City welcomes Art Institute of Charleston

In anticipation of the April 2007 opening of The Art Institute of Charleston, Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. and Charleston City Council will host a welcoming gala for the school from 5-7 p.m. on Sept. 25 at the Doubletree Guest Suites, 181 Church St.

The school’s decision to locate in Charleston was announced in June after months of planning between Riley and The Art Institutes, a collection of 32 schools across the nation under the umbrella of Education Management Corp. The Charleston school is expected to be a branch of The Art Institute of Atlanta and will offer associate degrees in culinary arts, graphic design, interior design, interactive media design and photographic imaging.

The Art Institute of Charleston intends to renovate the Carroll Building, 24 North Market St., for use as classrooms and administrative space. The school will open in April pending accreditation approval from the S.C. Commission on Higher Education and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

The Art Institute of Charleston will be a vibrant new member of the Charleston education and business community and will help keep Charleston in the forefront of world-class art, hospitality and culinary fields, Riley said.

The welcoming gala for the school will introduce John R. McKernan, CEO of Education Management Corp. and former governor of Maine, as well as local alumni of The Art Institutes, including chefs Brett McKee of Oak Steakhouse, Ciaran Duffy of Tristan and Fred Neuville of 39 Rue de Jean. The event has been dubbed “An Evening with the Stars.”