Guest post by Visual Arts Exchange (VAE) and SPARKcon
SPARKcon, the Triangle’s annual creative explosion is being held September 13–16th in Downtown Raleigh. SPARKcon assembles more than 1,700 artists, performers, and other creative folks for more than 200 shows and exhibits on Fayetteville Street, City Plaza and beyond–including the Red Hat Amphitheater.
New this year is the first annual SPARKcon Opening Ceremony. Multiple acts will spark the flame on Thursday, September 13 from 6–10pm at the Red Hat Amphitheater. Fashion will rule the night: featured acts include the fashionSPARK runway show and a very special circusSPARK fashion show. Other SPARKs will showcase their creativity through theatre, music, dance and circus performances with film previews, skateboarding feats, and other SPARK tidbits sprinkled throughout the program.
Update: see our preview SPARKcon 2012 post.
Opening ceremony
- Thursday 9/13 6pm-10pm @ The Raleigh Amphitheater
Festival hours
- Friday 9/14 5:30pm – 11pm
- Saturday 9/15 10am – 11pm
- Sunday 9/16 11am – 4pm
Festival locations
Downtown Raleigh, Fayetteville St area and other local venues
Festival highlights
- Thursday highlights: Opening Ceremony—Circus, fashion, skateboarding, music, dance, and theater at the Red Hat Amphitheater.
- Friday highlights: Main Stage Music on City Plaza and a circus performance and fire jam on Fayetteville Street. IdeaSPARK Pecha Kucha @ The Architect.
- Saturday highlights: A Main Stage line-up of music, dance and theater, street painting on Fayetteville Street and an art bazaar in City Plaza. Film to screen in the evening. Galleries featuring design, art and new media/digital work in multiple venues.
- Sunday highlights: The bazaar continues, the music stage will present a full day’s lineup and skateboarders will take over a block of Fayetteville Street. View the finished Street Paintings.
2012 SPARKS
A full schedule is on SPARKcon.com and available on an iPhone app. There are many more events and programs throughout the event. Some of the 2012 SPARKs include:
- artSPARK: 700 streetpainters on Fayetteville Street, art galleries in downtown venues, art PODS installations featuring four local artists and a photoSPARK booth. All weekend.
- bazaarSPARK: On-the-street bazaar of 40+ local crafters and designers selling their latest wares. Saturday and Sunday.
- circusSPARK: Acrobats, aerialists, face-painters, firedancers, jugglers and more perform, parade and host workshops. All weekend.
- geekSPARK: New and interactive media showcased within the local game design, art, and technology community @ The Fish Market. .Visitors can compete in Raleigh Wars and The Joulebug Challenge, two interactive games planned for the weekend. Saturday and Sunday.
- danceSPARK: Dance performances and workshops showcasing a wide variety of local dancers and styles. Saturday.
- designSPARK: A juried exhibition showcasing a variety of local architecture, graphic, industrial, interior, furniture, and landscape designers. All weekend.
- fashionSPARK: Runway show, featuring 15 local fashion, accessory and green designers in the largest annual fashion show in the Triangle on Thursday. A jewelry Trunk show on Friday @ VAE.
- filmSPARK: Local filmmakers present their work through shorts screenings, a 48-Hour film challenge and a panel discussion on local resources. Saturday and Sunday.
- graffitiSPARK: Live start-to-finish creations of the skills and creativity of local graffiti artists including live painting of cars and box trucks. Saturday and Sunday
- ideaSPARK: Community-oriented presentations from a variety of community leaders, artists, and entrepreneurs in the fast PechaKucha format. Friday.
- musicSPARK: Over 150 musicians performing throughout the weekend on two outdoor stages and a variety of local venues/restaurants/spaces. All weekend.
- poetrySPARK: Local poets, professional and amateur, featured in readings, workshops and panel discussions. All weekend.
- theatreSPARK: A full day of theatre performances by local theatre groups, including NC Theatre and Burning Coal Theatre. Saturday.
- wheelSPARK: Two days of skateboarding, paired with grafitti artists and DJs covering a full block of Fayetteville. Live painting of a car and a box truck.
See SPARKcon.comfor the full listing of events.
SPARKcon is funded in part by the City of Raleigh based on recommendations of the Raleigh Arts Commission. This project is supported by the United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County, with funds from the United Arts Campaign and the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency funded by the state of North Carolina and the National Endowment for the arts. This project was supported by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources. See our full list of the more than 85 local businesses that support SPARKcon.
About VAE and SPARKcon
Visual Art Exchange produces SPARKcon to celebrate and highlight diverse creative efforts in the Triangle and is a part of the VAE mission to support and provide opportunities for artists and connect the community to the arts. This festival gives an unusual opportunity for the community to be directly involved with a public art / performance art project in downtown Raleigh. SPARKcon is unique because it is an event fully developed by artists and the creative community, who are encouraged to use their creative talent and insight to produce their own engaging and inspiring programs. SPARKcon was founded in 2006 by Aly and Beth Khalifa.