Blumenthal Fellows Program

• Aguinaldo Santos: "Leaf of Light"

Aguinaldo Santos, a Brazilian artist from Cabo de Santo Agostinho, finds his passion in photography, art and architecture. His vibrant, bold compositions reflect a fusion of techniques aimed at evoking emotions and stimulating the senses. With projects spanning North Carolina, New York City and Miami, including showcases at Blumenthal Arts, Charlotte Shout, and Times Square, Santos fosters connections with fellow artists, photographers, and architects, aiming to inspire and leave a lasting impact.

Presented "Leaf of Light"
An interactive solar charging hub. Integrated solar panels capture sunlight, storing energy, which powers the sculptures embedded lighting and provides charging stations for visitors’ mobile devices.

• Cat Babbie: "Interlude"

Cat Babbie is an abstract fiber artist. She has been making art as soon as she could hold a crayon and cut up her mom’s gardening catalogs to make collages. Her practice is ingrained in various textiles techniques ranging from machine tufting and weaving to wool and paper sculpture. Dyeing her materials for these pieces is as important as mixing colors is to a painter and expands the potential depth of her colors exponentially.

Presented "Interlude"
A free-standing, cocoon-like sculpture that curves and curls around itself and the viewer. Patrons are encouraged to walk through and around the entirety of the piece.

• Eliza Dunaway: "Moire Movers"

Eliza is an artist living and working in Charlotte, NC. Although born and raised in South Carolina, she lived in China and New York before returning to the Carolinas in 2019. Though painting and drawing are her primary mediums, she has built and exhibited several sculptural installations during her career.

Presented "Moire Movers"
An interactive installation that visitors can rotate to make a moving illusion. (3) 7-foot tall posts patterned with notes of the history, commerce, and culture of Charlotte.

• Emily Nuñez: "Echoes of Thought: Constructing Spaces for Reflection"

Emily Nuñez, a versatile artist born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the Dominican Republic, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from Appalachian State University. Notable collaborations include dialogues on colorism in partnership with the Levine Museum and Studio 345 (2018), participation in The Levine MLK Day (2021), and involvement in Project Protégé (2022). Additionally, Emily served as the project artist for I Am Queen Charlotte (2022). Her impactful public works adorn various locations, including murals at Packard Place for Blumenthal Performing Arts, Queen’s University in conjunction with the Mint Museum Playing Picasso Project, and the McColl Center in uptown Charlotte for Shout 2023. Drawing from her Dominican heritage, Emily’s art serves as a conduit for cultural connection with people from diverse. Background. Presently, she continues to pursue her artistic vision at the McColl Center in Uptown Charlotte.

Presented "Echoes of Thought: Constructing Spaces for Reflection"
An open-concept greenhouse designed to emulate the aesthetics of stained glass. Inside will feature crafted flowers made from recycled materials, thought-provoking questions, and portraits.

• Heather Kostell: "Planet Pretend"

Heather Kostell, a native New Yorker living in Charlotte, NC, is a multimedia visual artist specializing in hand-drawn illustrations, acrylic paintings, and unique hand-crafted collectibles. Her work is inspired by her imagination, childhood memories, school experiences, and 80’s nostalgia. Heather is a big kid at heart. Through her colorful body of work, she strives to help others see the value in play and keep their sense of curiosity alive. Heather has a background in Elementary Education, working in both Montessori and public-school settings, and has been an established artist for over 7 years. She has been commissioned for several projects through Charlotte is Creative, created a mural at Camp North End, and has had her work in Charlotte SHOUT, Charlotte International Arts Fest’s “100 Tiny Things”, Goodyear Arts and the VAPA Center.

Presented "Planet Pretend"
Planet Pretend fosters a sense of play by inviting visitors to experience an imaginary world using ordinary objects.

• Kortney Paloalto: "I am"

Kortney Paloalto is from Seattle, Washington. She primarily works with acrylic paints but enjoys mixing different mediums into pieces as well. She was a featured artist in CIAF’s 2023 “100 Tiny Things” project, and Charlotte SHOUT! 2024. A big part of her pieces have to do with celebrating her heritage and showing the world who she is through her art – this includes lots of color and playful concepts because that’s who she is and how she sees the world.

Presented, "I am:" 
“I am:” - A series of Papel Picado-cutouts made with tinted vinyl, that showcase images that reflect the artist’s upbringing and the defining features of who she is.

• Laura Sexton: "Is This Love?"

Laura Sexton is a Spanish teacher and self-taught artist who creates with acrylic paints, paper, and upcycled materials to carve out small spaces of order when life is hectic. She uses paper from her classroom and plastic shopping bags to portray issues facing public education and the environment.

Presented, "Is This Love?"
A crocheted 6-foot teddy bear using plarn (plastic bags as yarn). This project will be filled with plastic bags on the inside and crocheted with them on the outside.

• Lori Schember: "Nebula Bloom"

Lori Schember is an adventure-seeking painter, metal sculptor and photographer, currently living in Charlotte, NC with her husband and son. Nature is her biggest inspiration for paintings and sculptures. She loves to use her camera as a creative guide for paintings when hiking through canyons or cruising on her paddleboard. Lori primarily paints on canvas, but also experiments with a variety of mediums like metal, wood, foam and clay. Traditionally taught as a Fine Art painter at Edinboro University, Lori has also found a love for metal sculpture.

Presented "Nebula Bloom"
A large sculpture carved out of EPS foam—an interactive piece allowing patrons to play, sit, and crawl through it.

