-op at 578 West Main, where affordable studio, exhibit and performance space coupled with a Gallery shop for a taste of working artist life.
A stop in the Hub City Bookshop is mandatory for those in love with words. Its story—and that of the sponsoring Hub City Writers Project—is worthy of its own book. According to founders Betsy Teter and John Lane, the story goes something like this.
“In 1995, a new coffee shop opened in Morgan Square,” says Betsy Teter. “A few writers began to meet there to talk writing. We decided to pool our talents and write a book about Spartanburg, and The Hub City Writers Project was born.”
The first 10 or 15 years, Hub City published books exclusively about Spartanburg and surrounding areas.
“We’re now the leading literary publisher in the South,” Teter says, with more than 85 books on their list.
Linking its literary successes to the burgeoning visual arts scene, the Hub City Writers took on a project called Hub-Bub. Hub City Writers Project oversaw the renovation of a brick warehouse in the Grain District for Hub-Bub artist studios and apartments.
“It was all about creating a magnet to come here. And it worked,” says Hub City Writers co-founder John Lane.
The Outside Story
The work of Hub-Bub alumni like Russell Bannan and Eli Blasko is all over Spartanburg. Which takes us back outside, where accessible art celebrates what was and what will be.
“When we first got here, in 2014, there was one mural in the whole of downtown,” says Bannan. “It took a bunch of believers to accomplish what we have. The Cultural Arts District Steering Committee includes artists, developers and business owners. The beautiful synergy of art and community working together.”
Partner Eli Blasko agrees. “Hub-Bub is doing something no one else was doing in the Southeast. It magnetized the area for artists. This area is hungry for creativity.”
The result? A city where public art is everywhere you look. Where place and history blend in bright color and graceful shape. Where art brings artists out of the garret and onto the streets.
They’ve got it right: There is only one Spartanburg.
Spartanburg is nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, between Atlanta, GA and Charlotte, NC and less than an hour from Asheville, NC. You’ll discover a great mix of outdoor fun and a charming historic town with unique restaurants and accommodations.
For suggested itineraries, guides, maps and more info go to visitspartanburg.com