A brief History of the
Seacoast Artists Guild
and the
Seacoast Artists Gallery
- In 2003 a small group of 15 artists gathered for their first meeting and the Seacoast Artists Guild was born.
- In April of 2004 the first Seacoast Artists Guild Exhibition was held at the Litchfield Exchange with 44 local artists and over 200 pieces on exhibit.
- In October of 2004 the First Judged show was held with 3 categories: Professional, Intermediate and Novice.
The First-Place winners were
Charles Walker - Professional
Delle Keisling – Intermediate
Robin McCall - Novice
(See the '2023 Fall Art Show Results' page to see this years winners!)
- By February 2005. The Guild grew to 125 members. Over the years they met at a variety of locations like Waccamaw Neck Library, Inlet Square Mall Community Room and Litchfield Exchange. The guild exhibited at a variety of locations as well like the Litchfield Beach and Golf Resort, Applewood’s House of Pancakes, Socastee Library, Myrtle Beach Marriott Resort and The Lakes of Litchfield.
- In 2008 we did ‘Art on the Porches’ at the Lazy Gator.
- In September 2009 Applewood’s up a gallery and this became our first official gallery home.
- · In September of 2010, Marcelle (d 2013) and Walter Cushman (d 2014) gave the first scholarships to area art students. The guild continues their love of art and desire to help young artists through the Cushman Fund. Today, the Seacoast Artists Guild provides scholarships to art students at Coastal Carolina University.
- Our membership grew and so did the request to be able to exhibit. We also needed a place where we could offer art classes, so we needed to find a bigger and permanent home. We held our first Art Show in our current facility in April with over 200 pieces of art. In May of 2013 we moved into the current location on Nevers Street and opened the Seacoast Artists Gallery.
- We held our first Arts and Crafts Festival in September of 2013 and in March 2014 we named it ‘Art in Common’. This event has been held in the Spring and Fall for the last 10 years.
- 2023 celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the Seacoast Artists Guild and the 10th Anniversary of the Seacoast Artists Gallery.