5 Questions as Charlotte Considers a New Approach to Arts
There’s no denying this is an uncertain period for arts and arts funding in Charlotte. That uncertainty comes with questions.
Are we taking the time to push for them? Are we sure that we’re all sharing the same understanding of the words being used to describe the situation? For example, does “economic development” mean large arts institutions only, or does it embrace the incredibly vibrant and diverse community of small cultural organizations and individual gig creatives, too?
Last Sunday, Matt Olin, co-founder of Charlotte Is Creative, shared the five questions we think are most important to ask and answer right now with The Charlotte Observer.
- Are individual creatives – members of Charlotte’s gig economy – being valued and supported as small businesses vital to our economy?
- Are decisions being made with a firm commitment to equity throughout the creative sector?
- Can we develop an expanded vocabulary around the topic so that potential trigger-terms like “economic development” and “ROI” have context?
- How will the diverse creative community be involved in the evaluation of existing systems or the establishment of new ones?
- How do we strike a balance so that the maximum getable dollars can flow from the business community into the creative community?
Charlotte Is Creative publishes The Biscuit.
Photo Credit (Above): Wiley Stewart
Back to Business: Fishing for Information & Fixing Broken Bones
“As I was falling, I watched the top of the tree getting smaller. And, in that instant I knew I was in deep trouble. I said to myself, ‘I should be hitting the ground any time.’ Then I did.” — Chris Davis
Last year, Chris Davis took a fall. A nasty one.
He was doing yard work and decided to cut a troublesome limb out of a tree.
“I could not have done it more wrong if I tried,” said Davis. “I put a 24-foot extension ladder on a pecan tree. Took my chain saw up to 20 feet; I remember seeing four steps left. I cut the branch. It swung behind the tree where I was and took out my ladder.”
Hitting the ground and feeling the pain, Davis knew he’d taken a bad fall. He was worried about his body, but he was more concerned about falling away from the creative passion that gave him so much joy — hand-crafting customized fishing rods for family and friends.
The “Back to Business” series is sponsored by OrthoCarolina.
Photo Credit (Above): Ernesto Moreno
Your Kids Love Roblox. Two Charlotteans Are Partly Responsible.
If you’re raising kids right now, there’s a good chance they’re obsessed with the popular video game platform, Roblox. (Ours are.) And they’ve probably pleaded with you for Robux, their in-game currency. The company went public last week and surged to a valuation of more than $45 billion.
Part of its magic is Roblox Studio, where more than 7 million game developers have created their own games.
Above Image: Screenshot from “Coalesce” by GodOfDonuts
40+ Local Artists Bring LOCAL/STREET to Mint Museum Randolph
WHEN: March 26, 27 and 28. There is no admission fee.
WHERE: The Mint Museum at 2730 Randolph Rd., Charlotte, N.C. 28207
Artist Carla Aaron-Lopez, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) art teacher and co-founder of BLKMRKTCLT, has partnered with the Mint Museum of Art to curate LOCAL/STREET, a three-day pop-up exhibition of works for sale from more than 40 local artists of color and street artists. The work spans an array of media and price points.
“Artists living and thriving in Charlotte bring so much color and imagination to our city’s identity,” said Aaron-Lopez. “We must support local artists now before they seek opportunities in other cities across the United States.”
This installation was made possible with help from the Arts and Science Council and Charlotte Is Creative.
PRE-SALE SPECIAL! Tickets are a GOGH for Immersive Van Gogh
The world-renowned Immersive Van Gogh exhibition is making its Charlotte debut in Camp North End’s historic Ford Building on June 18 and will remain on-site through Sunday, Sept. 12. And, you can get pre-sale tickets starting today.
The massive digital art experience seen by millions of visitors in Paris and metropolitan areas of the U.S. is coming to the Queen City via a collaboration between Lighthouse Immersive, Blumenthal Performing Arts and Camp North End.
Created by Italian digital artist Massimiliano Siccardi, the exhibition uses 60,600 frames of video; 90,000,000 pixels; and more than 500,000 cubic feet of projections to fully immerse visitors into the world, life and art of Vincent van Gogh.
COVID safety is a big part of the plan. Capacity will be limited in accordance with Mecklenburg County’s safety protocols. Sanitizing stations and social distancing circles will be integrated into the design.
How to Gogh to the Show
Tickets officially go on sale Thursday, March 18 at 10 a.m. on VanGoghCLT.com or at Carolina Tix 704-372-1000.
Immersive Van Gogh is closed on Saturday, June 19.
Photo Credit (Above): Michael Brosilow
 (Right to Left) Josh Jacobson and Caylin Haldeman of Next Stage PODCAST: CreativeMornings Rewind with Josh Jacobson
The word “divergent” can easily be viewed in a negative light. It can be read as straying from the right path, following flights of fancy and going off in directions that may lead to dead ends. And, those are exactly the kinds of journeys Josh Jacobson, founder of Next Stage Consulting, likes to take.
After a successful career in nonprofit development in New York, Jacobson moved to Charlotte in 2008 and took a very different path, exploring how nonprofits could run like for-profit businesses … and how for-profit businesses could embrace the work of nonprofits.
After years of laying the framework in Charlotte, he’s ready to focus on where his divergent path will ultimately take him and the organizations and businesses who’ve embraced his ideas.
That’s what he shared at the February gathering of CreativeMornings/Charlotte. And, it’s what he and Tim Miner discuss on this batch of The Biscuit CLT Podcast.
I’m A Sandwich: SAV/WAY
When we asked you where to find Charlotte’s most savage sandwiches for our “I’m a Sandwich” series, LOTS of you directed us to the deli counter in the back of SAV/WAY (4459 Central Ave, Charlotte, NC 28205) where we were to order the breathtakingly huge Chorizo Torta.
Owner Rudy Montero makes his own chorizo and then tops it with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, jalapeno peppers, avocado and mayo.
Well, your dish is our command. See what Kriska Woods & Manny Carandang of @CLT.Remedy have to say about it … and, hear this torta speak for itself!
Artist Bree Stallings rarely slows down. In the past two months, the artist who led the way on the “We Are Hip Hop” mural at Camp North End has painted new murals in Gastonia and Hope Haven in Charlotte … and now at Time Out Youth, a nonprofit that serves LGBTQ youth from age 11 to 20.
With help from a Cultural Vision Grant from the Arts & Science Council and a $1,000 “Bear HUG” grant from Charlotte Is Creative, Stallings mobilized 20 local youth to paint a new mural on the side of Time Out Youth’s building on Monroe Road over the course of three days last week.
The mural is the culmination of Holding Space, a creative initiative focused on developing identity-based workshops. The stories and insights shared by workshop participants inspired the mural they created.
Directions: 3800 Monroe Road, Charlotte, NC 28205
Photo Credit (Above): Brooke Brown
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 featured:
- A special collaboration with The Charlotte Ledger, covering a new arts hub that is in development North of NoDa
- A drone flyover of the area from The 5 and 2 Project
Click here to dig in, y‘all.
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