10 Ways to Experience Savannah's Arts and Culture Scene
A local's guide to the galleries, museums, and historic theaters that make Savannah one of the South's true creative cities.
Savannah's arts scene runs deeper than its postcard squares. Between a 300-year-old historic district, a working art school in the Savannah College of Art and Design, and a calendar packed with festivals and monthly gallery nights, there is always something to see, hear, or wander into. Here is a local's guide to the best of it.
1. First Friday Art March in the Starland District
On the first Friday of every month, the Starland District, Savannah's funky, SCAD-adjacent arts neighborhood, comes alive from 5 to 9 pm with open galleries, pop-up vendors, and live music. ARTS Southeast, a nonprofit hub with 26 private artist studios and the rotating Ellis Gallery, anchors the event, alongside spots like the Cobra Room inside the Lone Wolf Lounge. It is the best way to meet Savannah's working artists in person rather than behind museum glass.
2. The Telfair Museums
The Telfair is actually three sites in one ticket: the neoclassical Telfair Academy, the modern Jepson Center for the Arts, and the historic Owens-Thomas House. Together, they cover everything from 19th-century American art to contemporary exhibitions to a preserved house museum, making it one of the most complete introductions to Savannah's art history in a single afternoon.
3. SCAD Museum of Art
Housed in a dramatically restored 19th-century building, the SCAD Museum of Art showcases boundary-pushing contemporary work alongside pieces from the Savannah College of Art and Design's permanent collection. Because SCAD has such a strong hand in shaping the city's creative identity, this museum is as much a window into Savannah's future as its past.
4. Lucas Theatre for the Arts
Built in 1921 and restored through a fourteen-million-dollar community effort, the Lucas Theatre is one of Savannah's most beautiful venues, known for its forty-foot Italianate ceiling dome. It hosts film screenings, concerts, and much of the Savannah Philharmonic's season, including recurring performances of works like Beethoven's Fifth and Holiday Pops.
5. Trustees Theater
A block from the Lucas sits Trustees Theater, built in 1946 and later purchased and renovated by SCAD in the late 1990s. Today it hosts classic film screenings, concerts, and performances tied closely to the university's cultural programming, giving it a slightly more contemporary feel than its historic neighbor.
6. Savannah Theatre
Just barely missing the title of oldest continuously operating theater in the country, Savannah Theatre on Bull Street has hosted plays and musicals for generations. Guests can expect Broadway-style productions and live music revues nearly year-round, along with a small museum on site exploring its own history.
7. Savannah Cultural Arts Center
The Otis S. Johnson Cultural Arts Center, downtown on Montgomery Street, opened as a purpose built home for the city's performing and visual arts programming. Its Ben Tucker Theater seats 330 for plays, musicals, and recitals, while the Studio Theater hosts everything from art lectures to dance classes, much of it produced by and for the local community.
8. City Market Galleries
Inside City Market, more than fifty local artists work out of upper-level studios, giving visitors the rare chance to watch a piece being made and talk with the artist directly, rather than just browsing a finished gallery wall. It is one of the most hands-on ways to bring home original Savannah-made art.
9. Savannah Music Festival
Held each spring, typically late March into April, the Savannah Music Festival is Georgia's largest music festival, bringing more than one hundred artists across genres to venues throughout the historic district over more than two weeks. It draws a serious following from well beyond Savannah and is one of the clearest signs of the city's growing reputation as a music destination.
10. Savannah Stopover
Just ahead of the Music Festival each March, Savannah Stopover brings dozens of touring and emerging bands to stages across the historic district over a single weekend. It has become a favorite for music fans who want a festival sized lineup without the festival sized crowd, and a reminder that Savannah's live music scene extends well past its historic reputation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the First Friday Art March in Savannah? First Friday Art March is a monthly gallery hop in Savannah's Starland District, held the first Friday of every month from 5 to 9pm, featuring open galleries, artist studios, pop up vendors, and live music organized largely by the nonprofit ARTS Southeast.
What museums should you visit for art in Savannah? The Telfair Museums, made up of the Telfair Academy, the Jepson Center for the Arts, and the Owens-Thomas House, along with the SCAD Museum of Art, are the two most essential art museum visits in Savannah.
What are the best historic theaters in Savannah? The Lucas Theatre for the Arts, Trustees Theater, and Savannah Theatre are Savannah's three most notable historic theaters, hosting everything from symphony performances to Broadway style musicals and classic film screenings.
Does Savannah have a music festival? Yes. The Savannah Music Festival runs each spring with more than one hundred artists performing across the historic district, and Savannah Stopover, held just before it each March, brings a weekend of touring and emerging bands to stages throughout the city.
A City Built on Creativity
Savannah's arts and culture scene is not confined to a single museum or district, it runs through the whole city, from a working art school to monthly gallery nights to historic stages still hosting shows a century after they opened. If a city that takes its creative identity this seriously sounds like the kind of place you want to call home, our team at The Agency Savannah can help you find a property in the middle of it.
[Click here & contact us today to explore homes across Savannah's historic district and beyond.]
