Keith Grace, a mixed-media painter, and his wife, Shari, a graphic artist and stained-glass sculptor, came from Rockford, Ill. Renowned printmaker Kent Ambler and his wife, Peggy, came from Roswell, N.M. And Yuri Tsuzuki, a sculptor and painter, relocated from Bogota, Colombia.
All of these artists—and hundreds of others—have chosen to live in Greenville, S.C., a Southern city of about 68,000 people that once called itself the Textile Capital of the World. Today, the vibrant arts scene is revitalizing the city itself, attracting…