By Jim Speirs, Executive Director, Arts South Dakota
Throughout the state, artists, neighbors and visitors are finding a connection through the power of the arts—and gathering to embrace arts opportunities in South Dakota communities.
The resiliency of our cultural community during the pandemic is inspiring. Artists, youth and community leaders have worked together to keep the arts strong, and use creativity as a way to bring their communities back better than ever.
The Cave Collective is an amazing Rapid City arts organization that recently moved into a new downtown space. All are welcome at the Cave Collective, and it’s readily apparent that through the power of the arts, young people find the Cave to be a place they can truly be themselves. Every community needs a Cave Collective!
The Black Hills Playhouse hasn’t cancelled a season since 1946, but that all changed last summer due to Covid-19. This summer BHP is back with the “New Frontier Theatre,” which is essentially a fully operational musical theater stage set outside under the summer stars of Custer State Park. Covid wasn’t going to stop the Playhouse two years in a row, and this year the show went on, with a creatively safe experience of theater in Custer.
In Sioux Falls, Levitt at the Falls resumed their outdoor concert series with 40 free live performances at the Levitt Shell through September 11. So far this summer, 320 volunteers have participated in welcoming approximately 52,000 attendees, and all the shows are live streamed to add to the excitement. Levitt also produces video shorts and South Dakota Public Broadcasting specials with visiting musicians, in addition to outreach activities to young audiences.
From border to border, South Dakota is welcoming audiences to live performances and opportunities to experience and create art. It’s an exciting time that we’ve all been waiting for!
For a calendar of arts opportunities throughout South Dakota in every season, please visit https://artssouthdakota.org/calendar/.
