Table Of Content
- New Charlotte International Arts Festival Kicks off Fall Arts Season
- Lowcountry Culture Festival
- North Carolina launches program to provide fans and air conditioners to vulnerable adults
- Charlotte Brunch Festival
- Bites on Seventh event to celebrate Black-owned food businesses
- Going global: CIAF returns with fresh creativity

In addition to these featured acts, CIAF will include installations by the 13 remaining artists from Blumenthal’s Fellows Class of 2021. Create playful large-scale photographs which they tape on outdoor objects to make passersby smile. The installation will be perched atop the Knight Theater throughout the run of the festival. Part surprise, part treasure hunt, 100 TINY THINGS are playful, curious, and delightfully disruptive installations that act as creative urban repair, a way to manipulate the mundane and to interpret serious architecture with a personified flair.
17-day Charlotte International Arts Festival offers 170 free events - WSOC Charlotte
17-day Charlotte International Arts Festival offers 170 free events.
Posted: Tue, 19 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
New Charlotte International Arts Festival Kicks off Fall Arts Season
Check out 'GAIA' which is made from actual NASA imagery, sponsored by CIAF - WCNC.com
Check out 'GAIA' which is made from actual NASA imagery, sponsored by CIAF.
Posted: Tue, 26 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Applications are now open for four other programs that will showcase local talent across genres in various locations from Uptown to South Charlotte throughout the duration of the festival. More information and application links can be found at charlotteartsfest.com/get-involved-2023. Along with Man, the Luminarium installation will be located at Ballantyne’s Backyard, a former golf course turned green space located at N. Community House Road that, for the 17-day duration of CIAF, will be home to a number of visual and immersive art installations by international and local artists.
Lowcountry Culture Festival
Mentalgassi creates large-scale photographs, which they tape on outdoor objects. The photographs are comprised of people’s faces that take on an unexpected form. German street-artist trio Mentalgassi combines photography, sculpture, image manipulation, and street art for audiences to enjoy for free. Their artwork has been seen in many cities around the world, including London, Berlin, Brazil and Finland. From the Guggenheim in Spain to the Sydney Opera House in Australia, Luminarium – Architects of Air by Alan Parkison is described as an immersive walk-through experience of light, color and sound.
North Carolina launches program to provide fans and air conditioners to vulnerable adults
(August 26, 2022) Charlotte, NC – Charlotte is less than a month out from the launch of the first ever Charlotte International Arts Festival—or CIAF—the ambitious display of arts and culture that will take over the Queen City for 17 days of discovery, play, and creativity September 16–October 2. Earlier this year, the Leon Levine Foundation pledged $100,000 to support CIAF. This newest pledge marks the foundation’s largest gift to the nonprofit performing arts organization to date. Several of last year’s most popular attractions will return, including a large-scale installation by Moradavaga, a collaborative of Italian and Portuguese architects. They’ll feature Lotty, a giant interactive squid sculpture complete with acoustic properties. Birdmen, the large-scale animated puppets, also returns with new surprises for children and those young at heart.
Other special events
Visitors will get to see a giant sea squid, circus performers, big inflatable pillow people, giant airheads (not the candy), and interact with larger-than-life bird puppets, which proved a hit during the festival's launch in 2022. For the full festival lineup, keep an eye on charlotteartsfest.com and @cltartsfest for the most up-to-date information. Each selected artist will receive a 60-minute time slot for performing outdoors in either Uptown Charlotte or Ballantyne. Each selected artist or group will receive a stipend of $1,000 for a full-length performance or $250 for a pop-up performance. Wilson’s exhibit Heart and Sole CLT preserves the city’s soul and history and combines it with the present by using the Air Jordan 1 High OG — the iconic shoe of one of the city’s most famous residents, Michael Jordan — as the canvas. The exhibit will be on display at The Brooklyn Collective throughout the festival’s run.
Charlotte Brunch Festival
The festival lineup has been announced with the launch of a new website at charlotteartsfest.com. The festival's host, Blumenthal Performing Arts, says this year's festival has more than 200 events including art pieces, live performances and food in uptown Charlotte and Ballantyne that "bring together Charlotte's local and international communities with global artists in a cultural celebration." The Charlotte International Arts Festival is an annual celebration of imaginative visual and performing arts from the most creative international and local minds. Fun for everyone, from families to individuals, we invite you to stay awhile, play, and welcome curiosity, as we begin to see our city through new eyes.
