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The ArtsCenter

Address
300-G E Main St
Carrboro, NC 27510 United States Get Directions
Phone 919.929.2787
Website https://artscenterlive.org/

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About The ArtsCenter

The ArtsCenter is a 501(c)(3) Arts Education non-profit located in Carrboro, North Carolina which offers classes, performances, and art exhibits all year round. The ArtsCenter facilities include a 350-seat theater, classrooms, a dance studio, a 100-seat performance space, and an art gallery. The ArtsCenter is the single largest employer of artists in Orange County, and serves more than 100,000 students and citizens throughout the area.

Our Mission

The ArtsCenter exists in order to educate and inspire artistic creativity and to enrich the lives of people of all ages. The vision of The ArtsCenter is to create an educational environment that provides opportunities, inspiration and tools to people of all ages and skill levels to participate in the arts.

Our History

The ArtsCenter, originally known as ‘ArtsSchool’ was founded in 1974 by artist Jacques Menache. Menache found inspiration for the ArtsSchool from his time living in Mexico City, where he found many multidisciplinary cultural institutes. During this time, Carrboro did not have as much of a strong artistic presence as it does today. Carrboro was seen as more of an industrial town. “There was a need in the community for cultural arts,” said Menache. Menache recognized the need for a space which could meet the needs of the artists in the community and shape the cultural climate of the town.

Menache rented a space on the second floor of present-day Armadillo Grill on Main St in Carrboro and organized classes for students. After opening the ArtsSchool, Menache advertised drawing and painting classes in the local paper. Soon after, Menache realized that the space he rented could be used for more than just drawing and painting classes. “The room was beautiful and had wooden floors,” says Menache, “so I had the floors refinished and started teaching dance classes, doing a little performing, and then pretty soon, people wanted to do theater in the space.” In time, Menache imagined that the walls in the space were “great for a little gallery”, and he began to host art openings. Later, Menache began projecting films in the back office.

“In the first 3 years, ‘74-’77, we were showing movies and having little dance performances, teaching classes in several disciplines, having concerts, and it snowballed. I ended up renting the whole upstairs and started teaching more classes. I put in a little art supply store for the students who came for drawing, and built a darkroom and started teaching photography” says Menache. By 1979, the ArtsSchool had over 300 students.

In 1979, As the ArtsSchool continued to expand, Menache raised the necessary funds to relocate across the street to Carr Mill Mall. As the ArtsSchool relocated, Menache changed the name to The ArtsCenter, to reflect the growth in space and diversity of programs. As well as a strong visual arts program, the organization included space for various performance arts, concerts, films, and poetry readings.

Eventually, the owner of Carr Mill Mall passed away. When a new owner bought Carr Mill, Menache decided to relocated once again. Menache saw that the Piggly Wiggly Supermarket across the street was about to close down and inquired about renting the space. After raising the funds, was able to secure a space in the old supermarket. This 20,000 sq. foot location was renovated and remains the location of the ArtsCenter today.

Some claim that the ArtsCenter contributed greatly to the artistic atmosphere in present-day Carrboro. Others claim that the ArtsCenter came at a time when there was already a catalyst for artistic growth. Some examples of this include the fact that big businesses and retailers were discouraged from opening in Carrboro, which contributed to a small-business and homegrown atmosphere.

