The Annual North Charleston Arts Fest presents several special visual art exhibitions and competitions each spring, with some shows remaining on view well beyond the festival’s five-day schedule. The National Outdoor Sculpture Competition & Exhibition and African American Fiber Art Exhibition feature works by artists from throughout the US, while the South Carolina Palmetto Hands Fine Craft Competition and Exhibition highlights artwork by fine craft artisans statewide. Entries are now being accepted for each of these special exhibitions. Artists may access the individual applications via the links at NorthCharlestonArtsFest.com/
2025/26 National Outdoor Sculpture Competition & Exhibition
Sculpture artists from across the nation are invited to participate in the 19th Annual National Outdoor Sculpture Competition & Exhibition. Up to 13 sculptures will be juried into the exhibit and compete for cash prizes totaling up to $18,500. A $1250 honorarium is given to all artists accepted into the show. Once all pieces are installed, the juror will award Best in Show ($1000), Outstanding Merit ($500), and up to three Honorable Mentions ($250 each). An application fee of $35 allows artists to submit up to four entries for consideration. Deadline for submissions is Tuesday, February 25, 2025.
This 11-month exhibition opens with the North Charleston Arts Fest on April 30, 2025, and remains on view through March 15, 2026. Established and emerging artists selected for the exhibition display their thought provoking, extraordinary sculptures throughout the picturesque North Charleston Riverfront Park, located at 1001 Everglades Avenue in North Charleston. Set on the banks of the Cooper River, Riverfront Park features ten acres of walking paths, a boardwalk and fountain, an expansive lawn, children's play area, and picnic sites. An estimated 50,000 people visit this public park annually to enjoy the amenities located in the heart of the city’s arts community.
The juror for the 2025/2026 competition and exhibition is Greg Shelnutt, artist and professor of art and head of the sculpture area in the Department Art & Design at the University of Delaware in Newark, DE. Previous appointments have included: Clemson University, the UNC School of the Arts, the University of Mississippi, the University of Georgia’s Studies Abroad Program in Cortona, Italy, and the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, Australia. Shelnutt has juried, coordinated, and curated awards, exhibitions, and grants for institutions such as: the Arkansas Arts Council; the Arts Council of Winston-Salem & Forsyth County; Arts United for Davidson County; the Caldwell Arts Council; the Catawba County Council for the Arts; Delta State University; the Durham Arts Council; East Tennessee State University; FATE (Foundations in Art: Theory and Education); Mississippi State University; UNC-Asheville; and Vanderbilt University. For many years, Shelnutt has served as both a portfolio reviewer and a table leader for the College Board’s AP Art and Design program. From 2018 to 2022, Shelnutt served as chair of the SECAC Artist’s Fellowship committee. His sculptures have been exhibited in over 350 solo, invitational, and group exhibitions nationally and abroad, most recently in the exhibition, Alchemy & Sculpture, at Schloss Wolkenburg castle in Limbach-Oberfrohna, Germany.
2025 South Carolina Palmetto Hands Fine Craft Competition & Exhibition
Fine craft artists from across the state are invited to participate in the 23rd Annual South Carolina Palmetto Hands Juried Fine Craft Competition and Exhibition. As the state’s longest-running fine craft competition and exhibition, objects selected for the show may compete for cash prizes totaling up to $6,500. The exhibition is presented throughout the entirety of the North Charleston Arts Fest, April 30-May 4, 2025, in Exhibit Hall C of the Charleston Area Convention Center, located at 5001 Coliseum Drive in North Charleston. A $16 application fee applies, which covers the artist’s first entry if juried into the exhibition. Selected artists may choose to exhibit a second piece for an additional $15 entry fee. Deadline for submissions is Monday, March 17, 2025.
Palmetto Hands offers South Carolina based fine craft artists the opportunity to exhibit their inspiring objects in the media of clay, fiber, glass, metal, wood, and three-dimensional mixed media. Thousands have enjoyed the refined talents of these artists during past annual exhibitions. Award selections for this year’s show will be made by the juror, Brittany Gilbert, Assistant Professor of Fine Arts at Francis Marion University in Florence, SC. Brittany graduated from Union College in Schenectady, NY, earning a BA in Studio Fine Arts. She later attended the Mount Gretna School of Art in Lancaster County, PA, for its intensive six-week summer program focused on perceptual landscape painting. In 2018 she earned her MFA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a concentration in painting. Her MFA thesis exhibition was grounded in direct observations of changes in specific landscapes. Since graduate school she has been an artist-in-residence at Salem Artworks in Salem, NY, Mount Gretna School of Art (Four Pillars Residency) in Mount Gretna, PA and Vermont Studio Centers in Johnson, VT. Her work has been shown around the country including through the Susquehanna Museum of Art in Harrisburg, PA, Intersect Art Center in St. Louis, MO, Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati, OH, Prince Street Gallery in New York, NY, and Site-Brooklyn also based out of New York, NY.
2025 African American Fiber Art Exhibition: In Praise of the Ancestors
African American artists, ages 18 and up, living in the United States and working in the medium of fiber are invited to participate in the 18th Annual African American Fiber Art Exhibition, titled In Praise of the Ancestors. The exhibition will be on display throughout North Charleston City Hall, located at 2500 City Hall Lane, opening with the Arts Fest on April 30, and remaining on view until June 15, 2025. A $30 entry fee allows artists to submit a maximum of four entries for consideration. Up to two entries per artist may be selected by the curator of the exhibition. Artwork submitted for consideration does not have to be complete at time of entry. Artists may enter works in progress. Deadline for entries is Monday, March 3, 2025.
Created and curated by award winning master art quilter and curator, Torreah “Cookie” Washington, this unique exhibition offers African American fiber artists a showcase to display their original and innovative designs based on a different theme each year. Ancestor worship is a central custom of African religion and is practiced throughout the African diaspora. In addition to their deep reverence for elders, followers of traditional African religion believe the ancestors maintain a spiritual connection to and powerful influence on their living relatives, and their wisdom is considered invaluable. No matter your culture or background, the act of honoring ancestors is sacred, and we can all benefit from recognizing and respecting our lineage. This year’s theme aims to honor legends of the Diaspora, known and unknown, who’s lives and sacrifices gave birth to our many celebrated accomplishments and have brought us to this place. Artists may choose to highlight a figure from our collective African American history, or from their own family’s history. From tales of slavery, racism, and fighting for our basic human rights, to finding our heritage and values, fiber pieces in this 18th annual exhibition will cover a vast range of topics that have great significance for the African American community.
Following the close of the exhibition, up to twenty works will be selected to tour the state through the South Carolina State Museum’s 20256/2026 Traveling Exhibitions Program. Sites across South Carolina may request the exhibit to tour in their facilities, thus providing additional exposure for the selected artists.
Artists in need of assistance with any part of the application process for these exhibition opportunities may contact the Cultural Arts Department to schedule a one-on-one meeting, which can be conducted over the phone or in person. For more information about the North Charleston Arts Fest, the National Outdoor Sculpture Competition & Exhibition, the SC Palmetto Hands Fine Craft Competition & Exhibition, the African American Fiber Art Exhibition, or other exhibition opportunities, contact the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department at (843) 740-5854, email culturalarts@northcharleston.