Charlotte Creativity is in Full Bloom This June
We’re not exactly sure how it happened so fast, but June is here. And, while we’re completely amazed by how quickly it got here, we’re equally excited about what it’s bringing with it.
In this batch of The Biscuit, we’re looking at events and activities in June that have us excited. Get your calendar out. You don’t want to miss any of these.
LOCAL/STREET TAKES IT UPTOWN IN YEAR TWO
“After one year, the exhibition is beginning to take shape as a citywide representation of Charlotte’s artists and creatives. I’m excited to be housed in the Mint Museum again, and I can’t wait for the reactions to this year’s newbies to LOCAL/STREET.” – Carla Aaron-Lopez, Installation Curator
Last March, more than 1,000 visitors swarmed the Mint Museum on Randolph Road over the course of three days at the inaugural LOCAL/STREET installation. The weekend exhibition featured the work of more than 40 local BIPOC (Black and indigenous people of color) street artists, many of whom had never had their work displayed in a museum or gallery before.
THE SEQUEL IS ALWAYS BIGGER
This year, LOCAL/STREET is headed to the Mint Museum Uptown and will display new works from more than 60 local creatives. Once again, it is curated by Charlotte artist, Carla Aaron-Lopez, working with the Mint’s chief curator, Jennifer Edwards. It will open with a special reception the evening of June 16 and will remain on display through June 24.
This installation is a collaboration between Carla Aaron-Lopez and The Mint Museum, with support from N.C. Arts Council, Arts and Science Council and Charlotte Is Creative (publishers of The Biscuit). The exhibition opens at a special reception from 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, June 16. Tickets are limited. Get yours here.
PRO TIP: The June gathering of CreativeMornings/Charlotte – featuring a Q&A with legendary architect, David Furman — will take place at the Mint Uptown the next morning, June 17. Attendees will have access to the LOCAL/STREET exhibit. Tickets are free and drop right here at 9 a.m. on June 13.
JUNETEENTH CELEBRATIONS
DURAG FEST
What’s the Deal?
Artist Dammit Wesley and his team are back again to take over Camp North End with an immersive celebration of Black culture. This full-day event illuminates Black ingenuity, creativity, preservation and pride that includes art, vendors, food and drink, fashion, live music, DJs … and an open invitation to everyone to wear a durag. MORE INFO.
Why are we excited?
Charlotteans are always looking for signature events and initiatives on the national culture map. We want experiences that will draw the eye and allure visitors from other cities. Durag Fest is one. People come to Charlotte for this celebration every year, reveling in its simple, but powerful, mission: “To make Juneteenth the most celebrated holiday on Earth.”
Let’s also address the elephant in the room – if you’re white and wondering if you’re welcome, Durag Fest has a simple answer for you: “This is your one chance to wear a durag in public and not be a culture vulture.”
Photo Credit: Will Jenkins AKA Simplisticphobia
ANOTHER EVENT YOU’LL DIG:
Juneteenth Jam!
- WHERE: Victoria Yards on 7th Street
- WHEN: June 16-18
- ADMISSION: FREE
Juneteenth Jam! Is taking over the new Victoria Yards across from the Market at 7th Street with three days of live music, food trucks and Juneteenth celebrations. Bluz Rogers, Charlotte’s Slam Poet Champ and Blumenthal Performing Arts’ director for creative engagement, has designed this event for all ages. MORE INFO.
VISUAL ARTS
ArtPop Pop-Up at Red Salt by David Burke
- WHERE: 555 S McDowell St.
- WHEN: June 11 from 6 to 9 p.m.
- ADMISSION: FREE
What’s the Deal?
Local art paired with amazing food and drink? You can’t beat that. This evening will feature works for sale from five members of ArtPop’s class of 2022 – Edelweiss Vogel, Veda Saravanan, Eva Crawford, Melissa Crosson (work pictured above) and Celia Kulp. Plus, you can enjoy beautiful views of the city and hors d’oeuvres and drink specials from Red Salt by David Burke in Le Meridien Charlotte. MORE INFO.
Why are we excited?
ArtPop founder Wendy Hickey has been on the vanguard of promoting local art in Charlotte for years. It’s not enough for her to promote local art. She worries about getting local artists paid. She worries about the people behind the work. And, we’re always excited about that.
Photo Credit: Melissa Crosson
ANOTHER EVENT YOU’LL DIG:
Art on a Sunday at Nine Eighteen Nine
- WHERE: 700 N. Tryon St.
- WHEN: June 12 from 1 to 4 p.m.
Every second Sunday, Nine Eighteen Nine in the VAPA Center invites guests to join them for live painting, live performances, art on display, food and drink. This Sunday features a $50, three-course brunch from Chef Prettnis Kitch. MORE INFO.
FIBER ARTS
Waxhaw Yarn Bomb at Tangles Knitting on Main
- WHERE: 200 W North Main St., Waxhaw, N.C.
- WHEN: Installed now through the fall.
What’s the Deal?
Every year, fiber artists from across the Charlotte area create a new yarn bomb that adorns the alley outside the Tangles on Main yarn shop in downtown Waxhaw. This year, it’s a collection of imaginative and fanciful hot air balloons. Photos of the #WaxhawYarnBomb past and present.
Why are we excited?
Over the last few years, we’ve fallen deeply in love with fiber art. But, while we are obsessed with the artistry in the work, it’s the collaborative spirit of individual artists working together toward a common goal that has us hooked. This installation will stay up as long as it can, but it’s fresh and new now. Get out there.
