The 2024 Charlotte Fall Arts Guideis sponsored by theCharlotte International Arts Festival. CIAF is an annual celebration of imaginative visual and performing arts from the most creative international and local minds. Seventeen days of 150 art installations and 170 free events from Sept. 13-29.
The third annual Charlotte International Arts Festival (CIAF) kicks off on Sept. 13 and runs through Sept. 29. Bridging Charlotte’s local and international communities with global artists in a joyful celebration filled with live performances, art installations, and cultural expressions from around the world, CIAF features a smorgasbord of art from a variety of cultures and genres.
With more than 200 events, many which are free and open to the public, and ticketed events starting at $5, it can be hard to choose what to do. We’ve picked out a handful of art installations, concerts and interactive attractions to check for during this year’s festival.
ART INSTALLATIONS
Groundswell, Sept. 20-29
Location: Blume Studios, 904 Post Street
Aptly named after the art that onlookers will experience, Groundswell consists of a six-meter platform sitting atop 40,000 illuminated spheres that react to movement. After taking a step onto the platform, the surface beneath you will swell, causing rippling waves initiating its auditory element of oceanic sounds. Depending on the kind of steps or leaps you take, the sounds can be tranquil or visceral. Sharing the space with others, you’re guaranteed to have a different experience every time you set sail for Groundswell.
Constellation, Sept. 13-29
Location: Levine Avenue
This installation will take your breath away with a sky full of stars. The star-shaped canopy made of 21,600 LED modules hangs from a single point and syncs to classical music to move like the Northern Lights and transport viewers to another world. Last seen at Charlotte SHOUT! in 2019, Constellation makes its return for CIAF to viewers experience a visual delight.
Evanescent by Atelier Sisu, Sept. 13-29
Location: The Green
Atelier Sisu is a Sydney-based design studio comprised of a multidisciplinary team to create experiential environments, installations and sculptures. Evanescent combines all those things to create large iridescent globes that shine various colors of from the sun and shows different shades by light at night. The immersive light and sound environment aims to capture the meaning behind the quality of impermanence, like a bubble.
Mind Wash, Sept. 13-29
Location: Ballantyne’s Backyard
Christopher Schardt has been creating large-scale sculptures since 2000. Working with aluminum, stainless steel, glass, plastics, electronics and software, Schardt seeks to create sights and sounds that surprise us while responding to the environments around us. Mind Wash is described to be a 26-foot rotating, brain-shaped animated structure that has a synchronization of light that dances to the classical music surrounding it. Participants are expected to sit under the structure for a fully-immersive experience.
CONCERTS
Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers, Sept. 22
Location: Knight Theater
Bruce Hornsby is an accomplished songwriter, bandleader and collaborator whose impressive resume includes his Grammy-winning debut album with The Range, collaborating with Bonnie Raitt on her song “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” and worked with iconic artists such as Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks, Bon Iver and Willie Nelson.
The Virginia native’s work mixes genres like jazz, pop, Bluegrass, rock and classical. His wide range of skills makes for incredible live performances, which is why he fit right in as a part-time member of the Grateful Dead. He continues to work with various members of the Grateful Dead as well as writing for Broadway and film. His most recent studio album, ‘Flicted, was released in May 2022.
Mat Kearney w/ Darren Kiely, Sept. 24
Location: Knight Theater
Nashville-based Mat Kearney is back to perform his most recent record, January Flower, which chronicles his rediscovery of the joy he takes in making music. Kearney is hailed as a multi-platinum songwriter and producer and has toured with John Mayer and NEEDTOBREATHE.
Supporting Kearney is an artist hailing from Cork, Ireland named Dareen Kiely, who creates folk-infused pop that originates from his love of traditional Irish music infused with sounds akin to The Lumineers, Mumford & Sons and Noah Kahan. The singer-songwriter quickly garnered attention for his vocals and emotional delivery, then made his way to NYC in 2022 to develop his musical career.
Herbie Hancock, Sept. 25
Location: Belk Theater
This famed jazz musician, bandleader and composer started his career with Donald Byrd’s group, then joined the Miles Davis Quintet, pioneering a groundbreaking sound in jazz and American music. In the 1970s, Hancock experimented with jazz fusion, funk and electronic styles by using a variety of synthesizers, influencing the music that still tops charts today.
Hancock won an Academy Award for his Round Midnight film score, plus 15 Grammy Awards, including Album Of The Year for River: The Joni Letters. He currently serves as creative chair for jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and as Institute Chairman of the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz.
INTERACTIVE ATTRACTIONS
Birdmen
Various locations
These huge illuminated creatures are back to hover above the streets of Charlotte. The majestic bird-like figures are puppeteered by unknown operators, mesmerizing anyone they run into. The mystery that shrouds these birds will leave you guessing when and where they’ll pop up, so stay on the lookout for any glowing lights above you. We heard they show up when you least expect it.
Space Explorers, Sept. 20-Nov. 10
Location: Blume Studios, 904 Post Street
Travel through space and time with Blumenthal Arts’ newest immersive experience: Space Exploreres: THE INFINITE. On your journey out of this world, you are transported to the stars with a virtual reality headset, witnessing Earth from a bird’s eye view. On the self-guided tour, you’ll gain a new perspective into the daily life of astronauts through encounters with international crew.
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