Bites on Seventh event to celebrate Black-owned food businesses
C.I.A.F. expands the artistic identity of Charlotte and surrounding areas by transforming Uptown and Ballantyne into centers of imagination that celebrate a spirit of playfulness by bringing together artists from around the globe and around the corner through both visual and performing arts. The lush, rolling hills of Ballantyne's Backyard have been transformed into an artsy wonderland with larger-than-life, and tiny, squint-to-see art installations that visitors can check out over the next two weeks. All international and community-focused organizations, artisans, and craftspeople are invited to apply for a table to sell products or share information about their organizations or cultural communities. Applications may be submitted at charlotteartsfest.com/get-involved/international-bazaar-application.
Charlotte International Arts Festival 2023
An ambitious undertaking by Blumenthal Performing Arts, the festival was a huge step forward for the city and the region, where an arts festival to this scale and accessibility has never been realized before. Thanks to an overwhelmingly positive response, Blumenthal is excited to announce that CIAF will return September 15–October 1, 2023. Festivalgoers can also expect group fitness classes and meditation opportunities in two locations — Ballantyne’s Backyard and Levine Avenue of the Arts — on Saturdays and Sundays amid CIAF art installations. On select days, visitors to uptown can also participate in a swing dance, a giant game of musical chairs outside the Mint Museum, a silent disco, and yoga and fitness classes.
Going global: CIAF returns with fresh creativity
There were performances of all kinds, and large-scale interactive art installations. In addition to these exciting ways the local community can get involved in CIAF, Blumenthal is thrilled to announce that the 2023 class of Blumenthal Fellows has been selected. For the second year, nine artists participating in the program will present visual art installations alongside the national and international acts and projects that are brought to town during CIAF for the thousands of festival attendees who come to enjoy public events. (June 5, 2023) Charlotte, NC – The second annual Charlotte International Arts Festival (CIAF), a Blumenthal Performing Arts Original, will return to Charlotte September 15–October 1, 2023. The festival, which brings spectacular international arts and entertainment from all over the world, is also a celebration of the rich international cultures and local arts that are thriving in Charlotte.
Think of it like an arts buffet, with regular dishes served daily, plus chef specials and extra add-ons that can vary by the day. Most of the festival's offerings are free, with some shows and events requiring tickets. Instead of packing the festival into a single weekend or location, the event is spread out across time and space, with artsy offerings in multiple locations over 17 days from Sept. 15 - Oct. 1.
"I want to thank President Marcus Thompson and Vice President and Athletics Director Ashley Robinson for giving me this amazing opportunity to serve as the head women's basketball coach at Jackson State University," Richards said. We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here. “I’m creating a whimsical and colorful kind of magical spot,” Jain says of her colorfully painted birdhouses, collectively arranged in the style of a mandala. “I want people to connect with their inner child in experiencing this artwork. Mandala art is spiritual and symbolic and embodies relaxation and concentration.” Jain, whose works have been featured in Charlotte’s Festival of India and the 100 Tiny Things Project, originally hails from the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Her hand-painted shoes have paid homage to history, social justice movements and breast cancer awareness, among other things.
Boris “Bluz” Rogers, director of creative engagement at Blumenthal Performing Arts, is excited about so many things that the competition brings to Charlotte. Two popular festivals — Festival of India and the Latin American Festival — will be part of CIAF. The events will be in various locations in Uptown Charlotte and Ballantyne. Guests can also make crafts, climb a rock wall, skate in an outdoor roller rink, dance along a glowing, light-up path reminiscent of a board game like Candyland, and encounter 100 tiny, smile-provoking art pieces on a nature trail.
This year’s featured acts include Architects of Air, out of Nottingham, UK, an immersive walk-through experience that invites visitors to a world apart from the normal and everyday through labyrinthian tunnels and cavernous domes of saturated color accompanied by a gentle sensory soundscape. The exhibit plays through the entirety of the festival, September 16–October 2 in Ballantyne’s Backyard. When Blumenthal was shut down in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it received a Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) from the federal government. Much of that funding went toward the launch of the festival, with the aim of getting people back to work. With SVOG, Blumenthal was able to put more than half a million dollars toward the creative talent behind the festival, from projection artists to theatrical storytellers, dancers, technicians, and more.
CIAF will also include installations by over a dozen artists from Blumenthal’s Fellows Class of 2021, and hundreds of other performances and showcases big and small over the two weeks it’s here. For the third year, Blumenthal Arts is seeking a new class of Fellows who will represent the best in festival projects that Charlotte artists have to offer. This work will be presented alongside the national and international acts and projects that are brought in during CIAF to be visited by thousands of festival attendees. Some of the events are ticketed shows at Blumenthal Performing Arts venues, and some are indoor or outdoor installations or performances that you can enjoy for free. Many more cultural events, artists highlights, showcases and other creative happenings are set during the festival. The International Bazaar, a collection of 75 local merchants, vendors and nonprofit organizations, is set for the last weekend of the festival, Sept. 29 – 30.