Table Of Content
- New Charlotte International Arts Festival Kicks off Fall Arts Season
- Charlotte International Arts Festival 2023
- Blumenthal's Charlotte International Arts Festival Completes Inaugural Run - Announces 2023 Dates
- Lowcountry Culture Festival
- Reunion Concert Celebrates Musical Legacy of Doubting Thomas
- Other special events
This year’s featured acts include Architects of Air, out of Nottingham, UK, an immersive walk-through experience that invites visitors to a world apart from the normal and everyday through labyrinthian tunnels and cavernous domes of saturated color accompanied by a gentle sensory soundscape. The exhibit plays through the entirety of the festival, September 16–October 2 in Ballantyne’s Backyard. When Blumenthal was shut down in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it received a Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) from the federal government. Much of that funding went toward the launch of the festival, with the aim of getting people back to work. With SVOG, Blumenthal was able to put more than half a million dollars toward the creative talent behind the festival, from projection artists to theatrical storytellers, dancers, technicians, and more.
New Charlotte International Arts Festival Kicks off Fall Arts Season
Charlotte International Arts Festival's biggest events wcnc.com - WCNC.com
Charlotte International Arts Festival's biggest events wcnc.com.
Posted: Fri, 15 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
(August 26, 2022) Charlotte, NC – Charlotte is less than a month out from the launch of the first ever Charlotte International Arts Festival—or CIAF—the ambitious display of arts and culture that will take over the Queen City for 17 days of discovery, play, and creativity September 16–October 2. Earlier this year, the Leon Levine Foundation pledged $100,000 to support CIAF. This newest pledge marks the foundation’s largest gift to the nonprofit performing arts organization to date. Several of last year’s most popular attractions will return, including a large-scale installation by Moradavaga, a collaborative of Italian and Portuguese architects. They’ll feature Lotty, a giant interactive squid sculpture complete with acoustic properties. Birdmen, the large-scale animated puppets, also returns with new surprises for children and those young at heart.
Charlotte International Arts Festival 2023
Birdmen at CIAF a definite "must see" - WCNC.com
Birdmen at CIAF a definite "must see".
Posted: Wed, 21 Sep 2022 07:00:00 GMT [source]
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.
Blumenthal's Charlotte International Arts Festival Completes Inaugural Run - Announces 2023 Dates
The Charlotte International Arts Festival (CIAF), a Blumenthal Arts Original, uniquely brings together Charlotte's local and international communities with global artists in a cultural celebration filled with live performances, art installations, food from around the world and more. The more-than-two-weeks-long festival highlights local and international artists and brings them to Uptown Charlotte as well as Ballantyne for live performances, cultural expressions, art installations and food showcases. Locations from Uptown to Ballantyne will transform into a sensory playground for all ages with exceptional artists and entertainment from more than 10 countries, as well as a showcase of local international cultures and traditions. With many events free and open to the public, ticketed events and performances will range from $5 and up.
What to expect at Lovin’ Life Music Fest this weekend

Brought us the bunnies; CIAF brings a giant squid in the form of Kraken, whose look was inspired by late 13th-century descriptions of a legendary sea creature that most likely influenced the best-known writings of Herman Melville and Jules Verne. The free immersive, interactive art installation inspires play from visitors of all ages. The final weekend of CIAF, hurricane weather hit Charlotte; Blumenthal’s staff worked quickly to reschedule performances and pivot outdoor events inside at SouthPark Mall. Visitors enjoyed free events BEES, a family-friendly interactive piece by Australia’s Polyglot Theatre, and SWAY’s Bloom! Blumenthal is thrilled to bring more playful, creative, innovative programming to CIAF in 2023.
(August 7, 2023) Charlotte, NC – Blumenthal Performing Arts announced the lineup for the 2023 Charlotte International Arts Festival (CIAF), a Blumenthal Performing Arts Original, returning to Uptown Charlotte and Ballantyne September 15–October 1. The annual festival uniquely brings together Charlotte's local and international communities with global artists in a cultural celebration filled with live performances, art installations, food from around the world, and more. A spree of creativity, innovation, and art, CIAF offers something for every taste, culture, expression, and budget, with more than 200 events across multiple genres, the majority which are free and open to the public, with ticketed events starting at $5. The Charlotte International Arts Festival (CIAF), a Blumenthal Arts Original, uniquely brings together Charlotte's local and international communities with global artists in a cultural celebration filled with live performances, art installations, food from around the world, and more.
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.
He will be snapping and distributing pictures to visitors at Ballantyne’s Backyard during the festival. The 2023 Charlotte International Arts Festival (CIAF) will feature more than 200 events across multiple genres with most being free and open to the public and ticketed events starting at $5. Events will be held in different venues in Uptown and Ballantyne’s Backyard. Visitors to uptown Charlotte will get to walk beneath a ceiling of iridescent bubbles on Levine Avenue, where they can also play chess with friends or strangers, and sip beer in an outdoor biergarten — open at 3 p.m.
In addition to location accessibility, CIAF’s programming was largely free and open to the public, with ticketed events starting at $5, making the arts accessible to all facets of the community, many of whom may not have had access to the arts to this degree before. The inaugural arts festival presented a variety of acts representing more than 10 countries with more than 200 events across the city. With many events and installations occurring in Ballantyne’s Backyard, CIAF also marked the first time Blumenthal Performing Arts extended a large swath of its programming 20 miles outside of Uptown, making CIAF events more accessible to a larger audience. CIAF’s contribution to Charlotte’s arts ecosystem goes beyond bringing the community a joyful two-week celebration. Each artist is compensated for their work, and their art is expected to be experienced by tens of thousands of people. In this spirit of collaboration, Charlotte’s long-running Festival of India and the Latin American Festival have joined CIAF as partners and will hold their festivals under the CIAF umbrella.
Boris “Bluz” Rogers, director of creative engagement at Blumenthal Performing Arts, is excited about so many things that the competition brings to Charlotte. Two popular festivals — Festival of India and the Latin American Festival — will be part of CIAF. The events will be in various locations in Uptown Charlotte and Ballantyne. Guests can also make crafts, climb a rock wall, skate in an outdoor roller rink, dance along a glowing, light-up path reminiscent of a board game like Candyland, and encounter 100 tiny, smile-provoking art pieces on a nature trail.
Visitors will get to see a giant sea squid, circus performers, big inflatable pillow people, giant airheads (not the candy), and interact with larger-than-life bird puppets, which proved a hit during the festival's launch in 2022. For the full festival lineup, keep an eye on charlotteartsfest.com and @cltartsfest for the most up-to-date information. Each selected artist will receive a 60-minute time slot for performing outdoors in either Uptown Charlotte or Ballantyne. Each selected artist or group will receive a stipend of $1,000 for a full-length performance or $250 for a pop-up performance. Wilson’s exhibit Heart and Sole CLT preserves the city’s soul and history and combines it with the present by using the Air Jordan 1 High OG — the iconic shoe of one of the city’s most famous residents, Michael Jordan — as the canvas. The exhibit will be on display at The Brooklyn Collective throughout the festival’s run.
Additionally, artists are needed to paint corn hole boards, picnic tables, and more for the CIAF Biergarten. Artists should visit the website for more information or to submit applications. Jain is one of nine local artists selected as a 2023 Blumenthal Fellow and awarded grants for their work by Blumenthal Performing Arts (BPA), the festival’s organizer and producer. BPA awarded $85,000 to this year’s fellows as part of its mission for the festival to bring together local and global artists in a cultural celebration.