New Season of Carolina Performing Arts Announced

Each season of Carolina Performing Arts has a theme, and this year’s theme is “You Are Everything.” As CPS enters its fourteenth season, new works will be combined with returning artists and collaborators in a dynamic and ever-changing series of performances and productions at UNC.

“Now in our 14th year, we are a very different program from when we began,” said Emil Kang, CPA’s Executive and Artistic Director, in a press release. “With the opening of CURRENT, we’ve witnessed powerful connections inspired by immersive and collaborative arts experiences taking place there. Our new season features themes of community and co-creation because we want to change, fundamentally, the nature of our relationship with everyone who comes through our doors — no matter the venue.”

The first event of the season is “Stories on Citizenship,” a public meal and gathering at CURRENT on September 8. Members of the community are invited and encouraged to share a meal, and use storytelling and song to connect with each other, and convey a sense of belonging and connection to the world around them.

“In this moment, many people are moved in new and urgent ways to explore their own civic responsibility,” said Amy Russell, director of programming, in a press release. “At CPA, we believe that artists can be expert citizens engaging our own creativity and compassion and leading us to imagine new and better futures for everyone.”

The new flexible art space at CURRENT, which opened in February, is designed to do just that. The nearly 7,000 square-foot space on Franklin Street is meant to connect the campus and the community around it through art.

CPA’s performance season really kicks off with a public block party and two performances at different venues on September 14. One of those events is Robin Frohardt’s “Plastic Bag Store” installation, art created with plastic products collected from the community. The entire event is free and open to everyone – no tickets are required. The event will feature live music, interactive activities, a voter registration drive and local food trucks in the early evening on Memorial Hall’s front portico. At 8:00 p.m. Neko Case (with opener Thao of the Get Down Stay Down) will perform at Memorial Hall for ticketholders. For more information on purchasing tickets and other opportunities to experience “Plastic Bag Store,” visit carolinaperformingarts.org.