SC Arts Commission Press Releases
Town of Chesterfield to Share Design Efforts at National Conference
Jan. 28, 2009
Media Contact:
Frances Kablick
(803) 734-8898
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The S.C. Design Arts Partnership, a joint initiative of the S.C. Arts Commission and Clemson University, is joining Charlie Gray, CEO at Chesterfield County Rural Water Company, on Feb. 5 to present at the American Institute of Architects’ “Grassroots Leadership and Legislative Conference.” Frances Kablick, Design Arts Partnership assistant coordinator, and Lynn Craig, a professor at Clemson University, will accompany Gray, who is speaking on behalf of Chesterfield Mayor John Douglas, at the conference in Washington, D.C. They will discuss the town of Chesterfield’s recent neighborhood revitalization efforts.
Kablick, Craig and Gray have been invited to talk about Chesterfield’s participation in the 2007 “Blueprint for America Initiative,” a nationwide community service project launched to mark the national organization’s 150th anniversary. The AIA selected the town from more than 156 communities across the nation, including six in South Carolina, which completed design projects throughout the year to inspire people to change the way they view architecture and its role in their daily lives.
Chesterfield Mayor John Douglas, who will be unable to attend the conference, found that the town’s participation in the Blueprint initiative and interrelated design sessions provided the foundation necessary to initiate change. “We learned we needed to create the vision first, look at what you have to work with, adapt the vision to make it possible, and then make it happen,” said Douglas. “We have a vision, and whether or not it takes us a hundred years, we at least know where we are going."
Ideas for the town’s revitalization efforts resulted from a February 2007 community design charrette led by the Design Arts Partnership, Clemson Institute for Economic and Community Design, volunteers from the Grand Strand chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and Clemson University design students. Final projects included façade enhancements, streetscape improvements, and the restoration of the town’s historic downtown courthouse.
About the Design Arts Partnership:
The South Carolina Design Arts Partnership is a joint initiative of the South Carolina Arts Commission and Clemson University with a mission to improve the quality of the built and natural environment through design, education and leadership training. For more information about the Design Arts Partnership, contact Frances Kablick at (803) 734-8898.
About SCAC:
The South Carolina Arts Commission is the state agency charged with creating a thriving arts environment that benefits all South Carolinians, regardless of their location or circumstances. Created by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1967, the Arts Commission is working to increase public participation in the arts by providing services, grants and leadership initiatives in three areas: arts education, community arts development and artist development. Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., the Arts Commission is funded by the state of South Carolina and by the federal government through the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, visit www.SouthCarolinaArts.com or call (803) 734-8696.
###