Events at this venue

Today

  • San Fermin

    The ArtsCenter 300-G E Main St, Carrboro, NC, United States

    San Fermin’s third studio album, Belong, marks a shift in songwriting perspective for bandleader Ellis Ludwig-Leone. “In the past I’d usually write through characters from books or movies, as a way to try to distance myself from what I was writing about,” says the Brooklyn-based artist. “As I’ve become more confident as a songwriter, I decided that I could drop some of the artifice and write something more direct.” In bringing a more personal slant to his music, Ludwig-Leone found himself confronting such matters as disconnection, displacement, and-perhaps most significantly-everyday anxiety. “Anxiety is something I’ve dealt with since I was a kid, but on this album I talked about it more explicitly than I ever had before,” he points out. Produced by Ludwig-Leone and brought to life by his fellow performers-lead vocalists Charlene Kaye and Allen Tate, trumpet player John Brandon, saxophonist Stephen Chen, violinist Rebekah Durham, drummer Michael Hanf, and guitarists Tyler McDiarmid and Aki Ishiguro-Belong unfolds in warm, intoxicating textures that both contrast and intensify that sense of unrest. The album’s hypnotic sound is embodied in “No Promises,” a shimmering pop opus about the fear of disappointing those who’ve placed their trust in you. On the quietly frenetic “Bride,” San Fermin conveys a fear of commitment by juxtaposing the idyllic imagery of wedding flowers with a detailed account of suffering a panic attack. And with “Dead” (a song about “not wanting anybody to depend on you,” according to Ludwig-Leone), the band telegraphs defiance in a gorgeously jagged arrangement built on clattering rhythms and Kaye’s penetrating vocal performance. Elsewhere on Belong, San Fermin explores the intersection of desire and danger (on the subtly sinister “August”) and paints a tender portrait of self-destruction (on “Perfume,” a sweeping and cinematic track laced with piercing lines like “You can lose anything that you put your mind to”). On the brightly charged and bravely candid “Better Company,” meanwhile, Tate’s intimate vocals meet with stomping beats and furious strings. “That song is about my lifestyle when I’m not on tour, how I just sit in the basement and work on music and the house is kind of a wreck,” says Ludwig-Leone. “It’s recognizing how I don’t always keep myself the best company.” One of the album’s most powerful tracks, the slow-building “Belong” finds Tate and Kaye trading off verses to conjure up moments of gentle devastation. “‘Belong’ is about loving someone really deeply but also having the sad realization that you’re not always present with them,” says Ludwig-Leone. “But at the same time it’s also saying that that’s not necessarily wrong. It’s about acknowledging the isolation within love.” Throughout Belong, San Fermin brings both elegance and raw passion to their performance, an achievement that Ludwig-Leone attributes to the band’s increasingly potent chemistry. “One of the nice things about this record was that, for the first time, I was writing for people I know super well and have performed with hundreds of times,” he says. “I feel like I really understand these musicians now and know what they want to do.” Links: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

  • Carrboro Film Festival

    The ArtsCenter 300-G E Main St, Carrboro, NC, United States

    Now celebrating its fourteenth year, The Carrboro Film Festival has grown to become the premiere festival in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. Featuring world class films of every length and genre, CFF is known for packed houses and standing ovations. This two day celebration, from November 23-24, 2019, of Film ART, NOT Film Business,... Read More →

  • Robyn Hitchcock (solo)

    The ArtsCenter 300-G E Main St, Carrboro, NC, United States

    Robyn Hitchcock is one of England’s most enduring contemporary singer/songwriters and live performers. A surrealist poet, talented guitarist, cult artist and musician’s musician, Hitchcock is among alternative rock’s father figures and is the closest thing the genre has to a Bob Dylan (not coincidentally his biggest musical inspiration). Since founding the art-rock band The Soft Boys in 1976, Robyn has recorded more than 20 albums as well as starred in ‘Storefront Hitchcock’ an in concert film recorded in New York and directed by Jonathan Demme. Blending folk and psychedelia with a wry British nihilism, Robyn describes his songs as ‘paintings you can listen to’. His most recent album is self-titled and marks his 21st release as a solo artist. Out on April 21 2017, the album is produced by Brendan Benson (The Raconteurs). Hitchcock describes it as a “ecstatic work of negativity with nary a dreary groove.” It has received rave reviews from UNCUT, Rolling Stone, Paste, Tidal and more. “A gifted melodist, Hitchcock nests engaging lyrics in some of the most bracing, rainbow-hued pop this side of Revolver. He wrests inspiration not from ordinary life but from extraordinary imaginings…” – Rolling Stone “These 10 gems slither, rock, roll, glide and shapeshift, coalescing around Hitchcock’s typically anxious, strained but striking and immediately identifiable vocals.” – American Songwriter “Beloved of everyone from Led Zeppelin to REM, Hitchcock has only enhanced his status with this wonderful outing.” – Hot Press “Witty, moving and seriously catchy, Robyn Hitchcock is a glorious return for a man who wasn’t really gone in the first place.” – Paste Magazine Links: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter DJANGO HASKINS A songwriter based in North Carolina, Django Haskins has fronted the pop-noir band, The Old Ceremony, since 2004. He also forms one half of the psych-folk duo Au Pair with the Jayhawks’ Gary Louris. He has toured. He has been written about. In 2016 he received the NC Arts Council’s Artist Grant in recognition of his extensive creative exertions. He has been a part of the traveling circus known as Big Star’s Third since its inception in 2011. He has released a dozen albums of his songs in various guises. Links: Website

