Matt Hooker’s Newest Mural is Packed with Meaning Inside Meaning
Opening a new business in the midst of COVID-19 hasn’t been easy, but Catherine Devericks, owner of The Culture Shop at the corner of Kennon St. and Hawthorne Ave., has found a way to make it a little brighter by teaming up with mural artist, Matt Hooker. While 2020 has been a “year of hurdles” according to Catherine, the new mural has been a bright spot.
“I’m very happy with it! I think it’s fun during a fairly dark time, but then again, there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye,” she said.
Hooker’s newest mural is based on Russian matryoshka dolls and packed with meaning about important women in history.
Glenda Bernhardt Cares About the Long-Term Success of Children
by Josh Jacobson
“There is a Charlotte that you do not know exists … but, I have also experienced things that would make your heart swell like you wouldn’t believe.” – Glenda Bernhardt, Freedom School Partners
Starting a new business during COVID-19 isn’t easy (see the story above). Neither is starting a new job.
Glenda Bernhardt is the new Chief Executive Officer for Freedom School Partners, a Charlotte-based nonprofit organization that promotes the long-term success of children by preventing summer learning loss through igniting a passion for reading and inspiring a love of learning. While social distancing helps fight COVID, it certainly didn’t diminish the need in the communities Freedom School serves. In fact, the pandemic made their work even more important. So, they got creative, guided by three Jewish principles — Tzedek, Tikkun Olam and Gemilut Chasdaim.
Dr. Keith Cradle and 6 Other Queen City Creatives Honored
At the August online gathering of CreativeMornings/Charlotte, Dr. Keith Cradle, Director of Youth and Juvenile Services for the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office, was awarded a Bolt of Inspiration by The Savage Way and OrthoCarolina for his commitment to Charlotte’s youth. He also received a HUG Micro-Grant for his “Crafted by Cradle,” podcast.
Six other Charlotteans were selected to receive a $250 HUG grant, strings-free donations they can use to initiate or augment a creative project or initiative in the Queen City.
See who got HUGged this month and apply for your own HUG here.
30 Days. 30 Sketches. One Corrie Liotta.
It can be difficult to get the creative juices flowing, especially when we are entering month 5 of staying at home. But, if you ask any artist/musician/creative what the key to success is, they’ll probably say… Create. Every. Day.
Corrie Liotta knows a little something about that. She committed herself to complete a 30-day drawing challenge. Each day offered a new prompt to get the creative ball rolling with one-to-two-word drawing prompts as a starting point. That was enough to set Corrie’s imagination on fire … and she took her Instagram followers along for the ride.
“A generous friend who came and welcomed a young couple from afar into her community …”
Each of us is the product of our experiences in life — and the people with whom we cross paths in that life. We’re shaped and built by those who extend us their time, insights, care, experiences and connections. Siu Challons-Lipton, D.Phil., Executive Director of the Department of Art, Design and Music at Queens University, was shaped, in part, by Charlotte philanthropist Sarah Belk Gambrell, who passed away earlier this summer.
In the latest installment of our “Who Built Me” series, Dr. Challons-Lipton shares a 3-minute story about how Gambrell made her feel at home and valued in Charlotte. It’s a beautiful tribute to a woman whose legacy lives on in the Sarah Belk Gambrell Center for Arts and Civic Engagement at Queens.
The “Who Built Me” series is sponsored by Foundation for the Carolinas.
Order Brews for Yourself — Your Dog — at Skiptown
Skiptown, a new 24,000 square foot pet care facility, social park and bar for dogs and their humans at 222 Rampart Street in South End, opens Monday, August 24. With areas for big dogs, small dogs and a 15,000-square-foot free play area in the back, Skiptown also offers 24 local craft beers and ciders on tap … and a special bone broth brew for dogs concocted with Calvin’s Craft Cookies.
To establish Skiptown, founder Meggie Williams collaborated with other Charlotte creatives like Calvin’s and Babe & Butcher, who have designed “bark-cueterie” picnic packs. Artist Sydney Duarte will soon paint the first of several planned interior murals. Williams hopes to have all interior walls covered with local art within the next six months. She sees the facility as an example of what can happen when creatives and innovators work together.
