Simpsonville Arts Center

A Letter from Outgoing Arts Center Manager Melissa Sturgis

"Hi, everyone. I hope you are looking forward to the warmer temperatures as I am - they're just around the corner, right? It seems like winter and cold temps have been here forever. I am ready for spring and know you are, too!

It is bittersweet, but I wanted to let you all know I have resigned my position as Simpsonville Arts Center manager with my last day being March 4. When I took this job almost two years ago, my goal was to get the Arts Center up and running and create a lively vibrant place for the performing and visual arts in the Simpsonville community. I am very proud that I can check those boxes—but it wasn't just I. I want to give a shout out to the FABULOUS group of volunteers, in-resident studio artists, variety of production companies using the spaces, talented guest artists who've exhibited in the Lobby Art Gallery and City of Simpsonville Community Relations Specialist Justin Campbell, who helped me promote "What's Happening at the Arts Center."

The City is moving the former Special Events Coordinator Lisa Everidge into the newly created position of Cultural Arts & Events Director with the Arts Center as her home base. I am confident she will continue the momentum and growing success of the Arts Center. You will still see me around as I am on the board of the Simpsonville Arts Foundation (SAFI) and will continue to help elevate the arts in Simpsonville! Mark your calendars for SAFI's Spring into Arts Fest on May 4 on Hedge Street, the Thursday night FREE concerts at CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park in May and June and the ever-popular OKTOBERFEST on Oct. 18 in Burdette Central. Big things are happening in the Simpsonville Arts community !

Thanks for coming along with me on this journey. You are simply the best!"

M.S.

Melissa Sturgis became the first manager of the Simpsonville Arts Center in May 2022. During her tenure as Arts Center manager, Melissa has overseen a flourishing variety of visual and performing arts programming and a calendar of events that extends well into 2025 and 2026. Melissa used her theater and management experience to foster a vibrant community of studio artists, performers and artists and entities ranging from the Greenville Orchestra Symphony to Cornerstone Ballet to community theaters Mill Town Players and Clark Nesbitt's No Dreams Deferred Productions Unlimited. When Melissa stepped into the role of Arts Center manager, the spaces and calendar were empty, and that is certainly no longer the case. The City of Simpsonville thanks Melissa for her contribution to the arts in the Simpsonville community and beyond in the Upstate.

MARCH EVENTS: Open Studios, Workshops, and more!

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE ARTS CENTER

— February 2024 edition of E-newsletter available! —

All editions of the new Simpsonville Arts Center online newsletter can be found under Supporting Documents!

"Simpsonville Arts Center is the source for a vibrant performing and visual arts scene as well as a great venue for art education and exploration—all under one roof." -Melissa Sturgis, Arts Center Manager

Located on Academy Street in downtown Simpsonville, the Simpsonville Arts Center features events and programming that promote the visual and performing arts. Listed on the Arts Center calendar at any given time are theater performances, art exhibitions, art classes, in-residence studio artists, ballet performances, City functions and myriad other events and programs. The building constructed in 1939 that once housed Simpsonville Elementary School was underutilized for almost two decades before the City of Simpsonville in 2021 completed $2.5 million in renovations, which include brand new lighting and sound systems, new seating, upgraded stage, greenroom, windows and lobby that functions as an art gallery. A building with rich history so beloved by people of all ages is deserving of reaching its potential by providing a public service: the best visual and performing arts programming in the Southeast for all communities.

Learn more about the Simpsonville Arts Center by visiting the below link:

www.simpsonvilleartscenter.com

Blog: Click here to keep up with the latest news about the Simpsonville Arts Center

Volunteer: Click here to volunteer at the Simpsonville Arts Center

Legacy Plates: Click here to support the Simpsonville Arts Center in honor of a friend or loved one by submitting an Arts Center Legacy Plate Form

Legacy Name Plate Order Form

To honor a family member or loved and contribute to the mission of the Simpsonville Arts Center to be the place for the visual and performing arts in the Upstate, complete a Legacy Name Plate Order Form. The plates will be placed on the back of an Arts Center auditorium seat perpetuity. Under Supporting Documents, download the "Legacy Name Plate Order Form" and return to Simpsonville City Hall at 118 N.E. Main St.