Life Outside The Landings: Exploring the Arts in Savannah

When you live at The Landings, you get the space, natural beauty, recreation and sense of community of Skidaway Island, with one of the South’s most distinctive creative cities just 20 minutes away. For anyone wondering whether living on Skidaway Island means missing out on Savannah’s arts and culture, the answer is close at hand.

Savannah’s arts scene may be smaller than New York, Los Angeles or Miami, but it is no less vibrant. Its creative energy comes from a rich mix of Southern history, contemporary art, working artists, student experimentation and deeply rooted Gullah-Geechee and Black cultural traditions.

That means life at The Landings can be as culturally engaging as it is active, with galleries, museums, performances, festivals and creative neighborhoods close enough to become part of everyday life.

And some say it all starts with the Savannah College of Art and Design.

How does SCAD contribute to Savannah’s cultural life?

Known locally as SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design has a deep influence on the city. Rather than operating from an isolated campus, SCAD is woven throughout Savannah’s historic core, infusing the character of this historic Southern city with a distinctly modern creative pulse.

Its classrooms, studios and galleries occupy restored buildings across downtown, part of an adaptive-reuse approach that has preserved more than 100 historic structures while giving them new life. Centuries-old architecture sits alongside contemporary art, fashion, film, design and digital media, while students, faculty and visiting artists bring a global perspective to Savannah.

The SCAD Savannah Film Festival draws filmmakers, actors and industry leaders from around the world, while exhibitions, lectures and design events contribute to a cultural calendar that feels unusually rich for a city of Savannah’s size. For anyone asking what SCAD adds to Savannah’s arts scene, its influence is visible well beyond the classroom.

For residents of The Landings, that creative energy is close enough to become part of everyday life. A day can begin with golf, boating or a walk beneath the live oaks of Skidaway Island and end downtown at a gallery opening, film screening or design exhibition.

It is part of what makes The Landings distinctive. The privacy and natural beauty of island living paired with easy access to a city shaped by art, architecture and ideas.

Savannah artists make the city feel alive

Savannah’s creative energy does not stop with SCAD or its museums. Working artists are part of the city’s everyday fabric, occupying studios, galleries, storefronts and converted historic spaces throughout downtown.

City Market is one of the clearest examples, with dozens of artists creating painting, sculpture, photography, jewelry and Gullah-Geechee art. Visitors can often watch artists work, talk with them about their process and buy pieces directly from the people who made them. It is an inviting place to start if you want to explore Savannah art galleries and meet local artists.

That same spirit carries into Starland, where artist-run spaces and organizations support exhibitions, studios, public programs and residencies. The effect is a city where art spills into restaurants, boutiques, neighborhoods and public spaces, making discovery part of the experience.

Savannah offers something different every time Landings residents head into the city, whether that’s browsing a gallery, attending an opening or simply wandering into a neighborhood where creativity is happening around them.

Where can I learn about Gullah-Geechee culture in Savannah?

Savannah’s creative identity is inseparable from its African American history and the Gullah-Geechee traditions of coastal Georgia. Descended from West and Central Africans enslaved along the southeastern coast, Gullah-Geechee communities preserved and adapted traditions visible today in language, foodways, music, storytelling, spiritual practices, basket weaving, quilting and other art forms.

Those traditions continue to shape how Savannah tells its story. Places such as the Pin Point Heritage Museum preserve the history of a Gullah-Geechee community rooted in the local oyster and crab industry, while institutions such as First African Baptist Church, the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum and the Beach Institute help tell the broader story of Black Savannah.

Living at The Landings means you have the opportunity to experience a culture shaped not only by architecture and contemporary art, but by traditions deeply rooted in the Lowcountry itself.

Visit The Landings and Explore Savannah’s Rich History

Savannah’s creative energy is just one more reason life at The Landings feels so rich. From contemporary art and working studios to Gullah-Geechee traditions and historic Black cultural institutions, the city offers layers of culture to explore just beyond Skidaway Island.

The best way to understand how that fits into everyday life is to experience it for yourself. Book a Discovery Visit to The Landings and see how island living, exceptional amenities and Savannah’s cultural life come together in one distinctive place.