The Halsey Institute is the only organization in Charleston that consistently highlights national and international contemporary art by emerging, mid-career, and oddly overlooked artist. We select artists whose works have the capacity to astonish. Our exhibitions have the reputation for introducing artists early in their creative lives, many of whom go on to become contemporary art mainstays.
Whenever possible, the Halsey Institute hosts an artist-in-residence for weeks or months at a time. The purpose is to provide the artists with a unique opportunity to produce new work, which will be exhibited at the Halsey Institute. Past artists-in-residence include Long-Bin Chen, Tiebena Dagnogo, Eames Demetrios, Jumaadi, Htein Lin, Rikuo Ueda, and Motoi Yamamoto, among others.
With an international focus and multidisciplinary approach, we inspire and enrich the lives of all who participate–acting as a vital cultural resource for the city of Charleston, the state of South Carolina, and the region.
Learn more about current and upcoming exhibitions here!
The Looking to See educational program at the Halsey Institute enriches the lives of our visitors by illuminating contemporary art, demonstrating how we produce exhibitions, and showing them the cultural significance of contemporary art as it relates to the world and ourselves. The program is geared towards K-12 schools, afterschool programs, summer camps, and community groups, and it builds on a combination of educational material, guided tours, and art-focused activities. Our educational tours are tailor-made to visiting groups. To complement the tours, we provide an educational blog and an educational website with resources for the classroom. Our program also includes activities that further connect the visitors to the exhibition, such as creative writing, art-making, and more. In addition to the free tours, we also offer travel subsidies through our Bus on Us initiative for those schools and organizations that could otherwise not afford to visit our galleries, such as those located in rural or high-poverty areas.
Many of the children we work with have never been to an art museum or college campus before. Through our educational program, they are introduced to the visual arts in a way that reduces elitist perceptions of arts institutions and encourages them to engage with the arts in the future.
Make a difference in our Lowcountry community by donating to our Looking to See program!
Our exhibitions are accompanied by extensive public programming including lectures, panel discussions, symposia, screenings, and other special events which are all free of charge. Through the exhibitions and programming we present, we aim to stimulate community conversations surrounding the most pressing topics of our time, such as environmental protection, social justice, racial equity, education, and more. Our events have become the focal point and gathering place for those interested in contemporary art or curious about provocative ideas. The Halsey Institute strives to be a catalyst for a critical social discourse and social change in Charleston, South Carolina, and the southeast region.
