Alive With Arts and Culture

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CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG'S CULTURAL COMMUNITY is alive and thriving with arts, science and history. The greater Charlotte community understands diverse cultural offerings are key to providing a rich and stimulating quality of life, complementing our children’s overall education and contributing to our reputation as an outstanding city.

The Arts & Science Council of Charlotte-Mecklenburg (ASC) is committed to building appreciation, participation and support for arts and culture. The non-profit organization serves and supports our cultural community through grant-making, planning, programs and services to ensure a vibrant community enriched with arts, science and history.

Through its grant programs, more than $14 million is awarded annually to cultural organizations, neighborhood cultural projects, arts education and creative individuals.

Something for Everyone
The Charlotte cultural community produces 65,000 events annually, generating $158 million for the local economy and supporting more than 4,700 jobs. Area cultural organizations offer volunteer and social opportunities for adults, children and young professionals. Among the performing arts, audiences can enjoy the Charlotte Symphony, Charlotte Philharmonic, Charlotte Civic Orchestra, North Carolina Dance Theatre, Carolina Concert Association, Carolina Voices, Opera Carolina, Theatre Charlotte, Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte, and the North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center Broadway Lights Series.

Children have an array of cultural avenues in which to participate, including Community School of the Arts, Charlotte Children’s Choir, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, Carolina Raptor Center and Discovery Place.

Residents, visitors and students can explore Charlotte’s rich history and heritage through the Afro-American Cultural Center, Charlotte Museum of History, Charlotte Trolley Inc., Latta Plantation, Historic Rosedale Plantation, Wing Haven Gardens and Bird Sanctuary and The Levine Museum of the New South. Visit www.CharlotteCultureGuide.com to search hundreds of local cultural events.

Outstanding Community Support
ASC’s Annual Fund Drive raises more than $11.5 million with the support of 40,000 donors, 600 corporations, and 1,300 volunteers.

Additional funding is received from the City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and the North Carolina Arts Council. As a result of the community’s support, ASC’s total grant allocation in 2007 totaled more than $14 million.

Public Art Enhances Communities
ASC’s public art program enhances the quality of life in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. Public art plays a role in helping to personalize community history and identity, while enriching neighborhoods and community experiences.

Artwork includes an interactive sound installation at Bank of America’s Seventh Street Station, a walkway trolley corridor in the Charlotte Convention Center, artwork for the Time Warner Cable Arena and a nationally recognized plaza at ImaginOn.

In 2003, the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County approved ordinances that appropriate one percent of Capital Improvement Project funds for public art. The ordinances ensure that artwork enhances and defines public spaces and will be an integral part of urban and economic development efforts.

With dynamic leadership and vision in place, ASC is poised to continue as one of the most vital United Arts Fund and local arts agency in the United States.

For more information about ASC, visit www.artsandscience.org or call 704-333-2ASC.

Cultural Organizations
Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte
Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte is a contemporary, professional theatre company dedicated to producing works by new and thought-provoking playwrights. It presents a diverse and challenging array of comedy and drama. 704-342-2251.
www.actorstheatreofcharlotte.org

Bechtler Museum of Modern Art
The Bechtler museum is a jewel of a museum, only the second in the country designed by the Swiss architect Mario Botta. The art presented includes works by the most important and influential artists of the mid 20th century, including Miró Giacometti, Picasso, Calder Hepworth and Andy Warhol. The museum opened in 2010. 704-353-9200. www.bechtler.org

ArtsTeach
ArtsTeach works in partnership with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and ASC to maximize academic learning through infusion, practice and exposure to the arts. ArtsTeach offers funding support through our grants program to schools and to teaching artists and arts organizations that work with schools. ArtsTeach-funded programs are currently offered to 100 percent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg elementary, middle and high schools. 704-333-1059. www artsteach.org   

Carolina Raptor Center
Carolina Raptor Center is dedicated to environmental education and the conservation of birds of prey through public education, the rehabilitation of injured and orphaned raptors and research. More than 20 species of raptors (eagles, hawks, owls, vultures and falcons) can be found along several nature trails. 704-875-6521. www.carolinaraptorcenter.org

Carolina Voices
Carolina Voices is an umbrella organization supporting four distinct choral groups: MainStage Choir, IMPROMPTU!, Festival Singers, and Note-Ability. These vocal groups range from a 10-part vocal jazz ensemble to 80 voice-mixed adult choir. 704-374-1564. www.carolinavoices.org

