Indigo: Variations in Blue at the Aiken-Rhett House Museum

This spring, the Aiken-Rhett House Museum will again host a contemporary and original art exhibition inspired by the Lowcountry and the rich history and preservation style of the c.1820 house museum. Indigo: Variations in Blue will be open for guests to visit March 13 through June 28, 2026. The Opening Night Party for Charleston by Design will serve as the exhibit's opening reception and celebration.

Exhibit description:

Few colors carry as much history as indigo, and few places feel that weight more than Charleston. Indigo: Variations in Blue, curated by Tushara Bindu Gude, Ph.D., brings together eight artists of varied backgrounds and training to explore indigo as color, pigment, dye, idea, inspiration, and catalyst of memory inside the preserved "as-found" c. 1820 Aiken-Rhett House.

What makes this exhibition especially remarkable is the community at its center. All eight artists have worked with one or more of the others, whether growing indigo, processing pigments and dyes, or collaborating in creative acts. Together, they represent diverse ancestries and migrations that parallel the historical pathways of indigo itself. Installed throughout one of the best-preserved urban townhouse complexes in the antebellum South, the work speaks to the transregional and transoceanic networks that shaped Charleston, though at immense human cost.

Read more about this exhibition HERE.

Plan your visit:

Indigo: Variations in Blue is on view at the Aiken-Rhett House, 48 Elizabeth Street, Charleston, SC, with Museum admission. Purchase admission to the House Museum online, or at the door. Ticket receipt serves as admission ticket. Ticket valid within six months of purchase.

Due to the historic nature of this house museum, the space is not handicap accessible. We apologize for any inconvenience. Street parking available around house museum. Nearest parking garage available at 63 Mary Street, with metered street parking also available nearby.