The future is in our hands. In a few days the counting begins. The whole world is on the edge of their seats.
In 2006, we published "Fight the Power" by Kelly Chopus, then Director of Community Relations for Goodrich Corporation, and all-around bad-ass, reformer-prophet, good trouble-maker, and endearing stirrer of the pot. Kelly went on to become president and CEO of the Robins Foundation in Richmond, Virginia. Kelly writes that we're all better when we have the chutzpa to effect change.
We also include from 2011, "Welcome to the Golden Age" by Jeff Jackson, our then Arts & Culture editor, and novelist, playwright, and "all-around wizard of the avant-garde" (as Matt Cosper calls him!), a review of Jeff's favorite America fiction releases from that year. Today Jeff is doing amazing Jeff things, including curating Wavelengths, a year-long screening of experimental films presented by Goodyear Arts and the Independent Picture House.
Make sure to read "Ignite Charlotte Inspires Individuals, Community" by journalist Parul Joshi, a 2012 profile of the speaker and community gathering series that showcased people and ideas throughout the region (we love the idea!); "From Charlotte to Portland" by Jeanette Leardi, a poem about more than trees left behind; an artist gallery by Lori McMahon; and two of can't miss PDF magazines from 2011 and 2008.
Mark Peres Charlotte Viewpoint Founder
The Charlotte Center Founder & Executive Director |
|
|
It has been a long summer already. The family and I left Charlotte for northern parts (wedding and then vacation) in early June and traveled by car from Maine to North Carolina. A two day stint in Boston, birthplace of independence and some serious civil disobedience prompted my latest reflections on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Mostly I am wondering if this generation, my generation, compares in the least bit to our forefathers and foremothers.
The recent death of celebrated and beloved community activist Joe Martin further spurred my need for an unscientific survey. Charlotte needs some good old fashioned dissenters like Mr. Martin. We also need malcontents (in the most positive and affirming way of course) and reformers with an eye on shaking things up around here…and very thick skin. People not afraid to have an opinion that is different and maybe just a little unpopular. People willing to shout those opinions from the most hallowed grounds. Who will step into those very big shoes? In Mr. Martin’s case, those hallowed grounds included city council meetings, board rooms and our most fragile neighborhoods.
|
|
|
From 2012:
Ignite Charlotte Inspires Community |
It didn't take Charlotte resident Toni South long to realize she was wrong about Ignite Charlotte 4. Listening to people talk about their passions for a few hours couldn’t be anything more than a typical – though possibly productive - networking event, she thought. But she quickly realized the gathering of diverse professionals was anything but typical.
Held in the spring, the event drew 300 people to Neighborhood Theater in NoDa. |
|
From 2011: Welcome to the Golden Age |
With massive bookstore closings making headlines, publishers struggling to earn profits while facing an uncertain digital future, and newspapers shuttering book review sections, sometimes it can seem like there’s nothing but bad news out there for serious readers. Yet paradoxically, we’re living through a golden age for American literature. There’s never been such a large crop of exciting young writers or so many small presses releasing a rich variety of exceptional work. |
|
|
From 2013: Charlotte to Portland |
Two decades in a city of trees, getting to know
the landscape of gentility, old ways, the foreign growth of displaced vines, intrusive but controlled –– How many times did she wonder what might be, what shoots of imagination might thrive and bloom if the natives put down their trimmers and shears, |
| With more than 25 years of teaching, consulting and arts administration experience, the arts continue to be at the center of Lori's personal and work life. Lori was born and raised in Iowa benefitting from an art education from elementary through high school. Her middle and high school curriculum offered integrated courses where the teachers, and guest lecturers, tied art to writing, history, science and math. |
|
|
About Charlotte Viewpoint |
|
|
Charlotte Viewpoint is a magazine about the city and culture of the Charlotte region that ran from 2003-2016. Charlotte Viewpoint published civic and cultural commentary and programmed events about Charlotte for engaged citizens to nurture creative capital, elevate civic discourse and promote intellectual and artistic excellence in the Charlotte region. |
|
|
| Charlotte Viewpoint has been archived by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room for its historical significance. |
| |
|
