Kulture Klash

Kulture Klash 4 was a sensory overload celebration of the city’s arts renaissance.

And man, was it done right.

The fourth installation of this mega-art show threw down inside a 4000-square foot warehouse in North Charleston – a space you might remember as the old Lowcountry Foodbank location. The warehouse was filled with art from some 60 local and regional artists covering the gamut of styles, graffiti to modern-impressionist and photography, and just about everything else as well.

The nice thing about having an art show in a warehouse is you can put almost anything you want inside it, including the popular putt-putt golf course. Local artists built several rounds of the classic pastime using recycled materials. During the night guests wandered the course, trying their luck with the avant-garde layout which weaved through most of the warehouse.

Rumor has it Kulture Klash’s organizers – Gustava and Andrea Serrano, Scott Debus, Ambergre Sloan, and Olivia Pool – as well as an army of artists, were spending nearly round-the-clock shifts trying to prep the warehouse for Saturday night’s show and its estimated 3,000 attendees.

Picking up on the idea that Charlestonians will confess to anything, The Digitel got clever with its Kulture Klash Confessional Booth, complete with squashy red beanbag chairs to lure the crowds in and (of course) a rolling camera to capture every word. The best of those confessions will be posted on The Digitel’s website soon.

And then there was the glow in the dark room. Inside, crowds swayed to a line-up of regional DJs in a glow of black-light and neons, as flourescent paint splashed on the walls and the guests themselves. It was the kind of place where it was completely expected to spot a few dancers wearing nothing but that flourescent paint.

Music filled the space nearly as much as art. Three stages and over eight musical acts throughout the evening kept the energy high and the crowd moving late into the night (or, to be more precise, early into the morning).

Kulture Klash is one of those events that gives our city a nice little shake up. These artists and performers aren’t the ones you find in most downtown galleries. Here you’ll find no watercolors of the Ravenel Bridge, although CHARLIE did spot a pretty cool photo of it. The artists at this show represent the next wave in contemporary Charleston art. For a chance to see the works, the warehouse will be open from 3-8p.m. Monday through Wednesday of this week.

Until next time, keep klashing.

Photos and Story by Caroline Millard. View more photos on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2005966&id=1545458551&ref=mf