Aiken is known for horses, trains, and lush gardens featuring rare camellias. Now, the SC Arts Commission has recognized Aiken’s downtown area as an official South Carolina Cultural District, the first cultural district in the CSRA.
This recognition highlights the city’s numerous indoor and outdoor performance venues, studios, public art pieces, and landscaped parkways. The SCAC also acknowledged Aiken businesses, arts organizations, and residents for fostering a thriving cultural environment.
According to the SCAC, the arts account for more than 123,000 jobs and have a total economic impact of more than $14 billion in the state.
Responding to the designation, Mayor Teddy Milner said, “I am so proud of Aiken and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism for all the hard work they put into this certification. This certification has been something Aiken has had in its sights for some time because we have so much to offer our locals and cultural travelers.”
Within the district are public art pieces; multiple performance spaces, classrooms, and conference rooms; event spaces; studio spaces for classes; and an outdoor event area. This includes the streets, sidewalks, and landscaped parkways, which are also used for events. A plethora of arts-related classes take place in the district, several at the Aiken Center for the Arts—a 2023 recipient of the SCAC’s Governor’s Award for the Arts in the organization category.
“With the appointment by the South Carolina Art Commission, we can proudly add art and culture to that list. For a city of 32,000, Aiken boasts two orchestras, an annual jazz festival, a spring concert series, an award-winning art center, weekly music downtown, and a community theater group that is second to none with more to come,” City Manager, Stuart Bedenbaugh said.
