Tapp’s Art Center

Specialties

Tapp’s Arts Center is the première contemporary art center in Downtown Historic Columbia. Tapp’s is a gathering place for creative exploration, and is dedicated to bridging connections in creativity by offering workshops, classes, affordable studio rentals, exhibition space and cultural events to help artists and art enthusiast create, learn and grow.

The founder of Tapp’s Arts Center, Brenda Schwartz, recognized a need for a cultural axis to foster experimental practice in the downtown area. Together, Schwartz, the managers of the building, Capitol Places, as well as the city, embarked upon changing the cultural landscape of Columbia’s urban center. Today, Tapp’s produces 12 exhibitions a year, along with cultural events, and workshops. It provides 30 affordable studios for artists to rent, and strives to be the fulcrum of Columbia’s creative endeavors.

History

Established in 2011.

Tapp’s Arts Center is situated in the singularly iconic Tapp’s building at the corner of Main Street and Blanding Street in Downtown Columbia, South Carolina. The History of the Tapp’s Building is particularly noteworthy for its long and storied past. The building was constructed in 1940 specifically for the namesake, James L. Tapp, a local entrepreneur who founded a series of upscale department stores in the tri-​state area. The architecture of the building still reflects the «Depression Modern» style, which celebrated the streamlined form and kinetic lines of the, then, new industrial age.

The department store quickly became a destination, as it was the only one east of the Mississippi River to offer its customers an air-​conditioned shopping experience. Additionally, Tapp’s offered in-​house dining via a restaurant located in the basement. Its popularity facilitated the permanent advertisement ‘Meet Me At Tapp’s’ on the rear exterior wall of the building, still present on the façade