What to do and see in Charlotte
Each week, Grace Cote, Lia Newman and Kati Stegall offer Observer readers a to-do list on immersing yourself in visual arts around town. Newman is director/curator of the Van Every/Smith Galleries at Davidson College, Cote is senior coordinator at Jerald Melberg Gallery, Stegall is Art-in-Transit program administrator at the Charlotte Area Transit System, and they collaborate on the blog HappeningsCLT (happeningsCLT.com).
Where to go
Take an art excursion to ArtFields in Lake City, S.C., through April 30. Sure, Lake City isn’t the first place that comes to mind when you consider art destinations around the Carolinas, but for the past few years this small town in South Carolina has been home to a weeklong art exhibition and competition. More than 400 works are on display in a variety of venues, including boutiques, restaurants, a community center, pharmacy and a barbershop. The exhibition features artists who live in 12 Southeastern states. Works are eligible for large prizes – between $10,000 and $50,000 each – and as a visitor you get to cast a vote for your favorite.
Who to meet
Joshua White is our latest Carolina Art Crush. He began one of his current projects, “A Photographic Survey of the American Yard,” by photographing only insects and plants found in his own backyard in West Jefferson, N.C. He has since expanded the geographic scope a bit, but has continued to shoot the objects in a similar way: They seem to float in the center of a light-colored background, and are captured with and edited using only his iPhone. We love this series, and apparently so do White’s other 34,000 Instagram followers (@aphotographicsurvey). You can also see his work in the The Light Factory’s current exhibition, “Wunderkabinett,” an exhibition focused on the micro world of insects.
What to do
SOCO Gallery owner Chandra Johnson and current exhibiting artist Robert Lazzarini – via Skype – will answer questions from the HappeningsCLT writers in a live “Art Crush” interview starting at 6 p.m. April 26. Want to go? It’s free, but there’s only space for 20. Register at bit.ly/1VC9RdJ. Want to submit questions in advance? Email them to happeningsCLT@gmail.com.
This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 3:41 PM with the headline "What to do and see in Charlotte."