Charlotte International Arts Festival returns, with an emphasis on local diversity

Virginia Brown

September 6, 2023 at 6:00 AM·6 min read

Giant, prehistoric birdmen from the Netherlands will soon roam Ballantyne while Spanish flamenco dancers, a singer from West Africa and a Romani guitarist, among many other performers and artists, will light up multiple stages in Charlotte. For good measure, a giant inflatable globe will once more hang from the rafters of Founders Hall in uptown.

All of the colorful activity means one thing: the Charlotte International Arts Festival is back.

Hosted by Blumenthal Performing Arts, the festival, now in its second year, runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 1. It features about 170 free events, 150 art installations and dozens of performances across multiple indoor and outdoor venues throughout uptown and Ballantyne.

The festival drew over 70,000 people in its inaugural outing last year. It’s inspired by other festivals around the world, like Scotland’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Vivid Sydney in Australia.

The enormous inflatable globe from the U.K., Gaia, will again loom large over Founders Hall in uptown.

This year, Blumenthal has partnered with the longstanding Latin American Festival and Festival of India to emphasize Charlotte’s own international diversity.

Shared resources, enhanced marketing, staffing assistance and overall greater visibility help the existing international festivals gain more traction by partnering with the Blumenthal, according to Toni Sawhney, who has helped run the all-volunteer Festival of India for 27 years.

“The partnership brings numerous benefits, including attracting a big, mainstream audience, which we want to reach,” she said.

The Festival of India at the CIAF will showcase many facets of Indian culture on Sept. 23, from authentic dress and dance to yoga and henna.

‘A journey to India’

On Sept. 23, Festival of India will showcase many facets of Indian culture, from authentic dress and dance to yoga, henna, other art forms and turban-tying.

“It is a journey to India, and we’ll take you there without spending all the money on the tickets,” said Sawhney.

An Indian bazaar will feature dozens of vendors selling authentic food, plus jewelry, sarees and other clothing, art and souvenirs. Sawhney points to two new exhibits this year: Rhythms of India, which will highlight classical Indian vocal and instrumental music, and Weddings of India, a showcase of the lavish events popular in the culture.

“We’re going to make it very ornate, with floral arrangements and shimmering golden accents, and really make people feel they’re coming to the wedding,” said Sawhney.

The Festival of India partnering with Blumenthal Performing Arts to be part of the Charlotte International Arts Festival has helped the Indian group gain more visibility.

Latin American Festival part of CIAF

Also on Sept. 23, the Latin American Festival returns for its 33rd year, this time at The Amp Ballantyne.

An interactive village will show off the cultures of nearly 20 different countries across Latin America with food, dance, international music acts and other activities. Felipe Pelaez, a Colombian-Venezuelan singer-songwriter of vallenato and other music genres, will be performing that day.

Another group that is new to the festival involves one of many interactive art projects. Aqueous by Jen Lewin sets a series of platforms that swirl with LED lights when people walked on them.

Blumenthal also added a second day of the International Bazaar, which will fill Founders Hall with food vendors, souvenirs and crafts Sept. 29-30.

Uptown on the Wells Fargo Plaza Stage, Zimbabwean dance troupe MufukaWorks Dance Co. will perform on Sept. 24, along with Queen Charlotte Chorus (Sept. 16), and Tablao Flamenco (Sept. 23-24).

And people and groups featured on uptown’s Wells Fargo stage come from a range of countries, including Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, El Salvador, Spain, Russia, Zimbabwe and Cameroon.

The Latin American Festival returns for its 33rd year, and has partnered with Blumenthal Performing Arts to be part of the Charlotte International Arts Festival.

Returning Charlotte International Arts Festival favorites

If you loved last year’s gigantic illuminated bunnies, Australian artist Amanda Parer returns with “Fantastic Planet,” a work inspired by the 1973 Czech-French film of the same name. For this installation, “giant humanoids” will be exploring our planet from Ballantyne’s Backyard.

A large-scale, interactive squid sculpture, “Lotty by Moradavaga,” returns to Ballanyne’s Backyard. And the enormous inflatable globe from the U.K., Gaia, will float again in Founders Hall.

“It’s supposed to get you thinking about how we take care of our planet,” said Alana Graber, concerts and events booking manager for the Blumenthal. “We have a dance piece, ‘Bella Gaia,’ coming to Booth Playhouse, so you’ll have to walk through Founders Hall and see ‘Gaia’ when you’re going to see it.”

“Birdmen,” three Netherlands-based artists parade around uptown in large-scale, puppetlike costumes, also will return. “We want things to capture the attention of Charlotteans,” Graber said. “This gives you a different perception of art.”

The scene at last year’s Charlotte International Arts Festival in Ballantyne’s Backyard, featuring Birdmen, Mentalgassi and Amanda Parer’s “Man.” All three will be back this year, with Parer debuting giant humanoids.

Levine Avenue of the Arts will be closed off again to create a pedestrian-friendly area and beer garden.

Brush Stroke, the festival’s bespoke beer with Heist Brewery, will return, as well as new offerings from Gilde Brewery, Lenny Boy Brewing Co. and Petty Thieves Brewing Co.

Duain Richmond in “Fela! the Concert.” The tribute to Nigerian bandleader Fela Kuti and Afrobeat is at Amp Ballantyne Sept. 16.

The Amp Ballantyne will feature “Fela! The Concert,” a tribute to Nigerian bandleader Fela Kuti and Afrobeat, on Sept. 16.

Also at that site, on Sept. 29, the Disney-Pixar film “Coco Live-to-Film” will be accompanied by a 20-member Mariachi band called Orquesta Folclórica Nacional de México.

Elsewhere in Charlotte on Sept. 29, Angélique Kidjo, a five-time, Grammy-award winning singer from Benin in West Africa, will perform at Knight Theater. Kidjo, a singer, songwriter, actress and activist from Benin, has helped spread African music around the world.

West African international music star Angélique Kidjo will perform at the Charlotte International Arts Festival Sept. 29. Time Magazine called her “Africa’s premier diva” and named her one of the world’s 100 most influential people for 2021.

Local flair in tiny packages

Another local element returning to this year’s festival is a visual arts initiative called 100 Tiny Things.

Created by Bree Stallings, Blumenthal’s director of artistic experiences, the project gives local artists the opportunity to submit applications for small art pieces to be discovered throughout the city. Placing two eyes on a fire hydrant to create a face might be one such “tiny thing.”

“Last year, we had an informal scavenger hunt to find them all,” said Graber. All 100 works are intended to be discovered in a walkable distance.

The return of the visual arts initiative 100 Tiny Things gives local artists the opportunity for their work to be encountered around town.

Charlotte’s own Tosco Music will also present World Rhythms at The Amp on Sept. 22.

Last year, five Charlotteans were featured on massive balloons as part of German-based Mentalgassi’s installation. The German-based troupe will again juxtapose large-scale photographs on balloons in Ballantyne.

Blumenthal also awarded nine fellows the opportunity to present works alongside the other installations.

About 10 Blumenthal staff members met once a week year-round to brainstorm for the festival, which took around 200 people to pull off. In the midst of it all, two Broadway shows, “Chicago” and “MJ the Musical,” take the big stage at Belk Theater.

So if you’re in the mood for the ol’ razzle dazzle, with a major mix of local and international fare, there will be plenty of choices in the days ahead.