Artful Cities: Savannah

When my family and I were considering where to go for our summer trip, we decided we ought to check out Savannah. I had only been to the city once before, for part of a day about 15 years ago, when I toured the Savannah College of Art and Design. I ultimately didn’t attend the school, but the city left an impression.

I had heard so many amazing things about the Savannah art scene, especially since my friend Sky Benson had moved to the city and built a flourishing career as a muralist there a few years back.

I was curious to see what another major Southern city with an emphasis on art would look like. How would it stack up against the art scene in Atlanta? I had a lot to learn.

Before going on my trip, I knew only a few things about Savannah: It’s historic, artsy, and haunted as heck!

Now, fortunately for me, I didn’t experience anything spooky while I was there. But I was pleasantly surprised by just how infused the city is with art. We stayed near the Starland Arts District, and I saw cool art around me every time I stepped outside our Airbnb.

Savannah is home to SCAD, of course, as well as a plethora of galleries and museums. But beyond that, art is simply everywhere. I saw so many signposts plastered with stickers, murals, folk art pieces rebelliously stapled high up on telephone poles, and even the most commonplace signage appeared to be almost exclusively hand-lettered.

It seems to me that the city of Savannah is not only special in the plethora of support for the arts from local organizations and the community, but also from the way that unpermitted art in various forms is allowed to exist in public. As a result, walking through the city feels almost like walking through an outdoor art gallery with little surprises at every turn.

One day during our trip, when my family and I were in the historic district and searching for a spot to eat some lunch, we wandered into the City Market. Located on W. Bryan Street, the two-story City Market property is home to not only an info booth and local shops but also a selection of art galleries and studio spaces.

This is the The Art Center at City Market in Savannah.

“The purpose of the not-for-profit organization when it was founded was and is to encourage collaboration and community among artists,” said Kimberly Phillips, Managing Director of City Market.

Founded in 1989, the center’s design features large, airy hallways lined with art spaces. Large, plate glass windows offer a peek inside, even if the artists or gallerists are not presently in their studios.

“We believe that art centers play an important role in both fostering community among artists as well as supporting the local economy,” Phillips said.

“Additionally, the Art Center in City Market is open to the public so that the community can engage with the artists. This encourages an appreciation for what our artists are creating and promotes their work to the public.”

For some artists, such as Brian MacGregor, interacting with the public face-to-face is not only pleasant, it also can become part of their artistic practice.

MacGregor has been a working artist for more than 20 years and has lived in Savannah since 2000. He is one of the Art Center’s longtime resident studio artists, and he shares an upstairs studio space with fellow artist Tafy LaPlanche.

On his half of the studio, the walls feature a colorful array of his paintings. A closer look reveals that the background of each work is made of sheets of paper that are covered in handwriting. Since 2003, MacGregor has been collecting dreams from people he meets in dream journals.

He has amassed thousands of these pages throughout the years, and he sees their incorporation into his works as a commentary on the concept of collective unconsciousness. Visitors coming into his studio are one of his most significant sources for new dreams he uses in his works. He also shared how valuable he finds it to see real-time reactions from viewers.

“In a way, it’s almost like opening up a factory so you can see behind the curtain,” said MacGregor. “In a traditional art gallery, usually the gallery doesn’t want the client to meet the artist, it’s a faux pas,” he explained. Here, in his studio in a bustling retail district popular with tourists, he is able to connect directly with those who may want to buy his art.

“With our property being heavily trafficked by tourists, The City Market Art Center artists interact daily with visitors from all over the world,” said Phillips. “The Art Center creates a unique environment where guests can watch as the works of art are created and talk to the artists directly about their methods and process. It really is a unique attraction and interaction that isn’t found in other places.”

MacGregor, who often travels for his exhibitions and mural projects, says he always looks for art centers when visiting a new city. “Especially as time goes on, these types of spaces are more and more important because it [encourages] jobs and interest in the arts, and promotes art as a realistic occupation,” said MacGregor.

In addition to SCAD and The City Market Art Center, Savannah is also home to the Telfair Museums, Savannah Music Festival, the Jepson Center, Starland Arts District, and a number of historic museum such as the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum and the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum.

For a city that is positively infused with art galleries (at a conservative count, I found more than 100) they have managed to retain their historic charm, foster a bustling tourist economy, and still leave space for new artists to grow and thrive there.

Learn more about The City Market Art Center on the City Market website and see more works by Brian MacGregor here .

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