CHARLESTON — A new art studio and gallery space is now open on the East Side.
Drummond Studio Gallery has moved in next door to City Light Eastside, a neighborhood coffee shop. Arun Drummond decided late last year he needed a larger studio space. While looking for one, a larger mission also came to mind. Not only did he want a place to work, but a place for collaboration — for other artists to showcase their works, as well.
“My mission is art, culture and community, and I want everyone to know that this is a space where everyone is welcome — where artists who don’t necessarily have a chance to show their work at the fine art galleries or in the museums have an opportunity to tell their stories in our space,” Drummond told The Post and Courier.
Arun Drummond, a multidisciplinary folk artist, is opening The Drummond Studio Gallery in Charleston’s East Side. The inaugural show will be artist Demetrius Bing.
By Gavin McIntyre
gmcintyre@postandcourier.com
The 47-year-old South Carolina native, raised in the Upstate, moved to Charleston more than two decades ago and has built his art business in town, branching out from managing other artists into his own solo career.
In 2004, Drummond started working at Gallery Chuma for famed Charleston Gullah artist Jonathan Green, among others. That’s when Drummond’s mission really became aligned with preserving Gullah-Geechee culture. It’s also when he started painting, beginning with abstract art and then moving into the folk art realm. He now creates multimedia pieces that mostly feature Black figures holding sweetgrass baskets.
In his most recent series, “Erasure,” the baskets are absent to represent the literal erasure of culture he says is happening in this climate.
Paintings from artist Demetrius Bing are set against the wall in the Drummond Studio Gallery at 12 Line St., Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, in Charleston. Arun Drummond, a multidisciplinary folk artist, opened the studio and gallery space for artists who don’t have access to fine art galleries and museums. The inaugural show will be work from Bing.
Gavin McIntyre/Staff
“We’re losing spaces for art and culture, or they’re being compromised,” said Drummond. “I feel like this gallery is something that we need, and I feel like it’s my purpose to bring it to the area.”
Drummond said he hopes that kids living on the East Side will feel like they can open the door of Drummond Studio Gallery like they belong inside and like they’re reflected in the art on the walls.
“I hope that people feel like they belong in this space, like they can see themselves reflected in this gallery and that they have a seat at the table,” said Drummond. “I hope they see that art is not just for the elite, but accessible.”
Arun Drummond, a multidisciplinary folk artist, sits in his studio located within his new gallery at 12 Line St., Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, in Charleston. The Drummond Studio Gallery will provide space for himself and another artist to use as studio space. It’ll also become a showcase for artists who don’t have access to fine art galleries and museums.
Gavin McIntyre/Staff
He hopes it shakes up the system a bit, as he plans for the demographic of artists featured to be mostly Black creatives — in both solo and group shows. The first show he will host is a solo exhibit for Demetrius Bing, a Charleston native whose works will be featured in the last season of “Outer Banks.”
Bing is an abstract artist who paints about his emotional trauma.
“For him to be an African American male who talks about emotions and trauma and mental health and these things that are normally taboo, or used to be taboo, in African American culture — I think he’s groundbreaking for doing that,” said Drummond.
Work from artist Demetrius Bing is hung on the wall in the Drummond Studio Gallery at 12 Line St., Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, in Charleston. Arun Drummond, a multidisciplinary folk artist, opened the studio and gallery space for artists who don’t have access to fine art galleries and museums. The inaugural show will be work from Bing.
Gavin McIntyre/Staff
The show is called “Full Spectrum,” and Bing told The Post and Courier it’s about his progression from when he started painting about five years ago to now.
Bing shared that he was sexually assaulted at age 6 and that trauma makes its way onto the canvas, as well as his childhood memories living in a single-mom household in a rough neighborhood. He works through a lot of his emotions in his art, which he said has been cathartic and he hopes inspires others to be more vulnerable.
The exhibit will open on Oct. 10, with more details to come.
Arun Drummond, a multidisciplinary folk artist, sets out a piece titled “A Seat At The Table” in his new space Drummond Studio Gallery at 12 Line St., Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, in Charleston. The artwork will be part of the 2025 MOJA Arts Festival Juried Art Exhibition.
Gavin McIntyre/Staff
Bing said Drummond providing this gallery space is needed.
“There are a lot of Black artists that, I feel, we do need a space,” Bing said. “We need to hear a few more yeses than always a quick no. There’s talent in everybody — White, Black, any race, it doesn’t matter. Most Black (artists) feel they’re just as good as this other person, but maybe it’s because of how I look that I got turned down at a gallery.”
As for Drummond’s neighbors, they’re excited to see the events come alive.
“Arun opening his studio, gallery and event space is an absolute dream to be alongside,” said Candace Patterson, co-owner of City Lights Eastside, the coffee shop next door. “His art and his vision for the space are extremely inspiring. He is an exceptional person and extraordinary artist who is extremely inclusive and knows how important community is.”
Arun Drummond, a multidisciplinary folk artist, has opened a new space for artists at 12 Line St. in Charleston. The Drummond Studio Gallery will provide space for Drummond and another artist to use as studio space. It’ll also become a showcase for artists who don’t have access to fine art galleries and museums.
Gavin McIntyre/Staff
Bing added that it’s a monumental thread being woven into the city’s cultural fabric.
“You don’t know how big this is for a Black man to own a gallery downtown,” he said. “Hopefully the city stands by him and has his back.”
Drummond said it’s one of the most exciting but also the most raw and vulnerable positions he’s ever put himself in. He also added that, if you’re not nervous, you haven’t taken a big enough risk.