State Art Collection

The South Carolina State Art Collection, 1967-2020

Managed by the South Carolina Arts Commission

Curated by a committee of knowledgeable art enthusiasts, the South Carolina State Art Collection (SAC) serves as a time capsule, representing the historic importance and cultural vitality of the visual arts in South Carolina from 1967-2020. Containing 466 works by 288 South Carolina artists, the collection serves as an educational tool to help promote the state and its cultural resources and to encourage creativity and support the artists of South Carolina.

Explore more:

• Artists & Artworks (in list form)
• Nina Liu Fund (managed by the South Carolina Arts Foundation to support the State Art Collection)

Image shown: Joseph Gandy | Going Home (detail) | 1985 | mixed media on paper | 30 1/2″ x 23 1/2″

• Artwork loans

  Principles

  The South Carolina Arts Commission (SCAC) encourages loans to advance public understanding of the rich and diverse history of the arts in South Carolina, and to enable a wider audience to see and enjoy the State Art Collection.

  Up to five (5) works of art from the South Carolina Arts Commission’s State Art Collection may be loaned to qualified State institutions for one (1) year. The State Art Collection will only be loaned to South Carolina state institutions* that are open and accessible to the public. Artworks must be displayed in public spaces.

  Criteria

  The safety and preservation of the State Art Collection is the primary consideration.

  • Borrower(s) must be able to meet the SCACs standards regarding security, environmental integrity, and interpretation.
  • Borrower(s) must insure the artwork during transit and while on the borrower’s premise. Borrower(s) will provide the SCAC with proof of insurance (e.g. certificate of insurance) prior to the start of the loan.
  • Borrower(s) will be responsible for all costs associated with the artwork while within the term dates including any expenses incurred in insuring, conserving, preparing, packing (including labor costs), crating, shipping, and couriering the loan.

  *Borrower(s) must be a state institution

  Exceptions to the policies and procedures, including loans and exhibitions and related timelines, are at the discretion of the SCAC Executive Director in advisement with an ad hoc committee composed of the Executive Director, the Deputy Director, the Artist Development Director, and the Commission Chairperson. If you are not a state agency but believe you may still be eligible for a loan of a SAC work, please contact us with your inquiry.

  Interested in borrowing a State Art Collection work of art? Here are the next steps:

  1. Make sure you qualify! Read the detailed loan policy first.
  2. Contact us.

• New aquisitions

  The South Carolina Arts Commission is not currently accepting submissions to the permanent State Art Collection.

• State Art Collection Recognition Award

  To ensure the State Art Collection remains a relevant and contemporary footprint of South Carolina’s cultural heritage, the SCAC will begin in FY27 (July 1, 2026) to induct up to five works of art from each year’s cohort of fellows into the SAC.

  This recognition award brings works by contemporary artists into the State Art Collection as a part of its digital archive. The SCAC will not own or physically house these works.

  • More information on the SCAC’s Fellowship program.