History

The Fine Arts Center of Greenville, SC was established in August of 1974 as the first specialized arts school in the state of South Carolina and was housed in the former Hattie Duckett Elementary School, which was renovated to fit the physical needs of the program.

In 2006, the Fine Arts Center was opened in the new location on Pine Knoll Drive. The facility is state-of-the-art and features a dance classroom with a sprung floor, a Black Box Theatre, various specialized visual arts studios for ceramics, metal works, photography, and fiber arts.

Since its opening, thousands of students have chosen to become members of this unique community in which individual talent and expression are nourished in a supportive environment and stimulated by instructors who are themselves highly regarded professionals in their fields. Students are provided advanced comprehensive arts instruction in the areas of architecture, theatre, dance, visual arts, music, creative writing, or digital filmmaking.

Nationally known visiting artists exhibit in the Sheffield Wood Gallery, teach, and perform at the school, interacting directly with students in workshops and master classes.

Students at the Fine Arts Center are artistically talented and wish to take an intensive pre-professional program of study. Students apply and are selected on the basis of talent, interest, and commitment to their discipline and study.

Classes at the Fine Arts Center are in session five days a week, in the morning or afternoon for 110 minutes of instruction. When students are not attending FAC throughout the week, they spend the remainder of their time at their home high school in their academic classes.

Each year over 400 students attend the Fine Arts Center. 91.5% of the students go on to higher education. Fine Arts Center students have averaged over 8 million in scholarships over the past few years.