Creative Places & Projects

A Throwback to My Childhood: The Polaroid Land Camera

April 23, 2013
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A Throwback to My Childhood: The Polaroid Land Camera

If you were born in the seventies then you remember taking pictures with a Polaroid OneStep Camera.  My mom had one and she would photograph memorable moments like Easter, Christmas, birthday parties, and graduation with her Polaroid.  She would snap the picture, pull it from the camera and wait for it to develop.  I remember fanning the Polaroid so that it would develop faster as my sister and cousins waited in anticipation to see themselves immortalized on film.  That same childhood longing is still alive in most of us.  We post pics all over social media, documenting important moments...

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SCP Talks to Moazen Jewelry, Charlotte’s Local Jewelry Makers

March 27, 2013
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SCP Talks to Moazen Jewelry, Charlotte’s Local Jewelry Makers

Whenever I visit sisters Faith and Hope I always feel like I have been transported to a whimsical world filled with beautiful trinkets and what nots.   What makes it magical is the “I Can Do It” spirit that permeates the atmosphere.  This place of business is an asset to the local Charlotte community.  Moazen Jewelry is owned by two young African American women who are committed to inspiring young girls and women to control their destinies and pursue their dreams. Hope shares in our SCP Talks to the Community Series, the dual mission of Moazen Jewelry and what...

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Fela! Star on His Big Break and Life on Tour

February 26, 2013
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Fela! Star on His Big Break and Life on Tour

On the closing night of Fela’s! Charlotte engagement, principle tap artist Gelan Lambert talks about the path of a professional dancer and what it takes to make it big. Originally born in Miami, the Haitian-American Lambert has been living in New York for almost 20 years. “As soon as I was born, my mom told me I was moving,” Lambert notes. As a kid, “I was enthralled by Michael Jackson, and always looking for something to get into. I watched Kung Fu films and saw how, when they found the right teacher, they would improve and become masters, and...

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An Aromatic Spunky Place, Karma Kafe

January 29, 2013
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Somewhere between FIfth and Trade Street there is a fiery little space called Karma Kafe.  Owner Craig Walker mixes a dash of his own creativity with a popular dish like the Monte Cristo (French toast with ham, turkey, swiss cheese, garlic aioli, and strawberry-jalapeno jam).

Walker makes the strawberry-jalapeno jam from scratch.  The house special features four home made soups: clam chowder, vegetable, puree of caramelized onion, and a delicious black bean soup with cilantro and a dollop of sour cream (one of my personal favorites).   A lunch time crowd pleaser is the curry chicken salad.

I was immediately struck by the pungent aroma of herbs and spices compelling me to sit and dine.  Karma Kafe is eager to please and heavy handed with the tasting samples.

You can find this gingery space tucked away on 120 N. Cedar Street in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina.

 

Poor Richard’s Book Shoppe, One of the Few

December 12, 2012
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Poor Richard’s Book Shoppe, One of the Few

Poor Richard’s Book Shoppe, A Creative Urban Space from SCP Streetcornerprophet.com on Vimeo. Uptown on Brevard Court sits a courtyard with locally known restaurants like the French Quarter in Charlotte, North Carolina but there is also a new and upcoming little gem of a book store.   Poor Richard’s Book Shoppe is a black owned bookstore, which features spoken word events, live music, and visual arts entertainment.  I paid them a visit, unannounced of course.  They were in the middle of a small expansion project.  ”We are adding an additional room and a bar,” says co-owner Sheri Borges.  She...

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My Name Is A.K.A Creative, DIY Urbanism

December 7, 2012
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AKA Creative, a creative urban space from SCP Streetcornerprophet.com on Vimeo.

That was kind of the tagline given to me when I showed up at a media preview of the 70′s soul music revival stage play ”There’s No Woman Like the One I Got,” which had its debut on December 1st.  I was impressed by the vocal styles of the artists performing in the play but I was even more intrigued by the space.  I took a tour of the building on 314 and Remount Road in uptown Charlotte, stopping to ask people there, what is this place.   I was confused.  Was it a small community theater or maybe an art gallery?   Perhaps it was an incubator for businesses and artist, these were some of the thoughts that came to mind.  Then finally I talked to founder of AKA Creative, Jesse Shane.

Creative community spaces are not new but lately we have seen a shift in how urban areas use spaces to service the diverse needs of communities.  Charlotte, North Carolina is known as little New York, being compact in size and one of the fastest growing urban cities in the U.S.   The arts scene isn’t all that bad either, but because the city is small the use of spaces tend to take on a more creative edge, to accommodate the growing diverse palette of artists and art lovers.  Governing.com calls it DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Urbanism.  They also connect this growing trend to budget cuts to the arts and urban planning.  Todd Newcombe is Governing’s editor and he correlates the growth of DIY Urbanism to social media, the Internet, and a growing public interest in urbanism.

A local example of tactical urbanism is AKA Creative.   Shane describes it as a gallery and venue space where artists, entrepreneurs, and social innovators can showcase their work and collaborate on creative initiatives that will have a positive impact on the world and the local community.   You can find videos and photos of the events, artists, and innovators who use the space on the Internet at akacreative.com.

 

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