She said, “This is a ‘yes’ city. If you come up with a crazy idea, someone will listen to you. Someone will say, ‘I’ll hear you out’ … and they’ll give you ideas, too.” Read (and see) more about our visit to Skiptown on our Instgram feed.
Creative news moves pretty fast in Charlotte. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you might just miss it.
Our media pals at The Charlotte Ledger have partnered with The 5 and 2 Project to launch (pun intended) “Flyover Friday,” video tours of cool Charlotte locales taken by drone. First up is Camp North End.
The Charlotte Art League has issued a call for artists to participate in a September exhibit they hope will be “a catalyst for a non-violent Charlotte.” Submissions are due 9/3/2020.
Art Pop Street Art Charlotte celebrated several things this week: its 5th anniversary, the announcement of full funding for 2021 and the call for its 8th class of artists on 9/20.
All are invited to a virtual tour of HUG grantee Airing Out the “Dirty” Laundry’s Mint Museum installation from noon to 1PM on 8/22.
Speaking of Art Pop Street Art, their Windows of Hope project in South End, sponsored by Charlotte Center City Partners and Lowe’s, has installed more than 10 new works in windows on South Tryon Street and the Hub at Hakwins and Dunavant Streets.
CrownKeepers is asking for donations of paint, brushes, canvases, spray paint and markers for their next #wearetheworld art bag to give supplies to creatives in need in neighborhoods across Charlotte. All donations are welcome.
Undaunted by COVID-19. Make a Mark Charlotte, an annual event that pairs volunteer creatives with nonprofits in need of their help for a one-day design sprint, has opened applications for both nonprofits (due 8/31) and creatives who want to help (due 9/7).
Scott Wishart of Lunchbox Records and Jazz Arts president and CEO, Lonnie Davis, are set to be next Tuesday’s and Thursday’s guests on WFAE’s Songversations with Joni Deutsch.
Blumenthal Performing Arts announced the creation of a (socially distanced) Teen Actor’s Lab at Spirit Square for students in grades 6-12, featuring virtual instruction and theater-centric activities during breaks. More on this coming in The Biscuit.
 Doughnut mural by Gina Elizabeth Franco. Click to enlarge. 2020 has not been a kind year. COVID-19. Earthquakes. Fire tornados. Zombie cicadas. Sandstorms. But, a little sweetness crept into Charlotte this week with the announcement of three little words: DOUGHNUT VENDING MACHINE. (Yes. You read that right.)
On August 25, Krispy Kreme is opening a new store on the side of its Global Project & Innovation Center on Hawkins Street in South End. It will feature a first-of-its-kind vending machine serving doughnut 3-packs 24 hours a day, as well as hand-spun milkshakes served with a mini glazed doughnut and “scoop sandwiches,” doughnut-infused ice cream sandwiched between a sliced doughnut. Options include Triple Chocolate, Cookies & Kreme, Chocolatey Caramel Coconut and Vanilla Fruity Crunch. Hello! Read more about it.
Dropping by to check it out was nice, but it gave us the opportunity to pop back and take a more detailed look at Gina Elizabeth Franco’s mural on the back of the building. The work depicts 72 delightful doughnuts. Many of them have fun sayings and symbols. Which is your favorite? Zoom in by clicking on the image above, check them out and tell us here.
Directions: 2116 Hawkins Street (Back of the Building)
Don’t go ’round hungry. If you missed the last batch of The Biscuit, don’t worry. We’ve kept it warm for you. This batch features stories about:
- 5 more street murals commissioned by the City of Charlotte
- A “Who Built Me” podcast with urban designer Rachel Stark
- Tiny home advocate Jewel Pearson
- A review of YUNG Citizen‘s newest album by Jalil Pack
- The history of Charlotte’s Four Wards as told by Tom Hanchett
- The wandering camera of photographer Matt Henesy
- Artists yarn-bombing Plaza-Midwood
Click here to dig in, y‘all.
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