Artisphere 2025: What to see, where to go May 9-11
Greenville’s premier art festival, Artisphere, is returning for its 21st year.
The event will take place May 9-11 along Main Street in downtown Greenville. The four-day festival joins together artists of different mediums from around the world celebrating their crafts with bites, drinks and live music.
For 2025, it has a new presenting sponsor in Prisma Health.
“We had a wonderful relationship with TD Bank for 20 years and so we were excited when Prisma was interested in taking the baton,” said Artisphere President and CEO Kerry Murphy.
The health care provider will install a community mural in collaboration with Mexico City-based artist Paola Ibarra Llano. The mural, “Rules,” invites visitors to place their stamp on the piece using a line of tape with the following guidelines: maintain straight lines, do not cross existing lines and remember the work is abstract.
By doing so, the artist hopes participants ask themselves the question, “Are they rule breakers or followers?”
The mural will be located at the Peace Center plaza at 300 S. Main St. until the conclusion of the festival when the panels will be divided among some Greenville County schools.
This year, the Broad Street Main Stage will host 11 musical acts:
- Lee Hewitt
- Hunter Bradley & the Hometown Strangers
- Vilai Harrington & The Hamptones
- Riverstone
- The Tone Setters
- Matthew Curry
- Wasted Wine
- New Orleans Jazz Fest alum Leyla McCalla. McCalla was initially supposed to headline Fall for Greenville but had a scheduling conflict when the festival was delayed due to Hurricane Helene.
- Honey Island Swamp Band
- Clay Johnson & the Hard Promises
- Joe May
Joining musical acts are live performances on multiple stages, including the new Grand Lawn Stage located in front of the Grand Bohemian Lodge Greenville and the Furman University Artists on the Rise stage, located at Wardlaw and Main streets.
The lineup for the Grand Lawn stage includes:
- The Fine Arts Center of Greenville County Schools orchestra
- Carolina Bronze Handbell Ensemble
- The International Ballet
- Mauldin Theater Company
- Gloharmonic Live Orchestra
- Centre Stage
- Palmetto Statesmen
- Furman University’s Faculty Jazz Quartet
- Carolina Ballet Theatre
- South Carolina Children’s Theatre
- Dance Theatre of Greenville
- Fine Arts Center Partners
The lineup for the Furman University Artists on the Rise stage includes:
- Furman University Student Jazz Combo
- The Sweet Potato Pie Kids
- World Upside Down Arts Studio
- Hollis Academy Chorus
- Greenville Jazz Collective’s Youth Jazz Ensemble
- Carolina Youth Symphony and performances from
- The South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities jazz orchestra, creative writing program and the brass ensemble
The event will also host performances at pop-up stages at the intersections of Broad and Main streets, River and Main streets, and Augusta and Main streets. Performances will also be held at the Metromont Aerial Arts Amphitheatre, with the location and schedule still to be announced. This year, the event will host 39 new-to-Artisphere artists.
Artist Fen de Villiers will also attend Artisphere, setting up near the Grand Bohemian. He was commissioned to design a statue to be placed in front of Biltmore Walk, which is under construction at the corner of Pearl Avenue and Biltmore Drive. He will be showing conceptual sketches of the planned sculpture.
The festival was founded in 2003 by Henry Horowitz, a former chairman for the Metropolitan Arts Council, and the inaugural festival was held in 2005. While the festival highlights the Upstate’s art scene, it also benefits the local economy. Last year, Artisphere had a $14.1 million economic impact.
For more information, visit artisphere.org.
Related: 2024 Artisphere Day 1 photos and 360 degrees video
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