This past weekend, without any real knowledge of the event I was about to attend, I went to the annual Jail Break art event in downtown Charleston. Held in the Old City Jail, and rumored to be hiding a decommissioned electric chair, walking in I was a bit apprehensive. However, it only took a few moments before I forgot the dark history of the place, and focused entirely on  all the different forms of artistic expression filling the different, crumbling rooms. From comedians to theatre to puppets to oil paintings and collages, and even blacksmithing; you name it, it was there. Overlaying all of this was incredible live music performances in the back, where you could buy good food or shop at a small market of local artisans.

What really struck me about the event was the diversity of the audience. There were people ranging in ages six to seventy milling around, at least for the first few hours of the event. Jail Break seems to reach to out to all members of the community, not just artistic-types, and this obviously puts them at a great advantage in advertising, revenue, and general knowledge about the event. I would definitely recommend other people to attend. I know I’m going next year; I can not wait to see what the artists have planned.