About Us

Overview

One Columbia for Arts & Culture is a non-profit organization formed to support and promote tourism in Columbia, South Carolina. Our mission is to advise, amplify, and advocate for the unified arts and culture community. We work to promote collaboration through shared celebrations of Columbia’s arts and historic treasures with the goal of raising the quality of life for our citizens, attracting tourist dollars to our city, and further enhancing our vibrant downtown.

OUR MISSION

Through the following actions, One Columbia for Arts & Culture will coordinate and maintain advertisements and promotions related to tourism development on behalf of the City of Columbia and arts/culture organizations:

To Advise
One Columbia for Arts & Culture, in an effort to celebrate, promote and elevate the role of arts and history in our city, serves in an advisory role to City Council. Our goal is to unify and focus efforts toward a larger shared purpose and common agenda.

To Amplify
One Columbia for Arts & Culture serves to amplify and enhance the efforts and programs of already established arts/history organizations. By providing a vehicle that encourages organizations to celebrate and promote each other through cooperation and collaboration, we will increase tourism to benefit all.

To Advocate
In support of the City’s Strategic Plan, One Columbia will work to foster creativity and expand the knowledge of and enthusiasm for history and arts by telling the story of companies, artists and venues and demonstrating the value of the cultural community to the economic interests of the City.

OUR INITIATIVES

Public Art – One Columbia for Arts & Culture works to feature the City’s current public art and to bring even more to the community. You can find more about the specific projects we’ve completed and are working on here. The organization facilitates other projects related to tactical urbanism, creative placemaking and enhancing public space.

Amplify – One Columbia for Arts & Culture is collaborating with government, non-profit and corporate partners to create a comprehensive cultural plan for Columbia and the surrounding area. The Midlands of South Carolina are experiencing significant growth in population and economic development. The Amplify planning process that we’re taking on includes an assessment of the creative landscape and broad community input to develop a focused strategy with long-term vision that enhances livability and drives future cultural tourism.

Columbia Poet Laureate – In a resolution adopted October 21, 2014, in the interest of acknowledging the role of the arts, the City of Columbia created the honorary position of poet laureate and authorized One Columbia for Arts & Culture to establish a selection committee. In January 2015, Dr. Ed Madden was appointed as Columbia’s inaugural poet laureate.

Resources for Artists – We connect artists with necessary information to create an environment that is more supportive and easier to navigate for them to do the work they do.

Economic Impact – In 2016, One Columbia for Arts & Culture participated in the Americans for the Arts Arts and Economic Prosperity 5 impact study.

OUR FUNDING

One Columbia is supported by hospitality tax revenues directly allocated by City Council for the purpose of coordinating and communicating the activities and benefits of history, arts and culture for the City. We also receive funding for various arts and culture project from the South Carolina Arts Commission, Knight Foundation, and Central Carolina Community Foundation.