Spoleto revs up with a yellow pop of a poster, a splashy new hub and Limoncello spritzes
Heading into opening weekend, Maura's Spoleto coverage gets going
Spoleto Festival USA 2024 is merrily hurtling toward Charleston, to once again galvanize the world’s talked-about artists and enthrall discerning culturati from near and far. And I’ll be there, now bringing my Spoleto perspective to Culture South — from the noon opening ceremonies at City Hall on Fri., May 24, through as much of the music, opera, theater and dance on offer through June 9.
For newcomers to my coverage, I’ve been known to crow about having been in the inaugural festival in 1977. Then I was among the youngsters selected for the children’s choir that performed in the opening scene of Tchaikovsky’s opera The Queen of Spades, singing along with the Westminster Choir at the Gaillard Municipal Auditorium, now called Charleston Gaillard Center. For me, it was transformative foray operative in why I’m typing this today — and all my continued arts musings for that matter.
Side-eye note: While some publications may want to trade in their arts writers for newer models, or banish them altogether, there is something to be said for those who have been there when it all started. It’s a perspective that can be particularly instructive when aiming to safeguard Charleston as a vibrant, culture-rich community.
In a statement Chaar emphasized her interest in reshaping and abstracting hidden layers, revealing emotions through collective and personal stories intertwined within the depths of history and identity.
That’s what I aim to do in Culture South, with a lens on Charleston arts and culture that radiates out through the Southeast. During Spoleto, I’ve added a special section to the website. I’ll populate it with reviews, interviews and perhaps some news, too.
A poster pops
On May 15, The Charleston Place hosted the annual poster reveal, casting off the black drape to shine a bright, abstracted beam of yellow into Market Street Circle. Here’s hoping it quickly pops up in storefront windows and elsewhere throughout the city. That longstanding tradition has been known to display the grand mix of King Street businesses, with many creating windows inspired by the art. It’s the sort of citywide cultural ownership that can make this city distinct in its love of the arts.
Spoleto Festival USA General Director & CEO Mena Mark Hanna unveiled the Festival’s 2024 version, which features an abstract composition of mixed media on paper by Sara Chaar, a Lebanese interdisciplinary visual artist.
The artwork, Yellow Plastic, is from the artist’s Imagined Certainty series, and reflects her native Lebanon’s turbulent history, from the recent economic collapse, to the infamous explosion, to the impact of COVID-19.
“Sara’s work beautifully resonates with the themes we are exploring this year at Spoleto,” said Spoleto Festival USA General Director & CEO Mena Mark Hanna in a statement. “Shared humanity amidst political strife features in both our world premiere works of Ruinous Gods and The Song of Rome. We are thrilled that Sara’s work is a visual cue for these crucial conversations.”
The poster is now available for purchase ($35) at spoletousa.org, at Spoleto’s ticket kiosk at the Charleston Visitors Center, or by calling 843.579.3100. So nab one and get creative, Charleston.
A festival hub with deep (and disco) roots
Longtime Spoleto patrons, or Spoletians as many of us say, may recall the days when Garden & Gun did not signify a luxe Southern magazine, but the publication’s namesake instead. That was the Garden and Gun Club, a disco-pulsing, culture-cozying, wild ride of a hub for Spoleto Festival USA.
Founded by Spoleto’s box office manager Richard “Dick” Robison in the days when there was little else available for entertaining visiting artists and audiences, its first home was the empty J.C. Penney building on King Street. Here’s a story I wrote about it for Charleston City Paper a few years back.
The Charleston Place must have gotten a ping from its ancestors. Last week, the property rolled out Spoleto Piazza, a festival hub where artists and patrons can swap notions about this year’s productions. And it happens to be on the very site of that Penney’s-turned-mega-party that (as I wrote previously), upended the social fabric of a starchier Charleston.
Through June 9, Market Street Circle will serve as an alfresco gathering spot festooned with lounge seating, umbrellas and a yellow-and-white striped pop-up bar serving spritzes, among them a bespoke Limoncello Spoleto Spritz, taking a cue from the festival’s origins in Spoleto, Italy.
Patrons will also enjoy special programming at The Charleston Place throughout the run of the festival, starting tonight with a preview of the new opera Ruinous Gods and also featuring a pop-up choral performance in May 25 and June 1.
Stay tuned in the coming days for more Spoleto stories. That being said, I don’t want to overwhelm inboxes, so please chime in with suggestions on email frequency as I master this new platform. All coverage will be available at culturesouth.substack.com in the Spoleto section.
See you around the lobbies, but don’t ask what I think. Come on over to Culture South to find that out—and chime in with comments, too.
Hi Maura,
Thanks so much for this and the fine work you are doing. Loved your pic.--Wayne Helmly, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church
PS Speaking of people who were here when it all started, we're honoring Ellen Moryl at our Piccolo reprise of Music, She Wrote on May 26. 😊