Augusta River Region Galleries
Augusta is alive with art! From public art tours, to locally owned art shops, to galleries and museums there are always things to do and see in our beautiful city. On this page you can find all the information on the galleries that the Greater Augusta Arts Council manages — the City Gallery and the Augusta & Co. Gallery — in addition to a list of local galleries and art museums throughout our community.
The City Gallery
Since 2016, The Greater Augusta Arts Council, on behalf of the City of Augusta, has utilized the lobby of the Augusta-Richmond County Municipal building as a Gallery space to promote the vibrant cultural arts and talents that are abundant in the Augusta River Region.
Located at 535 Telfair St, in Downtown Augusta, GA. Exhibitions are typically held every 6 weeks to 3 months depending on availability.
Please contact Gallery Director, Heather Dunaway at gallery@augustaarts.com for more information.
Open Monday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Currently in the City Gallery...
Breaking the Barriers
A solo exhibition of art works by Rhian Swain
Breaking the Barriers is a collection of paintings that pay tribute to famous women visual artists created by Augusta-based artist Rhian Swain. There is an enormous lack of awareness, especially among younger people, of the many women that have had a huge impact on the arts and play significant roles in pioneering new paths in the arts.
If you as ka group to name five women artists, they typically can name two at most. Almost everyone can come up with a list of famous male artists. There is an ongoing lack of awareness of significant women artists living in Augusta’s River Region who are creating important works of art and receiving national recognition.
Portraits include artists such as Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keeffe, Artemisia Gentileschi, Augusta Savage, Berthe Morisot, Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun, Tamara de Lempicka, Yayoi Kusama, Kara Walker, Louise Bourgeois, Helen Frankenthaler, as well as local artists Staci Swider and Lillie Morris. Rhian included these two local women artists in the Breaking the Barriers series to pay homage to the powerful artists we have in our area.
Rhian Swain has a BFA from the Atlanta College of Art in Atlanta, GA. She is a painter, photographer, designer, illustrator, writer and former talk show host. in 2021 she completed her second public art piece, one of Augusta’s popular painted pianos for Destination Augusta, which can be found outside of Augusta & Co at 1010 Broad St. She has also participated in many local exhibitions, including shows in the Community Gallery of Augusta, The Augusta City Gallery, a Private View and the WetPaint Party and Art Sale hosted by the Greater Augusta Arts Council. Her past solo or curated shows include exhibitions at the Sacred Heart Cultural Center, D’Timms and the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History. She’s received a National Endowment for the Arts grant, which allowed her to complete her Breaking the Barriers exhibit.
As the owner of RedWolf Advertising, which is an Augusta-based agency established in 1997, Rhian provides professional design, marketing, digital, public relations and photography services for clients in the US and Europe. She has won numerous awards for her illustrations, designs and for supporting the arts in the Augusta community. She serves on several community committees and is currently the President of the Greater Augusta Arts Council Board of Directors.
In her art works, Rhian is a symbolic artist who utilizes vivid color, humor and many mediums. She enjoys exploring cultural and social issues as she creates fantastic, often personal, mythologies. She uses her art to create dialogs she feels are essential for the viewer to participate in.
Breaking the Barriers will be on display in the City Gallery from May 31 – August 23, 2023 with a reception and tour TBA.
Up Next in the City Gallery…
- In Our HeARTS A showcase of vintage and recent poster designs and photographs that span the 41 years that the Arts in the Heart of Augusta Festival has been held.
- The Annual Winter Art Showcase; a group exhibition of works with gift giving in mind at $200 or less!
- The Annual Black History Month Exhibition; A showcase of historic photographs from the Mayoral Collection of Black History
…and more!
Augusta & Co. Gallery
The Augusta & Co Gallery is located within the innovative visitor’s center and retail experience, Augusta and Company at 1010 Broad Street.
