Who We Are

In the building that once housed Simpsonville Elementary School, the Simpsonville Arts Center is a vibrant place of creativity for all people. The structure built in 1939 as part of a federal public works project is now home to the visual and performing arts, artists and art galleries, and community spaces for public use. Artists now fill the former classrooms with their art, supplies, and students. High-energy musicals, plays of great cultural significance, and classic ballets grace the stage in the fully renovated auditorium with nearly 400 seats. Opened in 2022 the Simpsonville Arts Center holds its own in an area of the Upstate rich with entertainment and culture. Join us in the beloved building on Academy Street as history is made!

Welcome

Wandering the halls at the Simpsonville Arts Center will transport you back in time. Touch the 84 – year-old wainscoting panels that line the hallway and peek in the windows as you watch the sunlight beam across the old hardwood floors of the classrooms, transformed into large studios. 

Pop in for Simpsonville Second Thursday Open Studio to visit with our artists and learn about their work: pottery, fused glass, fiber art, photography and painting. 

Peruse the Lobby Art Gallery featuring a rotating exhibit of artwork produced by local artists. Housed in the former historic Simpsonville Elementary School, the Simpsonville Arts Center is your hub for the performing and visual arts, and a superb venue for art education and exploration. 

Simpsonville Arts Center programming is always growing and evolving, and we are excited about the future in theater and other visual and performing arts to continue ensuring the success of our beloved Arts Center.

Box Office Information

For information about tickets to upcoming events, please email artscenter@simpsonville.com.

Welcome

Inspirational Beginnings

The story of the Simpsonville Arts Center started in 1939 with the construction of a small building to house an elementary school by the Works Progress Administration. Part of a jobs program to provide relief to the American people during the Great Depression, Simpsonville Elementary was one among several schools and tanneries built by the WPA in the Upstate. The building on Academy Street remained an elementary school until 2001, well after Simpsonville High School, which was built in 1921, closed in 1957.

A source of warm nostalgia for the Simpsonville community, the building was purchased by the City of Simpsonville in 2002 with plans for an arts center. Hope for a hub of arts and culture was kept alive for nearly two decades by fundraising efforts from groups like the Simpsonville Arts Foundation, a feasibility study by the Simpsonville Planning Department, countless meetings and discussions and the belief by City leadership in the true potential of the old building on Academy Street.

The final impetus for a multi-million-dollar investment in the property was the awarding of a $500,000 matching grant by the Appalachian Regional Council to the City of Simpsonville in 2019. Simpsonville hit the ground running with extensive renovations, including an updated auditorium, new lighting and sound, lobby, concessions area and green room. With ever-growing and evolving programming, several studio artists as tenants and surprises in the works, the Simpsonville Arts Center is on its way to becoming the premiere venue for the visual and performing arts in the Upstate.