Blueprint for the Arts in Charleston

October 6, 2009 : Our speaker, Martha Rivers Ingram, is a Charleston native, a graduate of Vassar College and currently the Chairperson of the 2010 Spoleto Festival. She is an author, a philanthropist, and a professional expert in the management of educational and civic organizations that serve the arts.

After graduating from college Martha married and moved to Nashville, TN where she made her mark. Today, she continues to serve as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Vanderbilt University and is a past chairman of the Nashville Symphony. To stimulate future planning and growth for the arts in Charleston, Martha presented a historical tour of the vast development of the arts programs in Nashville. As the “Athens of the South”, Nashville established its program in 1851 with a theater that had the second largest stage in America. Patrons paid up to $200 for show tickets at that time, which is the equivalent of $4000 today! However, the ravages of the Civil War almost destroyed the arts program which was in disarray until the 1950’s when an effort toward restoration began.

To sustain a new program Nashvillians realized that they must have strong attendance or the arts would die. Success demands a fragile balance of money, audience, talent and proper facilities for the performances; hence they built a new facility even before they had an orchestra, ballet, opera or theater group to use it. It was then that The Blair School of Music, of Vanderbilt, built Ingram Hall which has sense housed wildly successful companies in all of the above areas.

Turning to Charleston, she spoke of the dream to reinvent The Gaillard Auditorium, to transform it into a new facility. The estimate for refurbishing the existing facility is in neighborhood of 80 million dollars, versus 180 million dollars to build a brand new facility. A preliminary design would update the from elevation to emulate The College of Charleston’s Randolph Hall. There is also much work to be done on the interior of the existing facility, most importantly improving the acoustics and atmosphere.

Martha closed presenting a picture of the new Bass Hall in Fort Worth, Texas, now considered the best in the nation. It is a proven fact the improve more beautiful facilities draw larger audiences and create new opportunities for groups to hold their events at the performing arts center.

She brought a message from Mayor Riley; sharing that he is committed to the improvements of The Gaillard. While the city can help, it recognizes that it must be a joint venture by the private and public sectors of our community. The city can assist with the basic up-fits for safety, but the bells and whistles that add beauty and charm must be privately funded. It is estimated that it will take five years to complete the project if, we need to begin gathering the funding today. Spoleto can serve as the catalyst for this project, and Martha Ingram has provided the spark.

Reported by Fred Sales, Keyway Committee