The mayor is a public art critic and the county commissioners enjoy keeping themselves in the thick of Arts & Science funding — who says Charlotte isn’t an artsy place? While you’re waiting for the Bechtler museum to open, here are some local options to satisfy your artistic impulses.
9am: A jolt of caffeine inspires a lot of people at the start of the day. At Queen’s Beans, inspiration comes through both perfectly prepared java and the adjoining Clay on Camden pottery gallery. Sitting areas are spread throughout both stores, and there are never too many people talking loudly into cell phones or stressing over their Blackberries, a la Starbucks. Even if you don’t quite “get” art this early in the morning, at least you can say you started your day by visiting a Charlotte gallery.
10:30am: Everyone loves photographs, and with the boom in digital cameras, everyone now believes he or she can take great pictures. One visit to The Light Factory should remind amateur lensers what a true master can do with technology. A free trip to the Factory’s small gallery in Spirit Square is always packed with enough astounding stills to blow your mind. If you’re inspired to revisit your own point-and-shoot, enroll in one of many photography classes offered in Charlotte, including those at Queens University, Southeast Photo Workshops and the Light Factory itself.
1pm: Dish has good drinks and great, homey food, all in surroundings that look like a crazy Southern living room complete with local art on the walls. For an unstuffy Charlotte-area art experience, go check out what’s on display and for sale at Dish. A beer and a deviled egg platter makes it all the more fun.
3pm: Charlotte doesn’t host a major film festival, and although some area megaplexes have gotten better about donating a screen or two to independent film, the Manor Theater is still the place to go for low-budget, independent or foreign flicks. The seats aren’t that comfortable, and the parking can be a pain, but just about any movie you catch on one of the two screens makes the experience more than worthwhile. Go check out whatever they’re showing for an afternoon matinee — you get bonus points for seeing something shown during the monthly Second Week Series presented by the Charlotte Film Society, which deserves support for broadening the area’s movie horizons.
6pm: If you’re out and about on the first Friday of the month, various regions of the Queen City host gallery crawls. Although it’s often crowded at these crawls, it’s hard to beat them for putting a lot of activities in one place — dinner, art, entertainment and social schmoozing. The SouthEnd strip lost ArtBar but still features a number of options; uptown’s got the Hodges Taylor Gallery and others; and the most popular option is NoDa. From street musicians next to Cabo Fish Taco to the latest exhibit at the Center of the Earth, you can’t go wrong with this last one.
8pm: You could go to a bookstore and curl up with an e.e. cummings tome to appreciate the fine art of poetry, or you could have a far more energetic poetry experience at one of this summer’s Slam Charlotte events at Spirit Square. The city’s own poetry slam team (many members compete nationally) delivers its sometimes rowdy, sometimes sexy and often impressive works for diverse and enraptured crowds. This summer’s shows are May 19, July 21 and August 18.
Just The Facts:
QUEEN’S BEANS – 1510 Camden Rd., 704-790-2326.
THE LIGHT FACTORY – 345 N. College St., 704-333-9755, www.lightfactory.org.
DISH – 1220 Thomas Ave., 704-344-0343.
MANOR THEATER – 607 Providence Rd., 704-334-2727.
CENTER OF THE EARTH GALLERY – 3204 N. Davidson St., 704-375-5756, www.centeroftheearth.com.
HODGES TAYLOR GALLERY – 401 N. Tryon St., Ste. 108, 704-334-3799, www.hodgestaylor.com.
SLAM CHARLOTTE (AT SPIRIT SQUARE) – 345 N. College St., 704-333-4686.
This article appears in May 18-24, 2005.