Photo Credit: Natalia Pleshko
FILM & DIGITAL ART
Cine Casual Film Series
What’s the Deal?
This multi-week showcase of Latino cinema started in May and extends into June. Cine Casual is screening films this Saturday, June 4 at Camp North End and June 11 at Little Rock Cultural Center. It culminates in a two-day screening of the films Perfume de Gardenias (June 17) and Medusa (June 18) at the newly minted Independent Picture House, which shares a facility with the Charlotte Art League in NoNoDa (Oops … we did it again).
Why are we excited?
Starting a creative event is difficult enough. Sustaining it is even harder. The Cine Casual team established their film series in 2020 … not the easiest of years to get going. Since then, it’s become a powerful staple of the Charlotte film scene, screening films that may have skipped the Queen City entirely without their efforts.
ANOTHER EVENT YOU’LL DIG:
Charlotte Black Film Festival
This year’s festival will screen 100 films complemented by workshops, a fashion showcase, pitch sessions, networking, panel discussions and more. MORE INFO.
LIVE MUSIC
Zoe & Cloyd at Anne Springs Close Greenway
What’s the Deal?
This outdoor concert welcomes a musical duo from the Appalachian Mountains down to the Piedmont — fiddler and vocalist Natalya Zoe Weinstein and multi-instrumentalist and vocalist John Cloyd Miller. This evening under the stars will be filled with soaring harmonies kissed by bluegrass, klezmer and folk musical traditions.
Why are we excited?
The Charlotte Folk Society has been at the heart of the Charlotte musical community since the early ‘80s, fostering local talent and ensuring that North Carolina’s folk music traditions find new audiences. They’re OG, and we love them. Combine that with an opportunity to cross the border and enjoy music on the Greenway? Magic.
Photo Credit: Zoe & Cloyd
ANOTHER EVENT YOU’LL DIG:
Tatiana Eva-Marie Sings Django’s Caravan
Jazz Arts Charlotte has secured Brooklyn-based French jazz vocalist, Tatiana Eva-Marie, for an intimate musical journey back to early 20th-century Paris.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Congratulations to Lonnie Davis of Jazz Arts Charlotte for the City Builder Award at the 2022 Vision Awards.
PERFORMING ARTS – SUGGESTIONS WANTED!
We are working on a special batch of The Biscuit focused on theater and the performing arts later in June. If you have an event or an initiative you think we should consider, please share information about it here by June 10.
MyLoan Dinh
If you’ve attended CreativeMornings/Charlotte or read about her amazing home in The Biscuit, you know we’ve been watching multi-disciplinary creative MyLoan Dinh for some time.
This weekend, you can watch her yourself – in real life.
Dinh opened a new exhibition — Mixed Blessings — at the Elder Gallery on April 28. It’s on display through June 18 and features paintings, sculptures and interactive rooms/installations. The original work draws inspiration from Dinh’s personal experiences escaping Vietnam as a child, living in refugee camps and, ultimately, immigrating to North Carolina. MORE HERE.
At the opening reception, Dinh – one of the founders of Moving Poets – shared a solo performance of Longing for harmonies (part I), created to complement the exhibition. She’s performing it one more time at Elder Gallery this Saturday, June 4 at 11 a.m.
After the performance, Dinh will discuss her work with Jonell Logan of McColl Center. Attendance to the performance and the talk is free with online reservation.
Why are we exited?
Dinh has been a driving force in the Charlotte creative community. Saturday is a chance to see all elements of her creative prowess. To help add greater depth of understanding to the exhibitions, Dinh likes to create thematic connections through various mediums.This is a unique opportunity to dive into an artistic experience in every way possible.
PHOTO CREDIT: Jeff Cravotta
Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month may be over, but our interest in AAPI creatives at work in Charlotte sure isn’t. Here are five more who fascinate us. We encourage you to follow them all year long. We will be.
CREATIVE PROFILE: SHAMILA VARNER
Shamila Varner is a concrete artisan and creative entrepreneur. Her parents are from Trinidad. She moved to Charlotte with them from New York in the 1990s.
In 2018, she started Queen City Crete, a family-owned and operated concrete decor store. They offer candles and beautiful vessels made of concrete. Varner says that her concrete creations satisfy her urges to create something artistic and renewable. Through her work, she wants to show the world that concrete can be beautiful and sustainable.
Learn more about Varner and four more creatives – Alicia Martin (Plant Therapist), Tim Nhu (Jewelry Designer), Bryan Li (Restaurateur & Improv Comedian) and Jeanna Uscier (Dessert Expert) – by clicking the link below.
New Murals At West Mecklenburg High
Last month, five local students at West Mecklenburg High School rounded out their year helping to paint new murals on campus. They worked with nine creatives from the local artist collective, Namaste Artists. Together they designed and painted five murals, with Namaste Artists contributing another two in a high-traffic hallway.
“Working with the students of West Mecklenburg High School was such a fantastic experience,” said Shefalee Patel, one of the nine adult artists who worked on the project. “Sharing the Indian culture and collaborating with innovative, young minds is what Namaste Artists CLT strives to do for the community. We are in awe of the inspiration and creativity each student brought to the vision.”
Patel noted that Namaste Artists hopes to develop more art projects at local schools in the future. To see more photos of this project and learn about the collective, visit @NamasteArtistsCLT.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Charlotte Is Creative provided a micro-grant to Namaste Artists for the creation of this mural.
PHOTO CREDIT: West Mecklenburg Advistory Board
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