Meet Five of Charlotte’s Most Exciting AAPI Creatives
Charlotte photographer: Rico Marcelo
For AAPI Heritage Month 2021, we asked our readers and followers for nominations for Asian and Pacific Islander creatives doing notable work in the Queen City. To continue building this list of creative profiles, we did the same again earlier this month. We’re excited to shine a spotlight on the five artists below, adding to those local creatives we featured last year.
ONE: Rico Marcelo – Photographer (Above)
IG: @ricomarcelophotography
WEB: ricomarcelo.com
Rico Marcelo relocated here in January 2021 from Virginia Beach, Virginia and fell in love with Charlotte the very first time he visited. He says the Queen City checked all the boxes that he was looking for and he’s never looked back. READ MORE.
Ali Loncar-Bridges and Umayal Annamalai
TWO: Ali Loncar-Bridges – Calligrapher
IG: @ahloncar
WEB: etsy.com/shop/ahloncar
Ali Loncar-Bridges has been in Charlotte since 1999 when her parents moved from Buffalo, NY. In that time, she believes Charlotte’s art scene has changed from “very corporate to a push for street art and grassroots arts.” She has described her thoughts and emotions as a blender filled with confetti and has found art as a way to express herself in an easily digestible way. READ MORE.
THREE: Umayal Annamalai – Visual Artist
IG: @umayalart
WEB: umayal.art
Umuayal Annamalai grew up in India and has lived in Charlotte for 15 years. She said she’s proud to be a creative in Charlotte and is encouraged to see how active, diverse and creative the arts community in Charlotte has become. READ MORE.
Quynh Vu and OB Marz
FOUR: Quynh Vu – Visual Artist
IG: @qn.vu
WEB: quynh.art
Charlotte native Quynh Vu is a visual artist. Much of her work reflects the continuous process of attempting to understand her identity as a Vietnamese-American woman. READ MORE.
FIVE: OB Marz – Calligrapher
IG: @eastern_glory_
WEB: easternglorybymarz.com
OB Marz is a native Charlottean who focuses on modern and traditional aspects of Arabic calligraphy. READ MORE.
We will continue to feature AAPI creatives in May and in the coming months. If you have someone to suggest we profile, tell us here.
Touring cast of FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME – CREDIT: Joan Marcus
Help Craft the Magic at FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME
It’s all about the audience. They bring new words, new stories and new energy to the show every night. There are moments in every show where I think, “Dang, I’ve never heard that before.” – Andrew Bancroft, FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME
Musical mayhem and melodic machinations — made up on the spot. Magic. These are the main ingredients of a modern improv masterpiece, FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME (FLS), launching at the Knight Theater at Levine Center for the Arts on May 24 for an eight-performance run.
FLS blends improvisational vocals of the performers — from singing to rapping to beat-boxing with harmonies and freestyle flow. The show is co-created live every night with the audience contributing words, ideas and inspiration. No two shows are ever the same. So, to help the cast co-create the individual, one-night-only magic of FLS … you need to be in the room where it happens.
Okay. Okay. We know that’s a different musical, but Lin Manuel-Miranda was involved in both. Created before In the Heights and Hamilton, FLS was conceived by Anthony Veneziale and created by college friends Thomas Kail, Anthony Veneziale and Miranda.
To help us understand how FLS comes together every night, we caught up with touring cast member Andrew Bancroft. And, he dropped a few secrets about how the on-stage sorcery is spun.
This story was sponsored by Blumenthal Performing Arts. A portion of funds generated through it will fuel the HUG Micro-Grant Program.
Artist Kalin Renee – CREDIT: Brooke Brown
Seeking Creatives for Paid Pop-Ups
Charlotte Is Creative (publishers of The Biscuit) is in the process of assembling ideas for weekend and weekday pop-up creative events we’ll be organizing in the summer and early fall in the South End area and beyond.
We’re looking for local creatives who are interested in one-off engagements, both on-the-street for the public and inside companies for employees. We want to present a wide array of creative activities, including, but not limited to: live painting/drawing, live music, fiber art, shoe art, on-site photography, dance, digital art, floral art, woodworking/carving, spoken word performance and more.
Activities should be fun and instructive activities that show off your talents while entertaining small audiences and/or inviting them to learn a new skill quickly.
If you would like to be considered for this or a future opportunity, please fill out this interest form by June 1, 2022.
“Coffee With Creatives” Takes a Second Sip
OOPS! We did it again. On Wednesday, May 18, Charlotte Is Creative held the second gathering of “Coffee with Creatives,” a casual meet-up of 10-12 local creatives to talk about the creative community, cool projects they’re working on now and how we can help each other succeed. Each meeting is different. But, we always buy the first cup of coffee for our guests. This gathering was at Julia’s Cafe & Books on N. Wendover Rd.
MEET OUR NEW BEST FRIENDS
Here are the creatives who were part of this meet-up. (Left to Right): Mark Milazzo, Caroline Simas, Matthew Honeycutt, Joanne Rogers, Tanya Cauren, Tim Miner, Eric Pratt, Pam Singh, Emiliano Portino, Emily Nunez, Matt Olin, Glenn Urieta, Quion Redfern and Kristen Stewart. For an Instagram post linking to all creatives in attendance, click here.
INTERESTED IN TAKING PART NEXT TIME?
“Coffee With Creatives” is a Charlotte Is Creative Program. The next event is on June 15 at 10 a.m. If you’re interested in attending, here’s how it works:
- On June 8, we’ll post about the event at @CLTisCreative on Instagram
- If you can attend from 10 to 11 a.m. on June 15, put your name in the comments
- On June 9, we’ll put all the names we have in an online randomizer and pick 10 to 12 creatives to join us
- If you’re one of those selected, we’ll tell you where to meet us and we’ll pay for your cup
If you’re a coffee shop that would like to host us, please reach out. We don’t need free coffee. Just a dedicated space.
“The Spirit of Mecklenburg”
Happy Meck Dec Day! If you’re unfamiliar with the significance of May 20 in the Queen City, we suggest you check out the story of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence from the May 20th Society. And, once you know the story, enjoy this conspiracy video about the fate of the lost Meck Dec.
Better still, take a stroll on the Trail of History and enjoy “The Spirit of Mecklenburg,” a 12.5-foot-tall, 16-foot-long equestrian statue of Captain James Jack and his trusty steed by local sculptor, Chas Fagan. Installed in 2010, Fagan’s work awaits you on the edge of uptown Charlotte at the intersection of E. Fourth St. and N. Kings St. Learn more about it here.