The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art regularly leverages its Calhoun Street locale on the College of Charleston campus to keep the arts front, center and substantial on the peninsula.

The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art welcomed Michael Dickins as director and chief curator in July while the Charleston Gaillard Center welcomed Nicole Taney as the inaugural vice president of artistic programming in August.

These two arts organizations are pillars in the Holy City scene, so naturally these appointments sparked conversations about the future and its many possibilities.

Whether you’re a history buff, art aficionado, or music fan, these 12 museums in Charleston have it all.

One of the world’s busiest pedestrian corridors is now home to a massive artwork by a Charlotte artist. Kenny Nguyen, a Vietnamese American artist who works out of a Concord studio, recently unveiled an installation commissioned for the lobby of a bustling Times Square building.

As you walk through David Antonio Cruz’s current exhibit “hauntme” at the Halsey art gallery, your eye is drawn to the collection of twinkling chandeliers casting shadows on the dark wallpaper he designed using photographs taken in Charleston last year.

After checking into our Airbnb, we decided to go exploring, but rather than King Street (Charleston’s main street) we stayed on St. Philip Street (where our Airbnb was located) and were immediately rewarded with finding the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art (HICA). This public art gallery is part of the School of Arts at the College of Charleston, a block long campus for not only the visual arts, but dance and theatre too.

Demond Melancon brings a New Orleans tradition into the contemporary art world with his first solo museum exhibition, As Any Means Are Necessary, now on view at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art.

Barefoot with braids and in a long, shiny black, gold and silver dress that merges tradition and futurism, Elisa Harkins took the stage at the Charleston Music Hall with not only her music but her culture to share. 

Artist and composer Elisa Harkins created “Wampum / ᎠᏕᎳ ᏗᎦᎫᏗ” as an act of Indigenous Futurism, blending disco and native languages to preserve and celebrate her culture. Featured in Spoleto Festival USA, the performance and accompanying exhibition highlight the continued existence of Indigenous cultures worldwide. 

Co-presented with the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, the performance features Harkins singing in Cherokee, English, and Muscogee (Creek) to electronic dance tracks inspired by Indigenous music, seamlessly merging the traditional with the contemporary.