The Greater Augusta Arts Council, in partnership with Visit Augusta and Augusta & Co. staff invites both the “company” of fellow Augustans, or that of visiting friends and family, to experience the authentic flavors of Augusta through its rotating locals only art gallery.
The works seen in this space are created by Augusta River Region based artists or artists who call Augusta home. This gallery hosts many forms of visual artwork, from paintings to photography to sculpture.
Open Mon – Sat 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Closed on Sunday
Currently in the Augusta & Co. Gallery...
Exploring the River Region
A Solo Exhibition of works by June Klement
Exploring the River Region is a solo exhibition of oil paintings by local artist June Klement. This showcase features both plein-air and studio paintings that depict the beauty of Augusta’s waterways and landscapes. These works utilize warm and inviting colors, giving the sense of peace. Thoughts of warm summer days, with the sweet sounds of cicadas singing, water splashing and gentle breezes through trees come to mind while viewing this body of work.
Plein Air Painting is the act of painting outdoors. This method was first used by the French most notably in the early 19th century when ready-made tube paints became widely available.
These paints allowed for artists to work outside. Plein Air Painting allows artists such as June Klement to better capture the subtleties of nature’s changing seasons, weather and light. June’s impressionistic style of lively, vibrant, and bold brushstrokes highlights the ephemerality of color and light through textures on canvas. She says: “…for to me, light represents joy and love of life. I use color to represent my feelings of a scene or landscape, but I don’t necessarily feel the need to reproduce the exact color I see. To me, color represents how I feel about a location or subject.”
A FREE opening artist’s reception will be held on Friday, April 14th from 4:00-6:00 PM. For more information, click here.
Up Next in the Augusta & Co. Gallery…
-A Solo Exhibition of works by Jason Chambers
–Gifted A group exhibition of works by local artists in time for the gift giving season
-A Solo Exhibition of works by Becca Laird
–Voices of Augusta II, a group exhibition of works
… and more!
Hanging Your Work In Our Galleries
Both the City Gallery and Augusta & Co. Gallery use the Walker Display Rod-Rail hanging system (pictured at left). Many local galleries utilize this system, as it has minimal damage to walls and is historic building friendly. For more information on this system, please visit www.walkerdisplay.com . To learn about what methods work best for hanging on this system, check out this site.
We encourage all artists interested in displaying work in our galleries to research this display method, as several types of store-bought frames are not designed to hang from this type of system.
You can also read Gallery Director Heather Dunaway’s Blog, the Word, for tips on how to properly frame, wire and hang your work.
Are you an artist interested in being featured in one of the Greater Augusta Arts Council’s galleries?
You can submit your solo and group exhibition proposals for the City Gallery and Augusta & Co. Gallery. The Arts Council also hosts several open calls for art for our group exhibitions throughout the year. Please sign up for our Artist’s Newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates on open calls for art.
Email our Gallery Director, Heather Dunaway, for more information at gallery@augustaarts.com
Augusta River Region Art Galleries and Museums
More Places to See, Show and Experience Art:
- CANDL Fine Art Gallery in Downtown Augusta, GA
- Arts & Heritage Center of North Augusta in North Augusta
- 4P Studios/600 Broad in Martinez and Augusta
- The 523 Gallery in Augusta
- The Artists’ Guild of Columbia County
- Westobou Gallery in Augusta
- Mac on Main Art Gallery in Thomson
- Mack Gallery in McCormick
- Healing Arts Gallery at Augusta University Medical Center
- Red Door Gallery in Augusta
- Morris Museum of Art in Augusta
- Sacred Heart’s Art Hall in Augusta
- Art and Soul of Aiken, SC
- Le Chat Noir in Augusta, GA
Local Businesses Who Host Art and Arts Events:
New Moon Cafe (Aiken + Augusta)
- “New Moon offers gallery space and commission free art sales in our 2 cafes. Send us a contact form with examples of your art thru our website (linked above). We would love the opportunity to share your art with the Moon community!” -Christine, Owner