Charlotte Children’s Choir
The Charlotte Children’s Choir is a broad-based community organization dedicated to choral excellence and providing unique educational and performance opportunities to boys and girls with a goal of attaining the highest level of artistic excellence in choral music performance. 704-372-1892. www.charlottechildrenschoir.org

Charlotte Civic Orchestra
The Charlotte Civic Orchestra provides opportunities for accomplished volunteer musicians and a diverse listening public to share artistic cultural experiences through live performances. 704-344-0098. www.charlottecivicorchestra.org

Charlotte Museum of History
The Charlotte Museum of History consists of 36,000 square feet of exhibition space in four galleries. It is home to the American Freedom Bell and the Hezekiah Alexander Homesite, Charlotte’s oldest home, dating to 1774. 704-568-1774.
www.charlottemuseum.org

Charlotte Philharmonic Orchestra
The Charlotte Philharmonic Orchestra is a 75-member professional orchestra, producing a mix of symphonic, popular music, dance and operatic repertoire for the general public. 704-543-5551. www.charlottephilharmonic.org

Charlotte Symphony
The Charlotte Symphony is the region’s full-time professional symphony orchestra, performing 100 concerts annually, including Classical, Pops, Mostly Mozart, Lollipops and free Summer Pops concerts in Charlotte and the outlying communities. 704-972.2000. www.charlottesymphony.org

Charlotte Trolley, Inc.
With a view to the past and a hint of the future, Charlotte Trolley, Inc. is a volunteer organization dedicated to returning vintage streetcars to Charlotte. 704-375-0850. www.charlottetrolley.org

Children’s Theatre of Charlotte
The Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, located in ImaginOn, specializes in professional adult theatre for youth and educational programming reaching ages 3-18. Productions include classics, innovative new works and issue-oriented productions. 704-973-2828. www.ctcharlotte.org

Community School of the Arts
Community School of the Arts (CSA) provides quality arts education to all children, youth and adults, while cultivating appreciation and enjoyment of the arts. 704-377-4187.  www.csarts.org

Discovery Place
One of the top hands-on science museums in the nation, Discovery Place provides ever-changing, entertaining exhibits that foster experiences in areas that range from life science to space exploration. More than a half-million people from all over the United States visit Discovery Place, its IMAX Dome Theatre and its planetarium each year. 704-372-6261. www.discoveryplace.org.

Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture
The Gantt Center for African-American Arts and Culture serves the community through music, dance, theater, visual art, film, arts education programs, literature and community outreach.  The center showcases the life experiences, struggles and talents of the African and African-American experiences.  704-547-3700.
www.ganttcenter.org

Knight Theater
The design of the 1,150 seat theater provides for artistic grandeur in an intimate setting.  The theater is the primary venue for the North Carolina Dance Theater and holds performances by Opera Carolina and the Charlotte Symphony as well as touring productions. 704-372-1000. www.blumenthalcenter.org

Latta Place, Inc. and The National Registrar of Historic Places
Built about 1800, Latta Plantation is the last remaining Catawba River Plantation open to the public. This 52-acre farm of James Latta, a Scotch-Irish merchant, consists of the original home and smokehouse, and is enhanced by many outbuildings as well as fields, farm animals, a garden, visitors center and interpreters in period clothing. 704-875-2312. www.lattaplantation.org

Historic Rosedale Plantation
Historic Rosedale Plantation is one of the finest examples of Federal period architecture in North Carolina. Constructed about 1815, it promotes the heritage of the southern Piedmont through the preservation, exhibition and interpretation of the decorative arts and lifestyle of the 19th century Catawba River Valley region. 704-335-0325. www.historicrosedale.org

Levine Museum of the New South
The Levine Museum of the New South houses the nation’s most comprehensive interpretation of post-Civil War Southern history. Interactive, multi-sensory exhibits engage visitors of all ages. With vibrant, inviting spaces, the museum presents history that inspires and challenges, educates and amuses. 704-333-1887. www.museumofthenewsouth.org

The Light Factory Contemporary Museum of Photography and Film
The Light Factory specializes in light-generated art media (photography, video, film, the Internet) and regularly presents changing solo and group exhibitions by local, regional, national and international artists. 704-333-9755. www.lightfactory.org