  • Live Event Photography Workshop

    The ArtsCenter 300-G E Main St, Carrboro, NC, United States

    Learn live event photography from visiting artist and professional photographer, Tod Seelie, at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro. The $70 enrollment fee includes two classes – plus a press pass to a show of your choosing at Cat's Cradle – during the week of November 10-17, 2019. In the first class, Tod will discuss tools, techniques, and how best... Read More →

    $70

  • Live Event Photography Workshop

    Recurring
    The ArtsCenter 300-G E Main St, Carrboro, NC, United States

    Learn live event photography from visiting artist and professional photographer, Tod Seelie, at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro. The $70 enrollment fee includes two classes – plus a press pass to a show of your choosing at Cat's Cradle – during the week of November 10-17, 2019. In the first class, Tod will discuss tools, techniques, and how best... Read More →

    $70

  • Carolyn Adams

    Recurring
    The ArtsCenter 300-G E Main St, Carrboro, NC, United States

    Carolyn Adams is set in a small town in Northern California in the back room of a used sporting goods shop. The titular character of the play is a kind, beautiful, and well-loved high school senior who died over 50 years ago in a tragic car accident. When Tom, co-owner of the shop, runs into... Read More →

    $17

  • Alash with special guest Shodekeh

    The ArtsCenter 300-G E Main St, Carrboro, NC, United States

    Alash are masters of Tuvan throat singing (xöömei), a remarkable technique for singing multiple pitches at the same time. What distinguishes this gifted trio from earlier generations of Tuvan throat singers is the subtle infusion of modern influences into their traditional music. One can find complex harmonies, western instruments, and contemporary song forms in Alash’s... Read More →

    $24

  • Bombino & Vieux Farka Touré: Sons of the Sahara

    The ArtsCenter 300-G E Main St, Carrboro, NC, United States

    The Sons of the Sahara tour is a unique collaboration between two of Africa’s most esteemed and dynamic guitar masters. Vieux Farka Touré—often referred to as “The Hendrix of the Sahara”—is the son of legendary Malian guitar player Ali Farka Touré and joins us for his second ArtsCenter appearance. Bombino, the first artist from Niger... Read More →

    $34

  • Radicackalacky: Puppet Cabaret

    The ArtsCenter 300-G E Main St, Carrboro, NC, United States

    In honor of twenty years of larger than life puppetry in the Triangle, Paperhand Puppet Intervention presents: Radicackalacky! A festival of radical puppetry. Performances feature puppeteers from throughout the Southeast with an array of puppetry styles, including table top monsters, life-sized paper sculptures, and reverential shadow puppetry accompanied by song. The late night cabaret, is... Read More →

    $15

  • Holly Bowling

    The ArtsCenter 300-G E Main St, Carrboro, NC, United States

    Solo Piano Interpretations of Phish & The Grateful Dead Texture, nuance, and a gift for dexterous high-wire improvisation are the hallmarks of San Francisco-based classically trained pianist Holly Bowling, who infuses jam band music with a technically advanced, emotionally rich style. After studying piano performance at SF State University, Bowling has turned her agile mind and interpretive prowess to the works of Phish on 2013’s Distillation Of A Dream album and the Grateful Dead focused Better Left Unsung (released December 9, 2016 through The Royal Potato Family). Her instantly compelling playing and unerring ability to successfully collaborate with other musicians in an impressive array of styles has brought her to the attention of Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Gov’t Mule’s Warren Haynes, and other luminaries who’ve asked Bowling to perform with them. Already a rising star on the festival circuit, Bowling plans to continue to expand her solo touring, and recently formed a new band Ghost Light with Tom Hamilton, Steve Lyons, Raina Mullen and Scotty Zwang. Links: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

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