Things to Do in Charlotte NC : Charlotte Art Weekly #36

With spoken word events, author meets, photography from Mexico and a screening of Oscar-nominated short films, no curious soul in the city should miss these creative events in Charlotte this week. 

The thumping town of Charlotte proudly stands as the country’s fastest-growing metro city today. But this wasn’t the case back in the early 20th Century. A photographic manifestation of the town in the era of 1900s by Charlotte Mecklenburg Library shows how Uptown, NoDa, Plaza Midwood and South End, which are now the bustling top pockets of the city, weren’t even considered as habitable vicinities by Charlotteans then. Whenever we sit down to compile a list of events for the Charlotte Art Weekly, our souls beam with pride on seeing how bustling the town is today, brimming over with cultural and creative activities in all of its pockets. The 36th Edition of CAW has brought us the same happiness again!

Our creative inspiration for this week is American jazz saxophonist John William Coltrane, fondly known as “Trane” by his fans. The musician evolved from being a bebop and hard bop artist to being a free jazz composer later in his career. Talented at producing spiritual music, Trane was proclaimed by many as a religious figure, and was posthumously canonised by the African Orthodox Church. He also achieved the Pulitzer Prize for his tremendously tuneful contributions.

Trane opened up the routes to use musical ‘modes’ instead of chord progression. He had a rich repertoire of up to 50 recording sessions and performed as an auxiliary musician with luminaries like Thelonious Monk and Miles David. Some of his well-known tunes are Giant Steps: Naima, In a Sentimental Mood, Blue Train and famous albums like The Avant-Garde, Live at the Village Vanguard Again!, and A Love Supreme, which is a soulful, spiritual work.

Here is a list of the most creative events of Charlotte city:

Derek Douget Plays Wayne Shorter in The Jazz Room

In this dose of jazz by Jazz Arts Initiative, musician Derek Douget plays epic saxophonist Wayne Shorter’s tunes

February 16 to 17, 2018

Stage Door Theater at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center

With tickets ($14-$16)

Jerry Garcia Band Cover Band

A rock concert by Jerry Garcia Band Cover Band for the lovers of the Grateful Dead.

February 16, 2018

Visulite Theatre

With tickets ($10-$15)

You Can Fly: Literary + Spoken Word Workshop

Meet author Carole Boston Weatherford of the celebrated, illustrated book You Can Fly: The Tuskegee Airmen, along with her son, the book’s illustrator Jeffery Boston Weatherford.

February 17, 2018

Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture at Levine Center for the Arts

With tickets ($5-$9)

Bilingual Spanish Tour: ‘Reveal and Detonate’

Enjoy a bilingual guided tour of ‘Reveal and Detonate’ (Develar y Detonar), an exhibition featuring works by leading contemporary Mexican photographers.

February 17, 2018

Mint Museum Uptown, at Levine Center for the Arts

Open to all

As Far as the Eye Can See

This entertaining play narrates the struggles and achievements of African-Americans, from the end of slavery to the election of Barack Obama.

February 17, 2018

Pease Auditorium at CPCC Main Campus

With tickets ($15 onwards)

Classic Painting, Van Gogh’s ‘Umbrella Lady’

Bring your brushes and be inspired to draw Van Gogh’s celebrated painting Umbrella Lady.

February 18, 2018

Wine & Design

With tickets ($35)

Asia in Amsterdam: The Culture of Luxury in the Golden Age

Attend this talk by the curator of Asian Export Art, Karina Corrigan, who will discuss the associations between decorative pieces produced in Holland in the 19th Century and Asian artifacts.

February 20, 2018

Mint Museum Randolph

Open to all

An Evening with John Leland

Attend this discussion with author John Leland, author of the book Happiness is a Choice You Make.

February 22, 2018

Park Road Books

Open to all

Back Alley Film Series – Mom and Dad

A film screening of the Selma Blair and Nicolas Cage starring Mom and Dad. This is a story of how a disorder turns parents against their children.

February 22, 2018

C3 Lab

With tickets ($5-$10)

2018 Oscar Nominated Short Films – Live Action

A screening of the short films nominated for the Oscars 2018: DeKalb Elementary, The Eleven O’Clock, My Nephew Emmett, The Silent Child and Watu Wote: All of Us

February 24, 2018

Theatre Charlotte

Open to all