Twice a year artists of many mediums and partiers of all kinds gather for a night of observing great art, dancing to great music and mingling with friends in celebration of local creativity and expression.

This event, which has grown to a crowd of thousands, is known as Kulture Klash. Last Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, Kulture Klash Five was held in a 40,000 square foot warehouse in North Charleston. This warehouse accommodated over 1,000 attendees, artwork from over 50 artists, live painting, live music and disc jockeys, a black-lit “Glow Room,” a “Starving Artists” exhibit room, a live photography backdrop and set, a wine and beer bar, and a VIP lounge; and all of this was just inside the warehouse. Outside you could find even more live music, art and drinks, a bike polo game, BMX bikers and ramps, and food from local vendors.

The “Starving Artists” exhibit showcased art from eight artists who consumed nothing but water and herbal tea for five days. Each artist created one piece of artwork a day, using the same materials and canvas size as the day before. The idea was to see how the elimination of food, alcohol and sugar would affect their artistic talents. For the most part, the differences between the artwork from the first and fifth day was subtle, but surely apparent. The lack of food caused artists to create slightly more abstract, yet less detail-oriented pieces.

The art from the other 50-plus artists at Kulture Klash was wonderfully diverse. Artists used mediums ranging from paint on canvas to cardboard boxes to dried cement. There were creations of abstract images and of beautiful moments captured through photographs.

“It’s like you were hit in the face with art,” said Chanel Franco, 21, a senior at the College of Charleston. Kulture Klash is a great place for new and veteran artists to gain exposure because the criteria for having your work accepted is so broad, allowing a plethora of styles to be hung.

Along with typical artistic images, some artists showcased pieces like bike sculptures, an eight-foot-tall cardboard cross with an embedded hidden camera and corresponding monitor, a trophy-studded helmet and a walk-in cardboard structure complete with stained glass art.

Creativity really stole the show at Kulture Klash Five.

Not only did observers get to enjoy the completed pieces that filled the large warehouse, but about 15 artists collaborated to create a four-foot by 30-foot wall painting throughout the duration of the event.

The most recent Kulture Klash was not the first for many and it will surely not be the last. Franco, who plans to attend the next Kulture Klash as well, thinks that Kulture Klash is a wonderful thing that she’d like to support.

“It’s so beautiful and temporary and I’ve never seen anything like it before. It makes me feel like Charleston is really ahead for this type of thing, and I’m really happy for all of my friends whose artwork was showcased in it,” she said.