Charlotte International Arts Festival

Table Of Content

• Levine Avenue
• North Carolina launches program to provide fans and air conditioners to vulnerable adults
• Charlotte International Arts Festival announces 2023 lineup
• What to see and do at the 2023 Charlotte International Arts Festival
• ourBridge 11th Annual Fall Festival
• Charlotte info & events delivered to your inbox.
• What to expect at Lovin’ Life Music Fest this weekend

In its second year, CIAF features dozens of local, national and international artists, musicians and performers, along with food from across the globe, at more than 200 attractions (many free) across multiple sites in uptown and Ballantyne from Sept. 15 through Oct. 1. Fun for everyone, from families to individuals, we invite you to participate in imaginative arts’ experiences throughout our city over the course of 17 days. We invite you to stay awhile, play, and welcome curiosity, as we begin to see our city through new eyes. CHARLOTTE — Blumenthal Performing Arts is set to bring its annual celebration of visual and performing arts to venues across Charlotte from Sept. 15 – Oct. 1. This year, the festival is also partnering with Festival of India for an event at Belk Theater on Sept. 23 with Indian dance, food, art and music, as well as the Latin American Festival for an “interactive village” with a marketplace, performances, food and music the same day at Ballantyne’s Backyard.

Levine Avenue

The Wells Fargo Stage will host free cultural events and concerts across musical genres, from Brazilian jazz to flamenco, R&B, hip hop, a cappella—and even MJ-themed lip sync battles. CIAF will have the honor of presenting the first major public performances at Ballantyne’s new outdoor venue, The Amp. The Concert on September 16, a powerful celebration of the eclectic energy of Nigerian superstar Fela Kuti, one of the world’s most celebrated music legends and the founding father of Afrobeat. September 29, Novant Health presents Disney Pixar’s Coco Live-to-Film Concert, featuring a screening of the complete film with Oscar and Grammy-winning composer Michael Giacchino’s musical score performed by Mexico’s 20-member Orquesta Folclórica Nacional de México. Fitness classes, presented by Brighthouse Financial, will take place on Saturdays and Sundays in various locations in Ballantyne’s Backyard and Levine Avenue of the Arts, against backdrops of inspiring CIAF art installations to spark thought and foster meditation.

North Carolina launches program to provide fans and air conditioners to vulnerable adults

Man will set up camp in Ballantyne’s Backyard; he is free and open to the public throughout the duration of the festival, September 16–October 2. For more information, visit charlotteartsfest.com.New Sponsorship Opportunities are Now Available! Contact the Development Department to learn more about how to get your organization involved with the 2nd Annual Charlotte International Arts Festival, celebrating the international arts community from around the world and those here in Charlotte. Members of Charlotte’s international cultural groups will be invited to represent their communities with a table at the CIAF International Bazaar on September 30th in Founder’s Hall. Reps can sell products or share information, all with the aim to spotlight the organizations, artisans, and craftspeople in Charlotte’s multicultural communities. The 23,000-square-foot food hall, the largest of the amenities, is a flexible hub—an environment for dining, collaboration or focused work, and recreation.

Charlotte International Arts Festival announces 2023 lineup

Keep an eye on Blumenthal’s website and social media for location and details. Ballantyne’s Backyard features over 100 acres of lush green space with miles of running and walking trails, rolling hills and catch-and-release ponds the whole family can enjoy. The community park offers unparalleled open space and is accessible to everyone. With it being the festival’s inaugural year, Blumenthal and BooneOakely are leaning in to the notion that people don’t know what CIAF is—yet.

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]

This festival will take place September 13 to 29, 2024, in locations in Uptown Charlotte and Ballantyne. The mini-festival-within-a-festival kicks off CIAF with a celebration of Charlotte’s hip hop culture and artists with performances, DJ and B-Boy battles, a block party, and more. Big, bold images from festival events are paired with bright colors and statement artwork as a backdrop for language that plays with the festival’s acronym, CIAF. For example, an image of Lotty by artist collective Moradavaga, a largescale interactive sculpture of a squid, is paired with the line “Calamari is Attacking Festival.” The campaign sparks its audience to do a double-take, then interpret for themselves.

ourBridge 11th Annual Fall Festival

Jain was feverishly creating dozens of birdhouses, some two stories tall, painted with geometric mandala patterns. Jain’s creative outlet is featured in a special art installation, “Birdhouse Forest,” at this month’s Charlotte International Arts Festival (CIAF). Artist and Charlotte native David Butler, known by the moniker DavehasWingz, documents the city and its people with limited edition Polaroids.

The new energized and inclusive fitness center, focused on multiple approaches to fitness from personal training, individual workouts, specialized classes, weight rooms, and a water massage chair, confirm TIAA’s commitment to employee wellbeing. A live moss wall and custom reception desk of timber sourced directly from TIAA’s campus. Smart-technology lockers, large changing rooms, walk-in showers, and intuitive wayfinding complemented by graphics and invigorating lighting heighten the experience. To encourage employees to experience time outdoors, the campus also provides walking trails, mini golf, bocce ball, pickle ball, and basketball courts. With the company’s stated commitment to the environment in mind, TIAA protected the natural wetlands providing a welcoming wellness moment. And while it wasn’t her own house the Ballantyne resident and multidisciplinary artist was constructing, her focus and commitment to the project was nonetheless all-consuming.

Programming will expand to Founders Hall, including the return of Gaia, UK artist Luke Jerram’s 23-foot, suspended, three-dimensional, illuminated sculpture of the earth that will run September 15–October 1, and a locally produced Argentinian Tango Milonga international dance party on October 1. Now in its 25th year, the annual Festival of India will take over the Belk Theater on September 23 for a dazzling display of Indian dance, music, art, food, and more, with a mission to foster appreciation of the cultural diversity of India and facilitate understanding that promotes communal harmony. —events, tickets, performance times, and more information, visit charlotteartsfest.com. From Australian artist Amanda Parer and the studio that brought us the “big bunnies” invasion of Uptown comes Man, a large-scale, contemporized version of Rodin’s “Thinker.” Man holds his head in search of answers and invites visitors to do the same.

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CIAF is proud to partner this year with two Charlotte community cultural fixtures, the Festival of India and the Latin American Festival. Originally commissioned for Dollywood’s Flower & Food Festival, the performance is inspired by the beautiful flowers of the Smoky Mountains in a celebration of the natural world. Performances will pop up September 16–18; September 22–25; and September 29–October 2.

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.

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.

Also available is a smaller marketplace is a convenient grab-and-go snack bar. “As the city [Leon Levine] called home continues to grow, TLLF is dedicated to its development as a world-class cultural destination. We’re proud to support [BPA] as they bring the arts to unreached and underserved audiences through the Charlotte International Arts Festival,” says Tom Lawrence, the foundation’s president and CEO.

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.