Resources

Charleston's Creative Parliament represents hundreds of individuals committed to helping the region realize its full potential as a creative community. Launched in 2008, it focuses on activities supporting an environment that inspires personal growth, rewards creativity, embraces diversity and generates a positive economic impact. Parliament's signature event, Pecha Kucha Night, is a mix of show-and-tell and open-mic that has become the region's premier forum for ideas on design, architecture, multi-media and other forms of creativity. These programs are organized by artists, designers, students, architects, chefs, etc.

Charleston Digital Corridor seeks to attract, nurture & promote Charleston's knowledge economy by facilitating a business, physical and social environment where innovative companies thrive. With two burgeoning technology "incubators" (The Flagship and FS2), the Digital Corridor serves as a portal to government, infrastructure, real estate, education, venture capital, professional resources and a trained workforce.

Charleston Regional Alliance for the Arts addresses the needs of a broad cross section of performing arts organizations. They seek to communicate the importance of art to a vibrant, "creative class" community and its role in economic development.

Lowcountry Innovation Center is a work community that places highly skilled individuals from different fields in an environment that fosters interaction and collaboration. Offering a wide variety of space options, the Center is ideal for companies in all phase of the development cycle.

Redux Contemporary Art Center offers diverse exhibitions, subsidized studio space for artists, expansive educational programming, and a multidisciplinary approach to the dialogue between artists and audience. Their mission is to effectively contribute to attracting and retaining creative, urban-oriented professionals in Charleston.

The Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce has extensive information and programming focused on small business support and entrepreneurship. Several examples include:

• BizBuilderSC - Statewide training for entrepreneurs and small business owners
• Small Business Council - A group of Chamber volunteers dedicated to ensure the right programming for and outreach to small business owners and entrepreneurs throughout the region.
• Road to Success Fuel Stops - A series to take the small business owner down the road to success by sharing best practices and lessons learned from others on the same journey.

South Carolina Film Commission supports the film industry throughout the state providing incentives toaid in production. The state has been the backdrop for more than 100 feature films, 70+ TV movies, series, and pilots, 500+ print ad and catalog shoots, and many other mediums.

See also the Local Resources section of our website.

Education

The Art Institute of Charleston, offers degrees in culinary arts, graphic design, interactive media design and photographic imaging.

Trident Technical College, Department of Radio, Television & Films prepares students for entry-level positions in film, broadcasting, graphic design, computer graphics, digital media, photography, website design, printing, multimedia and animation. Trident is the only two-year college in the country training students on 35 mm film equipment.

The Culinary Institute of Charleston, a division of Trident Technical College, provides a wide array of both credit and continuing education offerings to meet the diverse training needs of the restaurant and hospitality industry. Degrees and certificates programs include Culinary Arts Technology, Baking & Pastry, and Food & Beverage.

Clemson University Department of Digital Production Arts prepares master-level students for the growing electronic arts industry, particularly special effects within the entertainment and commercial video, film, and gaming industries.

College of Charleston School of the Arts offers approximately 500 different majors in art history, music (classical and jazz), studio art (painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking and photography), theater (including dance) and arts management. Students enjoy multiple opportunities to exhibit their work and talents. Each semester, the school presents an array of musical events, plays, dance performances, lectures and gallery exhibits. And, in the summer, the school produces many events that are part of the Piccolo Spoleto Festival.

Computing in the Arts (CITA) Degree at College of Charleston prepares students for productive and integrated careers in the information and creative economies. Graduates of CITA will create, design, and code new creativity tools for the future. From contemporary music-, art- and theatre-production, to creating new forms of animation and digital media, to invigorating the visual and audio systems of tomorrow's computers, to inventing revolutionary internet applications.

University of South Carolina Department of Art offers an interdisciplinary media arts program focused on film and video production, photography, audio, media writing and new media.

Charleston County School of the Arts, a county-wide magnet school for grades 6 through 12, blends intensive artistic instruction with a strong academic program (2010 average SAT score 1,587). Areas of concentration: creative writing, dance, instrumental band, string orchestra, vocal music, piano, theater and visual art.

Urban Design & Restoration

Charleston, the nation's leading living laboratory for cultural and structural preservation, spearheads the modern preservation movement. For more than 100 years, generations of Charlestonians have been aware of this area's singular sense of place. Since the turn of the 20th century, individuals, organizations, and local governments have established and promoted a preservation ethic, which runs deep. So does its depth of talent and expertise in architecture, urban design, sustainable development and the "restoration economy."

With the world's aging infrastructure plus growing strains on the natural environment, there's a fast growing interest in reviving existing structures and landscapes utilizing more sustainable building and development methods. Greater Charleston is at the forefront of this emerging industry, inspiring the development of new design and building techniques, restoration technologies, and innovative, next-generation products and materials.

Clemson University Restoration Institute (CURI), the first formal academic initiative in the nation focused on the restoration economy. Its new, 80-acre North Charleston campus is bringing together experts and researchers in six focus areas: renewable and alternative energy, restoration ecology, advanced materials, resilient infrastructure, community revitalization and historic preservation.

ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve is one of the largest undeveloped estuaries on the East Coast (named for the Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto rivers), providing a unique opportunity to study pristine water, wildlife and vegetation to enable long-term protection of these resources.

American College of the Building Arts (ACBA), the only four-year college in the nation dedicated to educating the next generation of building artisans. Students learn traditional building skills as well as the most up-to-date methods of quality fabrication and building technology. Focus areas include carpentry, masonry, plasterwork, timber framing and ornamental ironwork.

Clemson University Architecture Center in Charleston provides graduate students the opportunity to study the links between history and modernity in the "laboratory" of historic Charleston. Students conduct research, participate in site-specific projects, and often occupy high-level internships in architectural and urban design firms.

The College of Charleston's degree program in Historic Preservation and Community Planning combines the disciplines of historic preservation, architectural and urban design, planning, and architectural and urban history to address the built environment from a historic design perspective. The college offers a Masters of Science degree in Historic Preservation in conjunction with Clemson University