You could hunt all over the state for authentic handcrafted art representing South Carolina’s rich and diverse cultural heritage.

Or you could pop over to the South Carolina Artisans Center to explore the handcrafted Art by handpicked Artists – see, touch, smell, taste, and shop art.

Located in Walterboro and founded in 1994, the state’s official folk art and craft center is a one-stop showcase for fine handmade crafts of every imaginable variety and media, from Gullah sweetgrass baskets to Southern face jugs, a craft tradition started in Edgefield by African slaves who worked on plantations as potters.

Along with the indigenous folk art created using centuries-old craft techniques, the collection also includes contemporary crafts, large installation sculptures and two-dimensional art.

Fittingly, the nonprofit gallery is housed in a restored eight-room Victorian cottage built in the late 1800s in Walterboro’s historic district. Inside you’ll find pottery, paintings, jewelry, quilts, mobiles, vases and furnishings. Outside you will find The Blue Bottle Tree. It is a Gullah feature that dates back to early cultural superstitions about protection against spirits.

The art collection features the work of more than 200 South Carolina master artisans selected in a two-stage juried process that includes an evaluation by independent professional jurors. Diversity not only represents the population of South Carolina but the offerings at the Center.

Despite the high quality of the wares, you can find art at every price point.

As its mission, the South Carolina Artisans Center showcases and markets handcrafted artwork of the state’s leading artists, while ensuring that art inspired by tradition is protected and nurtured; a gallery that speaks to the unique talents of handpicked South Carolina artists.