2026 Piccolo Spoleto Festival poster unveiled

Mayor William Cogswell and City Director of Cultural Affairs Rochelle Riley unveiled the official 2026 Piccolo Spoleto Festival poster on Friday, May 8, at City Gallery.

This year’s winning artist, Alice Colin, was selected from an April open call. The self-taught, multidisciplinary artist worked across digital, mixed-media and 3D compositions. Originally from Bordeaux, France, Colin had lived and worked across four continents before settling in Charleston with her husband and sons. She received the highest commission ever awarded for the Piccolo poster: $5,000.

Her poster, “Voices in Bloom,” depicted a procession of faces set against a fragmented Charleston cityscape, with a field of botanicals below — evoking collective rhythm, cultural identity and the roots that sustained creative communities.

“Alice’s work spoke perfectly to all that is beautiful about Charleston — our music, our nature and our people,” Riley said. “The festival’s theme this year was ‘from here,’ inviting people from across the South to experience the artistry and traditions that could be found only in Charleston.”

Piccolo Spoleto, or “Little Spoleto,” opens May 22 alongside Spoleto Festival USA. Launched in 1979 by the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs, Piccolo spotlighted local excellence through visual arts, classical music, jazz, dance, theater, choral music, poetry readings, children’s activities and film. More than half of its 250-plus events were free.