Craftspeople of Charleston

The ICAA's new documentary film celebrates Charleston's rich legacy of artisanship

Charleston, South Carolina is unlike any other American city. In 1931, it established the very first historic district in the United States, and today it boasts perhaps the greatest concentration of surviving eighteenth and nineteenth-century structures in the country. Who were the people, both enslaved and free, who built these magnificent works of art? And what do traditional building methods mean today in the twenty-first century?

In this new documentary film produced by the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art in partnership with the Richard Hampton Jenrette Foundation (formerly Classical American Homes Preservation Trust), architect Glenn Keyes hosts a tour of his native city and visits with the artisans, historians, and educators who are both preserving and expanding upon its rich legacy of architecture and design. Through their stories and by the work of their hands, this community keeps the historic traditions alive, in the hopes that we will learn from them, and use those lessons to design a better future.

This documentary film was featured in the ICAA's national conference Enduring Places. For three days in November 2023, 225 participants from around the country gathered in Charleston, South Carolina and engaged in a robust program of talks, panel discussions, working sessions, and tours focused on three themes: craftsmanship, preservation, and sustainability. All recordings from the conference are now available.

Craftspeople of Charleston is being distributed on public television stations nationwide by the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA).

Watch the Film on your Local PBS station's Website

Click here to see the film on the website of your local PBS-affiliated station.

Find your Local TV Listings

To find out when the film is airing on television near you, follow the steps below to find your local PBS-affiliated station.

1. Enter your zip code on TV Passport. Select your television provider.

2. After completing Step 1, click here to see your local airdates for Craftspeople of Charleston.

Credits and Sponsors

Produced by the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art

Executive Producer

Peter Lyden

Producers

Justin Kegley

Brandon Mitchell

In Partnership with Classical American Homes Preservation Trust

President

Robert Leath

Director of Digital Experience

Mary Jatkowski

In Association with Thesis Content

Producer

Elizabeth Brown

Director

Katherine Daughtridge

Narrated by

Glenn Keyes

Featuring

(in order of appearance)

Jamal Hall

David Hoffman

Dr. Tiffany Momon

Moby Marks

Mary May

Robert Johnson

Karl Beckwith smith

Marshelle Grant

Colin Wohlford

Isabella Rae Gardineer

Robert Thomas

Dave Dawson

Desiree Ingram

In Gratitude to

Historic Charleston Foundation

Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim Synagogue

Middleton Place National Historic Landmark

This film was made possible by

The Estate of Christopher H. Browne & The Orville Gordon Browne Foundation

Also made possible by

Bunny Williams

Carolyne Roehm

The Hodges Charitable Family Foundation

Jon Berndsen

Mrs. Roger Hanahan

Tags: enduring places