Charleston Gaillard Center

The Charleston Gaillard Center commissions, supports, and presents ambitious, multidisciplinary cultural programming and provides access to the best local, national, and global artists and companies. Deeply rooted in the community, the Gaillard is committed to elevating local and regional voices and partnering with Charleston institutions to reflect the city’s diversity. Through programming on its public campus and extensive arts education initiatives, it serves as a platform to participate in community building and essential dialogue. The Charleston Gaillard Center Public Statement on Equity Efforts Located in Charleston, SC, where 40% of enslaved Africans first set foot in the United States, the Charleston Gaillard Center recognizes its unique and historically significant position as a space for racial healing and progress through the performing arts. We are committed to the power of the arts as a means of exploration and imagination — from past injustices to dreams of a more equitable future. As an organization, we also know that an authentic commitment to justice requires us to look inward, to personally and collectively learn and unlearn behaviors that have contributed to systemic inequities, and to actively create a more inclusive environment where all individuals feel a sense of belonging. To that end, the Gaillard Center is currently engaged in a multi-year effort to understand better and improve how equity manifests within our policies and practices, including staff and board representation, expansive community partnerships, programming that features underrepresented artists, and increased accessibility of our offerings to individuals from diverse lived experiences. The Gaillard Center has prioritized creating partnerships with other local nonprofits and community groups to create a broader community conversation platform. The Gaillard is committed to creating a forum for engagement with Black histories that are underrepresented within mainstream history and curriculum by creating festivals, productions, and programs, as well as creating curriculum guides, offering access to students, and presenting work that aligns with this mission. Land Acknowledgment The Charleston Gaillard Center proudly acknowledges that our building is located on land that holds deep significance for many indigenous communities. These lands have been the traditional territories of native peoples, rich with their stories and contemporary journeys toward survival and identity. Additionally, we celebrate the vibrant African American community that once thrived on this land, which contributed to its rich history. While this community was displaced in the 1960s as part of an act of eminent domain, we honor their legacy and resilience. On behalf of the Gaillard Center, we are committed to respecting this history and fostering reconciliation as we move forward together.