McColl Center for Visual Art
McColl Center for Visual Art advances artists to the vanguard of contemporary art by providing a state-of-the-art facility, a challenging and dynamic environment, collaboration among artists and the community; bold exhibitions and strong affiliation with arts organizations worldwide. 704-332-5535. www.mccollcenter.org

The Mint Museum of Art
The Mint Museum of Craft + Design
The Mint Museum of Art houses important holdings of American paintings, furniture and decorative arts; African, Pre-Columbian and Spanish Colonial art; an internationally acclaimed collection of porcelain and pottery; regional crafts and historic costumes.
The Mint Museum of Craft + Design is hailed as a leader in the field. Studio craft in ceramics, glass, wood, fiber and metals from leading artists throughout the world are featured, in addition to historic crafts from the early 19th century to the modern era. 704-337-2000. www.mintmuseums.org

N.C. Blumenthal Performing Arts Center
The North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center is a multi-purpose arts and entertainment venue with three theaters (150, 430, 2,100 seats) with a mission to educate and vitalize the regional community in and through the performing arts. Presenting the world’s foremost Broadway shows, family attractions, celebrated headliners and international artists, the Center is also home to ten resident arts organizations, including the Charlotte Symphony, North Carolina Dance Theatre, Opera Carolina and more. The Center manages and programs Spirit Square (345 N. College Street), a venue for the performing and visual arts with two theaters (180 and 720 seats), three art galleries and a host of classroom and studio spaces. 704-372-1000. www.blumenthalcenter.org

North Carolina Dance Theatre
North Carolina Dance Theatre is a professional dance company performing in Charlotte and across the country with a versatile repertoire ranging from full-length classical ballets to contemporary works. DancePlace, the official school of NCDT, offers classes to dance enthusiasts of all ages. 704-372-0101. www.ncdance.org

Opera Carolina
Opera Carolina is North Carolina’s largest professional opera company, presenting mainstage productions of traditional grand operas, operettas and contemporary opera starring international guest artists alongside the finest regional artists. 704-332-7177. www.operacarolina.org

Theatre Charlotte
Theatre Charlotte is North Carolina’s oldest community theatre with a tradition that dates back to 1927. It is volunteer-driven, and each season stages five mainstage plays, several innovative theatre productions and conducts in-school classes in conjunction with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools‚ required reading program. 704-376-3777. www.theatrecharlotte.org

Wing Haven Gardens & Bird Sanctuary
Wing Haven is a sanctuary for wild birds and for the enjoyment and education of the general public. The gardens, circa 1927, are enclosed on all sides by brick walls and encompass more than three acres in the heart of Charlotte. 704-331-0664. www.winghavengardens.com

Additional Facilities

NASCAR Hall of Fame
The 150,000 square foot NASCAR Hall of Fame is an interactive entertainment attraction honoring the history and heritage of NASCAR. The high tech venue opened in 2010 and is designed to educate and entertain race fans as well as non-fans alike. www.nascarhall.com

Ovens Auditorium
This 2,600 seat facility was built as part of a Coliseum-Auditorium complex in the mid-1950s and still serves the community well. A wide variety of performances are held including the ballet, the opera, the Philharmonic Orchestra and touring Broadway shows. 704-372-3600. www.ovensauditorium.com

Spirit Square
This historic facility is a focal point for innovative theater productions, probing exhibits, exciting performances and wonderfully diverse educational opportunities for all ages. Three interconnected buildings house two performance theaters, three galleries, studios and various classroom spaces. The 720-seat McGlohon Theatre continues to be the pride of Spirit Square. 704-372-1000. www.blumenthalcenter.org

Education and Training in the Arts
Colleges, universities and schools located in the Charlotte area enrich the community’s arts environment. They provide diverse educational opportunities as well as outstanding performances in music, theater and dance.

The Art Institute of Charlotte
704-357-8020  www.aich.aii.edu

Central Piedmont Community College
704-330-2722  www.cpcc.edu

Davidson College
704-894-2000  www.davidson.edu

Johnson & Wales University
1-800-Dial-JWU   www.jwu.edu

Johnson C. Smith University
704-378-1000  www.jcsu.edu

Queens University of Charlotte
704-337-2200  www.queens.edu

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
704-687-2000  www.uncc.edu