paint brushes on a palette

Local spots for unleashing creativity

Express yourself

By Bailey Gilliam

The Lowcountry may be a place for exploring the outdoors, basking in the sun and competing in sporting events, but many things are here to satisfy our creative outlets. Whether you’ve mastered any of the arts or not, you can participate in some of these local creative pursuits. From art classes to Broadway shows, there’s something for everyone – because everyone has a creative side that needs to be unleashed every now and then. 

Classes by Category

Take an art class

There are so many venues that offer art classes, it may come as a surprise to some. And what’s even more surprising is the array of classes offered. Painting, drawing, knitting, pottery, photography, woodworking, basket weaving, mixed media — the list goes on and on. If you’re looking for visual arts classes, here are some places worth checking out.

Closeup of paintbrush in woman hands mixing paints on palette

Where to go

Hilton Head Island

  • Art & Soul
  • Art League Hilton Head
  • Arts Center of Coastal Carolina
  • Coastal Discovery Museum
  • Hilton Head Pottery
  • MM Wood Studio
  • Studio Max Creating with Clay
  • The Art Cafe 

Bluffton

  • FLOW Gallery + Workshop
  • Hammer and Stain Bluffton
  • Lowcountry Shrimp and Knits
  • Michaels
  • Morris Center for Lowcountry Heritage
  • Robert Rommel Gallery of Nature
  • Society of Bluffton Artists Gallery
  • Technical College of the Lowcountry
  • •ovar Academy of Art
  • Wine & Design Bluffton

Beaufort

  • Beaufort Arts Council 
  • Coastal Art Supply
  • McSweeney Clay Studio
  • Paints N’ Paradise
  • Southern Palette Art Studio 
  • USCB Center for the Arts

If you’re one who loves visual arts but from a distance, visit a local art gallery. See some art, meet the artists, or attend a workshop at one of these galleries. 

Beautiful couple seen from behind is hugging while admiring the paintings and colorful canvases hanging on the wall of the gallery

Where to go

Hilton Head Island

  • Art League of Hilton Head Gallery
  • Camellia Art Gallery
  • Candace Whittemore Lovely Fine Art
  • Endangered Arts Ltd
  • FastFrame
  • Full Spectrum Studio
  • J Costello Gallery
  • Vivid Gallery

Daufuskie Island

  • The Iron Fish Gallery & Studio

Bluffton

  • Art Studio Of D. Pierce Giltner
  • Ben Ham Images
  • Bluffton’s Shell Art Trail
  • FLOW Gallery + Workshop
  • Four Corners Fine Art and Framing
  • La Petite Gallerie
  • Maye River Gallery
  • Pluff Mudd Art
  • Preston Studio
  • Robert Rommel Gallery of Nature
  • Signore Coastal Art
  • Society of Bluffton Artists Gallery
  • The Calhoun Street Gallery
  • The Red Piano Gallery

Beaufort

  • Atelier Off Bay Art Gallery
  • Beaufort Art Association
  • Green Herring Art
  • Pinckney Simons Gallery, LLC
  • Rhett Gallery Inc
  • Thibault Gallery

Learn an instrument

Music soothes the soul, and there’s no better way to express creativity than by learning to play an instrument. Polish existing skills, or learn a new instrument at one of these local spots. There also are many teachers in the area who don’t go through a school or store; a simple web search can help you find the right instructor. Yours truly, (Bailey), also teaches piano and violin.

four parts of musician hands playing musical instrument. music background

Where to go

Hilton Head Island

  • John’s Music
  • Seadragon Songhouse

Bluffton

  • Bluffton Guitar School
  • Fretworks!
  • Herrin Piano
  • Low Country Piano Studio
  • Shirmel Music Institute 

Beaufort

  • Hamner Music
  • Music Cooperative
  • Rabinowitz Music

Attend a concert

If you’re not quite up for the task of learning an instrument, you can still unleash that creativity by attending a local concert or show. There are so many talented musicians here and many venues from which to choose. In addition to this list, many restaurants and bars offer live music regularly. 

