Artsplosure – The Raleigh Arts Festival May 18-19 Announces Honorary Chair, Lineup
Raleigh, NC – Artsplosure – The Raleigh Arts Festival, taking place on May 18th – 19th on Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh, will celebrate its 40th anniversary this year. Singer-songwriter Tift Merritt will serve as the honorary chair of this free-to-the-public annual spring arts festival. To mark its 40th anniversary, Artsplosure announces its lineup of visual and performing artists showcasing a diverse mix of music, performance art, children’s activities, interactive sculptures, and fine artists and crafters from 20 states.
Festival hours are 11 am to 7 pm on Saturday, May 18th, and 10 am to 6 pm on Sunday, May 19th. For the third consecutive year, the festival’s full footprint will be entirely on Fayetteville Street with a fully programmed music stage anchoring the northern end of the event.
On the southern end, City Plaza will feature Australian environmental artist Amanda Parer’s large scale scultptural work entitled What’s That? from her Fantastic Planet series. The work will be enlivened by an adjacent performance space.
North Carolina artist Michael Layne is bringing his bass clef shaped work entitled BaseLine to the festival. Located on W.Hargett Street, BaseLine is an interactive, bamboo and fabric installation in which participants make music using bamboo instruments.
The festival’s centerpiece, the juried and highly competitve Art Market features nearly 180 visual artists from across North Carolina and the nation. These artists and crafters exhibit and sell their original works of art in the following categories: ceramics, fiber art, glass, jewelry, metal, painting, photography, wood, other 2D and 3D works. Three expert judges award $3,500 in six merit awards to the top artists in the market. The Art Market opens an hour early on Sunday, May 19 for easy access for those with accessibility or other special needs.
Fayetteville Street will be filled with music beginning Saturday at 12 pm, on the Main Stage near the NC State Capitol building. Saturday performances highlight an array of talent and genres, featuring sets from the India Ramey, Rissi Palmer, Union Duke, and Scott Mulvahill. Saturday’s headliners are the Gulf Coast Soul band, The Suffers, whose appearances on The Daily Show, NPR, and at SXSW have them at the top of many Musicians-to-Watch lists.
Great music continue on Sunday, May 19, starting at 11 am with DZ Carr Band, The Old Ceremony, The Artisnals, and The East Pointers. Sunday’s headliner is a founding father of the genre now called Americana, Alejandro Escovedo. From his early Punk days opening for The Sex Pistols and collaborating with Raleigh’s Whiskeytown and Ryan Adams, Escovedo is considered one of the finest singer songwriters of his generation.
Kidsplosure opens on W. Martin Street at 11 am on Saturday with special performances by the Enloe Jazz Assassians, One Tribe Drummung, Tarin Pipkins, Express Yourself Kids, Theatre Raleigh, Story Time with Read With Me, NC Association of Black Storytellers, and an array of local young talents from across the Triangle. As always, Kidsplosure will be filled with crafts and other interactive activities for children to enjoy and learn from!
A complete list of the full line-up of visual artists, special activities and music can be found at RaleighArtsFestival.com.
About Artsplosure
Artsplosure is an independent nonprofit organization that presents arts festivals in Raleigh, including its namesake spring festival since 1980 and First Night Raleigh since 1991. Its mission is to produce quality events that make the works of the most imaginative and celebrated artists accessible to the public, all in an effort to enrich our community and inspire greater love for the visual and performing arts.
Artsplosure is funded in part by the City of Raleigh based on the recommendations of the Raleigh Arts Commission and is also supported by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
For more information visit www.artsplosure.org.
Artsplosure – The Raleigh Arts Festival highlights (submitted photos):
