{"id":731652,"date":"2026-06-12T10:35:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T10:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/731652\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T10:35:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T10:35:08","slug":"sewe-wildlife-art-gallery-closes-at-charleston-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/731652\/","title":{"rendered":"SEWE wildlife art gallery closes at Charleston Place"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHARLESTON\u2014 The art gallery created to keep the spirit of the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition alive beyond festival weekend has closed amid work at Charleston Place as the luxury hotel moves into the next phase of its $150 million renovation project.<\/a><\/p>\n

The first-floor lobby and retail spaces, including the gallery’s storefront, are slated for redevelopment as part of a multiyear overhaul<\/a> that wraps up this year.<\/p>\n

Gallery by SEWE was more than just a collection of artwork. It was a year-round extension of one of the area’s largest annual tourist draws.<\/p>\n

Since opening in 2023<\/a>, the gallery provided an opportunity for\u00a0SEWE officials to capture new audiences while promoting the heart and soul of the event\u00a0\u2014\u00a0the wildlife art scene. The gallery offered monthly programming, including artist residencies, special exhibitions and community events.<\/p>\n

John Powell, SEWE’s president and CEO, said the storefront strategy was an effective marketing tool and great exposure for artists.<\/p>\n

SEWE leaders always knew the space was temporary. Powell said Charleston Place allowed the gallery to stay open for nearly twice as long as originally agreed until ongoing renovations reached the retail section of the hotel.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had more time with the gallery than we had expected, so we are very grateful to Beemok and Charleston Place for the opportunity to fill the space while they renovated the rest of the hotel,\u201d Powell said.<\/p>\n

Powell said SEWE\u2019s festival weekend, held each February, and showcasing wildlife art will always be at the center of what they do.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf another gallery space makes sense in the future, we will be opportunistic and take a hard look at that,\u201d Powell said. “This was a unique offer for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

By showcasing wildlife art in a prominent downtown location, the gallery gave visitors a chance to get the full picture of the larger festival experience, while strengthening SEWE\u2019s visibility between festivals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt became an extension of the work we do, and it gave us a space to introduce our mission and festival to those who don\u2019t know us and engage with people who do,\u201d Powell said.<\/p>\n

Powell said the gallery reflects the organization’s longstanding partnership with Charleston Place, which has served as a central hub for SEWE for decades.<\/p>\n

Becky Hubbard, the managing director at The Charleston Place, said the art collection was the \u201cperfect complement to the hotel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SEWE<\/p>\n

Attendees look through art exhibits at the SEWE gallery in The Charleston Place, Sunday, February 16, 2025, in Charleston.<\/p>\n

File\/Henry Taylor\/Staff<\/p>\n

The gallery featured works from many of the artists associated with the annual event. Among its most notable displays was “The Three Graces”<\/a> \u2014 a life-sized sculpture of three dogs by sporting artist Joseph Sulkowski and sculptor Diana Reuter-Twining valued at over $750,000.<\/p>\n

While Powell said he will miss the gallery, he sees it as the closing of one chapter to start another. He said the organization plans to remain active year-round through other events and community outreach efforts across the Charleston region, while keeping its primary focus on the annual festival.<\/p>\n

The long-running wildlife festival has an annual economic impact of more than $32.7 million, according to a study conducted by the College of Charleston’s Office of Tourism Analysis. SEWE will hosts its 45th festival year in 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHARLESTON\u2014 The art gallery created to keep the spirit of the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition alive beyond festival weekend…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":731653,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[354126,449,458,459,64,63,354125,128295,354120,326089,354124,354121,460,134,354122,354123,354127],"class_list":["post-731652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-art-gallery-charleston","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bhc","tag-charleston","tag-charleston-business","tag-charleston-news","tag-charleston-place-hotel","tag-charleston-tourism","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-sewe","tag-southeastern-wildlife-exposition","tag-wildlife-art"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=731652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731652\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/731653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=731652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=731652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=731652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}