Metal Concert Live in the Small Club.

Where to go

Hilton Head Island

  • Harbour Town
  • Hilton Head International Piano Competition
  • Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra
  • Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park
  • Kind of Blue
  • Lowcountry Celebration Park
  • Shelter Cove Harbour & Marina
  • SoundWaves
  • The Boardroom
  • The Jazz Corner
  • The Rooftop 

Bluffton

  • Magnolia Hall
  • Uncorked Wine, Bar, Food, and Music

Beaufort

  • Fripp Island Friends of Music
  • USCB Center for the Arts

Dance

Dance isn’t just for kids. There are many places that provide dance lessons for adults. Ballet, ballroom dancing, tap, jazz and hip-hop are just some of the styles you can try your hand (or feet) at. The cool thing about dance is that it doubles as physical exercise. That’s a win-win.

A man and woman dressed in black dancing on stage with a blue curtain behind them and the stage lights shinning on them

Where to go

Hilton Head Island

  • Fred Astaire Dance Studios
  • Hilton Head Dance Theatre
  • Move and Motion

Bluffton

  • Aerial Elements
  • Alliance Dance Academy
  • Bluffton School of Dance
  • Carolina Collective Dance
  • Coastal DanceWorks
  • DDY Bluffton
  • Hilton Head Ballroom Dance Studio

Beaufort

  • Dani’s Dance Dynamics
  • Derrick Ballet Conservatory 
  • Jayne Richardson Dance Studio
  • Lowcountry Dance Center
  • Lowcountry Shaggers
  • Revolution Ballroom
  • Southern Unlimited Dance
  • The Beaufort Dance Company
  • United Dance Plex

Writing

Creative writing is another outlet that is often overlooked here, but let’s not forget that some of the United States’ most beloved authors are from the South. Take a writing class, read your poetry at an open mic night, or submit your work to a local publication.

Writing and freelance concept. Retro typeweriter, paper with pencils and a cup of cappuccino on wooden table.

Where to go

  • Pat Conroy Literary Center
  • USCB 
  • Morris Center for Lowcountry Heritage
  • Heritage Library
  • Beaufort County Library 
  • Lowcountry Initiative for the Literary Arts
  • Poetry Society of South Carolina
  • South 85 Journal 
  • Beach Shack Writers
  • Island Writers Network
  • Lifelong Learning of Hilton Head Island
  • Technical College of the Lowcountry

Cooking and Mixology

Everyone knows there are tons of delicious, award-winning restaurants in the area, but few realize that many of them offer cooking classes periodically. And our distilleries often have mixology classes too. Learn from some of the best chefs in the Lowcountry at one of these restaurants.  

A chef cooking while a group of woman watch and learn. Hands on class.

Where to go

Cooking

Hilton Head Island

  • Alexander’s Restaurant + Bar
  • Charlie’s Coastal Bistro
  • Chef Aram’s Kitchen
  • Chef Lynn Michelle
  • Michael Anthony’s
  • Nunzio Restaurant + Bar

Bluffton

  • Cassandra’s Kitchen Store
  • Culinary Institute of the South

Beaufort

  • COOK on Bay

Mixology

Hilton Head Island

  • Hilton Head Distillery
  • Sea Pines Resort

Bluffton

  • Burnt Church Distillery
  • Shaken and Stirred Mixology

Beaufort

  • Rotten Little Bastard Distillery
  • Shaken and Stirred Mixology

Acting

For those of us with a bit of a dramatic side, why not try the theater? Take an acting class, audition for a part, or just see a show at one of these local theaters. 

A man teaching in an acting class

Where to go

Hilton Head Island

  • Arts Center of Coastal Carolina
  • Lean Ensemble Theater
  • Main Stage Community Theatre
  • Southeastern Summer Theatre

Bluffton

  • May River Theatre
  • Sun City Community Theatre

Beaufort

  • USCB Center for the Arts
  • Play & Eat Dinner Theater

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