Charlotte International Arts Festival (CIAF) — big art installations, free entertainment, more…

This year, events and installations will take place in:

• The Iron District, home of Blume Studios
• Ballantyne’s Backyard
• Levine Avenue of the Arts
• The Green

The festival features performances of all kinds and large-scale interactive art installations. Many of the events are FREE to attend. Others will be ticketed events starting at $5.

Returning CIAF cultural partners:

• Atelier Sisu
• Festival of India
• Latin American Festival
• Le Dîner en Blanc
• Charlotte Brunch Festival
• CLTure Day + Night Market
• Boom Fringe Festival
• Lowcountry Festival
• Festival in the Park
• UNC Charlotte International Festival
• Independent Picture House
• El Grito Festival
• Nouveau Sud
• SouthPark After 5

New cultural partners and international artists:

• Radical Grove
• Africa Live
• Step Afrika
• Bloom Movement Artistry
• Gravitate
• Anne Spring Close Greenway
• Su Casa
• FOMO

Meliora by Atelier Sisu

September 12 to 28, 2025
The Green
425 S Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC

The form is defined by interwoven curves, connecting and converging in the centre of the form, creating a vaulted moment of negative space for the audience to traverse through and under.

The intertwined curves create vast apertures of negative space. These windows represent metaphorical windows into alternative perspectives, representing and encouraging empathy and care towards our fellow humans.

Meliora is illuminated by a dynamic internal light scape that is choreographed to an accompanying bespoke soundscape, creating a unique and enchanting experience for the audience.

Blumenthal Fellows Projects

• Torito de Pucara, Nony Tresierra
• THE FOURT™, friday jones™
• Together, Emily Sage Avery (Join hands to link up the two wooden figures and hear a chorus of voices!)

Splendour by Atelier Sisu

September 12 to 28, 2025
Levine Avenue of the Arts, Charlotte, NC

Conceived during the pandemic when the artists, like many of us, were faced with uncertainty and began to more closely consider the delicate balance of stability and the fleeting nature of time, the studio “endeavoured to communicate this feeling of transient beauty and the need to live in the moment through the idea of the bubble.”

Blumenthal Fellows Projects

• The Music Yard, Rupam Varma
• Mix & Match Magic, Kortney Paloalto
• Art Safari – Line It Up!, Vaishali Awale

Labyrinth by Atelier Sisu

September 13-14, 2025
Iron District

Labyrinth by Atelier Sisu is a “modular colourful Art-chitecture and a temporary playground.” Its design is inspired by the golden ratio and the Fibonacci sequence, both celebrated in nature for their harmonious spiral forms—think sunflowers, seashells, and pinecones.

Each module of Labyrinth can be arranged into various configurations to form an immersive habitat for viewers to explore. It’s crafted from translucent colored PVC fabric, producing layered hues that wash colorful patterns onto the ground, especially when light filters through. The use of vibrant, translucent materials aligns with Atelier Sisu’s broader exploration of how **color and light **interact with their environment.

Roots to Rise
Saturday, September 13 and 20, 2025
10 a.m.
Levine Avenue of the Arts, Charlotte, NC

Roots to Rise is a 45-minute healing experience designed to help you reconnect with your breath, body, and inner stability—right in the heart of the city. Guided through silent disco headphones, this outdoor practice blends breath-centered yoga, somatic movement, and restorative rest to create a personal sanctuary even in a bustling environment. Whether you’re beginning your day or taking a mindful pause, Roots to Rise invites you to slow down, soften, and root deeply so you can rise stronger.

International Bazaar
September 13 and 14, 2025
12 p.m.
Iron District
904 Post Street, Charlotte, NC

Featuring merchants and vendors representing local cultural groups and nonprofit organizations, join us in a magnificent celebration of the art, food, goods, and spirit that make up Charlotte’s diverse and creative cultural landscape.

Gravitate
September 13, 2025
7 p.m.
Levine Avenue of the Arts, Charlotte, NC

DJs curating Deep, Soulful, and Afro-House music accompanied by live percussionists, in a simultaneous conversation with the audience, keeping everyone present in a constant state of innovative flow, building communal consciousness.

Move Together
Sunday, September 14, 2025
10 a.m.
The Green
425 S Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC

Move Together is a family-friendly celebration of movement and music, designed to get every body dancing—from toddlers to grandparents. This 90-minute, all-ages experience blends playful dance, rhythm games, and connection-based movement to create moments of joy, laughter, and togetherness.

FOMO: Museum Block Party
Wednesday, September 17, 2025
5 p.m.
Levine Avenue of the Arts, Charlotte, NC

THE BIGGEST MUSEUM BLOCK PARTY RETURNS WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 17! FOMO: Museum Block Party is a free public activation across two Uptown Charlotte museums — The Mint Museum and the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art- in partnership with the Charlotte International Arts Festival (CIAF). This takeover of the Levine Ave of the Arts is in correlation with free admission to all Uptown Museums, also known as Wednesday Night Live, to bring DJs, live music and performances powered by Sonorous Wave, cash bars, interactive art, photo opportunities, creative collaborations and more to the diverse and creative community of Charlotte.

Inner Child Play Day with Dancing Lotus Yoga Arts
Sunday, September 21, 2025
10:30 a.m.
The Green
425 S Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC

Give your inner child the permission to play, create, and be seen. Inner Child Play Day is a joyful and healing experience where movement, imagination, and creativity come together in sacred celebration.

Over 90 playful minutes, you’ll be guided through somatic movement, expressive arts, and connection-based games that invite you to return to joy—and remind you why creativity is a powerful gateway to emotional freedom. This isn’t just play—it’s a remembering. Of who you were before the world told you to shrink. Of how healing can feel like laughter, paint-stained hands, and dancing like nobody’s watching.

Play More Charlotte will bring the magic of bubble blasters, parachute play, ribbons, and hula hoops into the mix. Together, create a playful, joy-filled space where connection and creativity thrive.

Africa is LIVE! Day
Sunday, September 21, 2025
1 p.m.
Levine Avenue of the Arts

Africa IS LIVE! Day is a partnership between CIAF & Africa LIVE. Africa LIVE is a platform that preserves and appreciates authentic live African music & culture. Africa IS LIVE Day will include African live music, vendors, information tables, food and education.

Su Casa
Saturday, September 27, 2025
7 p.m.
Levine Avenue of the Arts, Charlotte, NC

Afro-fusion dance party with DJ Bloc and DJ Black.

BOOM performances
Sunday, September 28, 2025
12 to 8 p.m.
Levine Avenue of the Arts, Charlotte, NC

Enjoy some of Charlotte’s local international artists as BOOM Charlotte takes over Levine Avenue from 12pm to 8pm! Produced by BOOM Charlotte, an artist-led nonprofit rooted in cultural equity and collaboration, BOOM @ CIAF connects the spirit of Charlotte’s International Arts Festival with the creativity of our city’s own communities. Part mini-BOOM fest, part CIAF closing party, this will be an event not to miss, featuring dance, music, and interactive activities where you can be both the audience and the artist. From 6–8pm we’ll close the festival in style, inviting all CIAF artists to mix and mingle with local and international creatives as we celebrate the vibrant culture our international artists bring to the Queen City.