fall arts guide Events are subject to change; check with organizers prior to attending
Higgins & Myers Custom Framing and Fine Art Gallery hosts an exhibit of artist Vidabeth Bensen’s original abstract screenprints. An opening reception will be held on Sept. 2. Aug. 2-Sept. 30; higginsandmyers.com/fine-art-gallery Stop by the opening of Eno Arts Mill’s September exhibit for food trucks, beer and wine, kids activities, live music from Juliana Finch and paintings by Kelly Oakes. Sept. 2; artsorange.org Visit the heart of Chapel Hill for Downtown Live with performances at venues like Talullas, 140 West Franklin Street Plaza and Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews. On home game days, there will be a DJ on the 100 block of Franklin Street two hours prior to kickoff. Saturdays, September through November; downtownchapelhill.com Learn about Tibetan Buddhist iconography and draw the face of the Buddha using the proportions from ancient scriptures in a one-day workshop taught by Abhi Sivadas at My Muses Card Shop. Sept. 4; mymusescardshop.co Head to downtown Chapel Hill for Tracks Music Series, three days of live music performances from the newest bands from the Tracks Music Library collection. The line up features bands like Magic Tuber String Band, Alicia Marie, Larry & Joe, Bangzz and more. The concerts will be held at the parking lot on the corner of Columbia and Rosemary streets. Sept. 8, 15, 22; chapelhillarts.org Experience the art scene of downtown Carrboro and Chapel Hill by participating in the art walk on the second Friday of each month, featuring new exhibitions and artists at every event. Sept. 9, Oct. 14, Nov. 11; downtownchapelhill.com PlayMakers Repertory Company kicks off its 2022-23 season with a production of “Blues for an Alabama Sky” by Pearl Cleage. Set in the summer of 1930 in New York City, the play follows a failed Cotton Club singer and her group of friends as they encounter a handsome newcomer. Sept. 7-25; playmakersrep.org The seventh annual Bluegrass Festival at Historic Moorefields returns this fall for music from Vintage Blue; Pickard Mountain; GrassStreet; Nixon, Blevins & Gage; and The Bluegrass Experience. The event will have lawn seating, food trucks and on-site sale of beer and wine. Sept. 10; moorefields.org OdysseyStage’s 10x10 is an annual festival celebrating local creative talent presenting ten 10-minute plays by North Carolina playwrights. Come meet their captivating characters at The Seymour Center. Sept. 15-17 & 22-25; odysseystage.org
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Can’t-miss concerts, events and more Com pi l ed by Megan Ti l l ot son
Raleigh-based Pressure, a Paramore tribute band, takes the stage with The White Stripes tribute act Jumble, Jumble at Local 506. Sept. 16; local506.com For the 22nd annual season, Paperhand Puppet Intervention presents “The Meanwhile Clock and Other Impossible Dances,” a larger-than-life puppet show at The Forest Theatre about time, love, community and the Earth. Weekends through Sept. 18; paperhand.org Carolina Performing Arts hosts The Soul Rebels with special guest Big Freedia to kick off its season at Memorial Hall. The concert brings New Orleans sound and style, combining jazz, funk and bounce. Sept. 23; carolinaperformingarts.org The Ackland Art Museum presents “Drawn to Life: Master Drawings from the Age of Rembrandt in the Peck Collection,” an exhibition of 17th and 18th century Dutch and Flemish drawings of landscapes, portraits, biblical scenes and more. Sept. 23-Dec. 31; ackland.org Inspired by the success of The Clash-themed show last year, Be Loud! ’22 returns to Cat’s Cradle with some favorite local musicians covering influential acts of the 1980s. Rob Ladd, Robert Sledge and Brian Dennis, known as Preeesh!, will play songs by The Police; glam rockers What Peggy Wants regroup to perform The Cure; and members of The Sex Police and The Connells (calling themselves The Sexells) will take on The Ramones. Sept. 24; catscradle.com Margaret Lane Gallery presents “Peace, Personal Perspectives,” in which artists showcase all sorts of works representing peace. The exhibition coincides with International Day of Peace on Sept. 21 and features North Carolina artists such as Carol McCanna, Michi Doan, Ray LaMantia and Jennifer Niemiroski. Through Sept. 25; margaretlanegallery.com Explore drawing as a meditation with Suzanne McDermott in a workshop, “Drawing as a Spiritual Practice,” at My Muses Card Shop. Sept. 25; mymusescardshop.co The exhibit “It Is Somewhere In Time” at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts features work by Lolette Sudaka Guthrie, the photography of Eric Saunders and blown glass by Pringle Teetor. Sept. 27-Oct. 23; hillsboroughgallery.com Check out the “Rainy Days” exhibit at Margaret Lane Gallery to see artists’ work that will take you on a rain-spattered journey. Featured artists include David Knox, Michi Doan and Ray LaMantia. Sept. 28-Oct. 23; margaretlanegallery.com Connect with local art through special exhibitions, family-friendly activities, makers markets, drum circles and live music during Last Fridays & The Art Walk in downtown Hillsborough. Sept. 30, Oct. 28, Nov. 25; hillsboroughartscouncil.org
chapelhillmagazine.com September/October 2022
THE ARTS IN ORANGE COUNTY BY THE NUMBERS* $93.6 million spent by nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in our local economy. An additional $36.7 million is spent by their audiences Approximately 1.9 million arts attendees each year at Orange County concerts, festivals, plays, gallery openings and more Arts entities at UNC – think PlayMakers and CPA – make up 77% of annual organizational spending and 46% of annual arts attendance in Orange County 170 arts and cultural nonprofit agencies in Orange County 54% of arts attendees in Orange County come from outside the county and are primarily residents of other Triangle counties $5.6 million in revenue generated by the nonprofit arts sector for local government through expenses like taxes and fees 5,001 jobs generated each year by the nonprofit arts industry. This includes arts industry workers, but also workers in unrelated industries whose jobs are dependent on arts events, such as waitstaff, parking attendants and child care workers Total annual economic impact of nonprofit arts sector in: Chapel Hill: $117 million Carrboro: $7.7 million Hillsborough: $5.6 million Arts audiences spend $36.6 million each year – $18.29 per person – in our local economies on expenses such as dining, traveling and child care Federal agency data reports there are approximately 4,000 creative workers in Orange County – more than education, agriculture and manufacturing. *stats courtesy of the Orange County Arts Commission