What to Do at the 2025 Charlotte International Arts Festival
Arts installations, concerts, shows and interactive experiences
The fourth annual Charlotte International Arts Festival (CIAF) kicks off today, running for the full month of September rather than two weeks this year.
Bridging Charlotte’s local and international communities with global artists in a joyful celebration filled with live performances, art installations, and cultural expressions from around the world, CIAF features a smorgasbord of art from a variety of cultures and genres.
Spread across the city in spots including The Green in Uptown, Ballantyne’s Backyard in south Charlotte and the nascent Iron District where Blume Studios is located, the festival features more than 200 events, many of which are free and open to the public while ticketed events start at $5.
That can make it hard to choose what to do. We’ve picked out a handful of art installations, concerts, shows and interactive attractions to check for during this year’s festival.
Art Installations
Meliora
Sept. 12-28 | The Green | Free
Described as a piece of “temporary public art-chitecture,” Meliora is a space of reflection, immersion and joy created by the Sydney-based design studio Atelier Sisu. Illuminated by a dynamic internal light scape choreographed to an accompanying bespoke soundscape, the form is defined by interwoven curves, connecting and converging in the center of the form, creating a vaulted moment of negative space for the audience to traverse through and under.
Splendour
Sept. 12-28 | Levine Avenue | Free
Also created by Atelier Sisu, this installation was conceived during the pandemic when the artists, like many of us, were faced with uncertainty and began to more closely consider the delicate balance of stability and the fleeting nature of time. According to the website, the studio “endeavoured to communicate this feeling of transient beauty and the need to live in the moment through the idea of the bubble.”
Concerts, Shows and Parties
SouthPark After 5
Thursdays, Sept. 4-25, 5 p.m. | Symphony Park | Free
Free live music, food trucks, drinks and hands-on art experiences arrive at Symphony Park, with performers including Java Band and Caleb Davis (Sept. 4), Bald Brothers and the Fleetwood Mac tribute band Landslide (Sept. 11), Coconut Groove Band and Rod Fiske (Sept. 18), plus Bourbon Sons and Dustin Yager (Sept. 25).
2025 ArtPop Upcycled Fashion Show & Fundraiser
Saturday, Sept. 6, 6 p.m. | Location: Blume Studios | $162
Since 2021, ArtPop founder and executive director Wendy Hickey has led the effort to repurpose retired billboards created by local artists into unique, wearable designs to be showcased in its annual ArtPop Upcycle Fashion Show & Fundraiser.
Read more: ArtPop’s Upcycled Fashion Show Serves Sustainable Looks in Fourth Year (2024)
Su Casa
Saturday, Sept. 27, 7 p.m. | Levine Avenue | Free
This staple of Charlotte’s nightlife scene returns for another go, this time outdoors along Levine Avenue of the Art, featuring Afro-fusion spins from DJ Bloc and DJ Black as the Cosmos.
Read more: Black as the Cosmos Explores Culture Through Crystal Art, Music, Sex and Magic
Interactive Attractions
Women of the World
Locations vary
Created by local puppeteer Christine McLennan, these three larger-than-life pageant puppets will be wandering the Charlotte International Arts Festival this year. You can catch pioneers like aviator Bessie Coleman, pirate Cheng I Sao and botanist Ynés Mexía roving the different festival grounds, inspiring awe and a sense of play.
International Bazaar
Sept. 13-14, noon | The Iron District | Free
Merchants and vendors representing local cultural groups and nonprofits join this celebration of the art, food, goods and spirit that make up Charlotte’s diverse and creative cultural landscape.
Festival of India
Sunday, Sept. 21, noon | Ballantyne’s Backyard | Free
Organized by the India Association of Charlotte, the Festival of India in the Carolinas stands as a beacon of India’s rich diversity, offering a platform for cultural exchange amidst joyous festivities. “It is a window to the kaleidoscope of Indian heritage and aims to enrich the understanding of our fellow citizens,” reads the website, “inviting them to immerse themselves in the treasures of an ancient civilization.”
There are hundreds of things to do during this year’s Charlotte International Arts Festival. Check out the full lineup at the website.
