arts: Triangulator, Indy Week

Study shows growth in NC nonprofit arts & culture

Byron Woods — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 12:04:00 -0400

North Carolina’s nonprofit arts and culture industry generated $1.24 billion in direct economic activity, and the Triangle region led the state, accounting for just under a third of the total amount in 2010. Moreover, in a time when economic growth has been scarce, jobs in the state’s creative industry have grown by more than 3.5 percent since 2006.…

Rowand art gallery vandalized; personal art collection to be auctioned

Lisa Sorg — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:24:00 -0500

Update: The Joe Rowand Art Gallery was vandalized Saturday, Nov. 26, according to a Chapel Hill police report. Two large flower pots were broken, the business' banner sign was torn and the building was spray painted.…

After Somerhill bankruptcy, Joe Rowand opens new art gallery

Lisa Sorg — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:36:01 -0500

He’s back.

Joe Rowand, who owes artists thousands of dollars after declaring bankruptcy last year, is opening his new gallery, tomorrow in Chapel Hill.…

(More) cute things are happening in Durham

Samiha Khanna — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 14:58:00 -0400

Spring is in the air. Heaps of little creatures are prepping for debut, from bitty bunnies to budding bulbs and... lucky little cork gnomes, as the Indy staff has learned.…

Somerhill Gallery declares Chapter 7, owes more than a quarter-million dollars to artists

Lisa Sorg — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:05:15 -0400

Disclosure: The Indy’s Durham office is in the same building as Somerhill Gallery. The Indy is also a creditor in the gallery’s bankruptcy proceedings for advertising that has not been paid.

Somerhill Gallery President Joe Rowand lives in a 4,500-square-foot mansion filled with fine art on a 22.5-acre estate outfitted with a saltwater swimming pool and separate guest quarters—yet his gallery owes nearly $200,000 in back rent and $277,000 to artists whose work it consigned.…

Chapel Hill offers reward in on-loan sculpture heist

Joe Schwartz — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:43:19 -0400

The Town of Chapel Hill is calling for the safe return of “our missing little girl” after someone pilfered a $16,000 sculpture from the lawn of the Chapel Hill Museum on Franklin Street.

Jeff York, Chapel Hill’s public arts administrator, says the town is offering a $250 reward, no questions asked, for the piece, a bright orange and yellow epoxy girl leaping skyward.…

ABC nixes Bud Light naming rights for Raleigh amphitheater

Grayson Currin — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 11:37:00 -0400

The Raleigh Amphitheater and Festival Site, as the Raleigh Convention Center’s website now calls it, is still seeking a title sponsor.

Thursday morning, the chairman and commissioner of North Carolina’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission denied the City of Raleigh and Harris Wholesale the advertising exemptions necessary to put Bud Light’s name and logo on the $2.5 million downtown space.…

Durham Rocks, Durham Love Yourself merch available online

Samiha Khanna — Thu, 06 May 2010 16:50:00 -0400

For all those Durhamites who take great pride in the Bull City, who love equally its grit and glamour, you can still get your "Durham Rocks" and "Durham Love Yourself" stickers, tees and other merch online.

James and Michelle Lee, former purveyors of the now-defunct Untidy Museum and 305 South Anti-Mall, announced today on Durham's arts e-mail list that the items are available through Cafe Press.…

Spoken word artists compete tonight. Topic: 2010 Census

Samiha Khanna — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 15:11:42 -0400

Spoken word artists will compete in a poetry slam tonight at Night Life Comedy Club and Lounge at 5504 Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard for a $100 prize.

What's interesting about this event is the topic, the 2010 Census.…

Broad Street Cafe gets its permit, gets to keep the rock

Samiha Khanna — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:13:19 -0500

From Correspondent Rebekah Cowell, cross-posted from the Indy's Scan blog:

In a packed Durham City Hall Committee Room early this morning, the Durham County Board of Adjustment voted unanimously in favor of issuing a special-use permit to The Broad Street Cafe.

For the past four years, Broad Street has operated as a nightclub in a district that is zoned so that such a special-use permit is necessary to host music after 10 p.m.…

Arts collective to fill Franklin Street space

Joe Schwartz — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:49:25 -0500

An arts gallery will fill the vacant Kerr Drug space on the 100 block of Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, officials announced today.

The space will house a nonprofit group of 25 member artists dubbed Frank, with a lease agreement in place with building owner Michael Brader-Araje.…

Varsity Theatre to reopen next month

Joe Schwartz — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:21:18 -0400

The historic Varsity Theatre will return to Franklin Street in November under new ownership and will feature $3 movies, a renovated lobby and a children's party room. The business closed in June.…

Family modifies plan for jazz center; council defers vote

Samiha Khanna — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:29:42 -0400

As reported last week on Triangulator, Durham property owner Mozella McLaughlin has excised The Know Book Store from plans for the jazz center she hopes to build at 2520 Fayetteville St. McLaughlin also has downsized the renovations she planned for the building, thus postponing any vote the City Council would have made Monday night to give her a neighborhood revitalization grant.

Among the changes, McLaughlin will nix plans for a rooftop garden, her son William McLaughlin told Triangulator last week.…

The Know Book Store likely out by Dec. 31

Samiha Khanna — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:18:53 -0400

The Know Book Store, which has called 2520 Fayetteville St. home for the past 18 years, will likely be moving out at the end of the year.

William McLaughlin, acting manager for the property owned by his mother Mozella McLaughlin, delivered a letter to tenant Bruce Bridges today, he said.

The letter asks that Bridges and his book store and restaurant be ready to move as soon as Dec. 31, so the McLaughlins could move forward with plans to turn the building into the Mok'e Jazz Cultural Cente r.…

Statement from owners of Varsity Theater (yes, itâ€™s closing tonight)

David Fellerath — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:20:09 -0400

Just an hour ago, Bruce and Mary Jo Stone, the owners of the Varsity Theater on Franklin Street, released a written statement confirming the closing of the theater. Although the document doesn't specify the effective date, presumably the theater will close after tonight's final showings of The Hangover and The Brothers Bloom.…

Varsity Theater to go dark Friday, June 26

David Fellerath — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:26:18 -0400

[caption id="attachment_4387" align="aligncenter" width="461" caption="UNC-Chapel Hill freshman Walker Percy, later the author of "The Moviegoer" and many other books, extends his leg while waiting in line for a movie at the Varsity Theatre, then known as the Carolina Theatre, on Franklin Street, circa 1933-34. Photo courtesy of North Carolina Collection, UNC-Chapel Hill"] [/caption]

The Varsity Theater, which has been in operation under different names on Chapel Hill's Franklin Street for more than 80 years, will go dark this Friday.…

Movie cameras now set to roll in Durham in late March

David Fellerath — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:19:34 -0400

Main Street, the movie, may be shooting on your street soon.

We've got the story over on Artery, our seasonal arts blog—which will be cranking up in earnest for Full Frame.…

He's just that into you: Justin Long is Romeo to Evan Rachel Wood's Juliet

David Fellerath — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:25:30 -0400

Theatre in the Park announced today that Justin Long, an actor seen in such titles as He's Just Not That Into You, Galaxy Quest, Live Free or Die Hard and the Peyton Reed-directed The Break-Up, will play her BF from the Montague side of the tracks in the Theatre's May production of Romeo and Juliet.

The production will run for five performances from May 15-17, at the TIP space in Pullen Park.…

New York Times "succumbs to economic pressures," withdraws support from Full Frame

David Fellerath — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:44:42 -0400

If there was any doubt about the depth and breadth of the economic crisis in general and the daily newspaper crisis in particular, this afternoon's announcement from the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival abolishes it.

The New York Times, which has provided sponsorship support for the 12-year-old festival since 2001, has withdrawn its commitment, the festival announced today, less than three weeks away from the start of this year's event, which is scheduled for April 2-5 in Durham.…

Kaye Gibbons handed suspended sentence, fine for forging prescriptions

Bob Geary — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:04:07 -0400

The Raleigh author was given a suspended 90-day jail sentence, two years on probation, with random drug tests, and was fined $300 for using forged prescriptions to obtain painkillers. The story of her day in court.…

Robin Williams show at DPAC postponed

David Fellerath — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 17:31:55 -0500

Robin Williams was admitted to a Florida hospital yesterday after complaining of shortness of breath. After first postponing his remaining Sunshine State dates, tour organizers announced this afternoon that the remainder of his 80-date "Weapons of Self-Destruction" tour will also be postponed while Williams undergoes emergency heart surgery for an aortic valve replacement.…

Main Street holds casting call on Durham's Morgan Street

David Fellerath — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:38:46 -0500

There was more evidence this week that a film production is indeed getting underway in Durham. Auditions for Main Street were held all week at Durham Convention Center.…

Carolina Ballet decision prompts arts groups to meet with Mayor Meeker

Zack Smith — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 12:48:32 -0500

The controversial move by the Carolina Ballet to relocate some of its performances from Memorial Auditorium has prompted a meeting this evening between Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker and representatives of several Raleigh arts organizations. But behind the scenes, the conflict over performance space centers on a more pervasive issue: Raleigh's largest venues are now competing with Durham for the biggest touring acts.…

Bill to ban mountaintop removal coal in N.C. introduced

Matt Saldaña — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:05:22 -0500

Rep. Pricey Harrison, D-Guilford, has introduced a bill that would make it illegal for electric public utilities in North Carolina to purchase, or use, coal derived from dynamiting mountaintops in southern Appalachia. Half of the coal used to produce electricity in North Carolina is derived from the process, known as mountaintop removal, resulting in radically altered ecosystems, polluted streams and rivers, and billions of tons gallons of toxic "coal slurry," collected in artificial pools, or injected into ground soil.…

Evan Rachel Wood to act in Theatre in the Park's Romeo and Juliet

David Fellerath — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 10:24:42 -0500

Evan Rachel Wood stopped being a full-time Raleigh resident years ago, but her family remains central to the city's theater scene: Her father, Ira David Wood III, is longtime artistic director of Theatre in the Park, and recently finished a run in the title role of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Evan's brother Ira David Wood IV was also in that production.…