• Paige Reitterer and Will Rudolph: "A Gathering While Everything Flows"

Will Rudolph is a lifetime craftsman and occasional artist. He has been fascinated by the physical world and its working since a young age and has sought to craft, create, make, design and generate works that responds to a perceived lack of agency we have in a consumer world to curate and imbue with intention and love the objects that support and surround us. Paige explores social interaction and engagement in her art, inspired by community and interconnectedness of the natural world.

Presented "A Gathering While Everything Flows"
A hangout spot that is beautifully designed to be in direct opposition to “hostile architecture.” This piece creates a communal space to encourage engagement amongst festival patrons and illustrates the interconnectedness of our Charlotte community.

• Angela Clousher: “INORGANICA: Flora and Fauna of the Sea”

INORGANICA: Flora & Fauna of the Sea was a dreamlike immersive tunnel view of the ocean's animal and plant life. This magical world invoked inquisitive wonder through interactive textures, lighting, and sound. Visitors would delight upon close inspection as they realized that this aquatic biome is reimagined trash and junk transformed, created from inorganic, recycled, and repurposed forever materials such as plastic bottles, caps, containers, and bags, styrofoam packaging materials, cups, zip ties, and other various items that clog up our oceans and landfills.

• Rosa Diaz: "Dreamcatcher Labyrinth"

Through this project, the aim is to honor Native American cultures and dreams.
"My canvas is like a large dreamcatcher, catching and depicting all the "good dreams" of participants."

"Dreamcatcher" is an interactive art piece and meditative walking labyrinth. Through this outdoor experience, the audience is encouraged to meditate and connect with nature to discover "the bed," or the root, of where dreams begin.

• Anuja Jain: "Birdhouse Forest"

Mandalas, intricate geometric patterns that symbolize the universe's harmony, serve as the heart and soul of Anuja's artistic expression. With a dual mastery in Biochemistry and Bioinformatics, Anuja's journey might seem to stem from the scientific realm, yet her true passion resides in the world of artistic creation. As a dedicated mother, she rekindled her childhood love for painting, which evolved into an unquenchable flame that led her to the captivating realm of mandalas.

Mandalas, ancient symbols of unity and tranquility, serve as a meditative gateway into Anuja's artistry. The " Birdhouse Forest " was a representation of individual personalities of individuals. Different shapes, colors, and sizes represented the viewer's perception. With this project, Anuja tries to channel healing energy with the meditative method of creating mandala patterns. Each stroke of the brush, or dot of paint revealed a deep exploration of the art form's intricacies, techniques, and symbolic significance. Every piece was a chapter in her journey, a message to the observer, a mirror to introspection. Anuja invited visitors to embark on a transformative journey through her art, bridging cultures together through shared presence and kindling conversations across the globe.

• Claire Kiester: "Luminous Loops"

"Luminous Loops" was a large-scale soft sculpture installation that featured a crocheted structure that viewers could touch and enter. There were multiple "windows" for viewing and "doors" that allowed access for people of all ages. The structure was composed of crocheted rope, cord, recycled plastic bags and light strips, all hand woven by Claire. With this project, the artist hoped "Luminous Loops" would challenge the audience's previous conceptions of the limits and cultural understanding of the practices of crochet and recycling.

• Dorne Pentes: "Critterz"

The Critterz were inflatable creatures from outer space who had come to spread a message of love and acceptance. Made of ripstop nylon, forced air, LED lights, and lots of love, the Critterz asked you to look inside to see what is best in you.

• Laurie Smithwick: "Pilgrimage"

"As children, we are expected to believe in magic. As adults, we are expected to leave that foolishness behind. But the concept of a portal which - promises to instantly take us wherever we wish to go - never stops being seductive. I want my art to show that portals are real."

• Tara Spil: "Framing Our Roots"

'Framing Our Roots' was a celebration of the international community in Charlotte and across North Carolina. The project was interactive and made up of a series of life-size photo frames with data inside. The visitor was invited to step inside and take their photo. Each frame was made up of colorful pieces that represented various data points about the international community including population data, language data, and more. 

Additionally, a fourth frame was installed to be completed during the festival.

• Mike Wirth: "Rimon: The Cosmogranate"

"Rimon: The Cosmogranate" emanated from heritage and this creation mirrors an ethos of reimagining tradition. Embracing the pomegranate's spiritual mantle, it echoed the Sukkah, an ephemeral haven cherished during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. Yet, within these age-old echoes resonates a futuristic pulse – a creation birthed from the visionary realm of the artist's Jewish Futurism. Here, ancient reverence met cybernetic innovation, intertwining in a seamless union.

Anticipation surged as this creation metamorphoses into a haven, poised for the crescendo of Jewish high holidays and the Sukkot fest. A sanctuary where pixels and prayers converge, where technology becomes a conduit for spirituality.

• Greg Urquhart: “What the Duck”

WhatTheDuck?!? was a statement of nostalgia. We all remember the simpler times and the rubber duck is a culture-wide, multigenerational symbol of that. Everyone can relate to it. Everyone has a memory of it. It's joyful and it's universal. The artist wanted people to look at his work and be reminded of how fun, simple, and present moments once were in their past.

• Angela Kollmer: Tree of Life

Constructed primarily out of reused, clear plastic bottles, this massive tree boasted a complex root system through which you could physically walk. During the day, it appeared opaque. However, at night multi-colored illumination highlighted the connections of the different branches, like a circulatory system. As you take notice that this remarkable tree was made out of what is in your own trash can, the title, “Tree of Life,” becomes ironic as there is nothing living about this tree. There is no way that anyone can manufacture a living, breathing tree. The wonder will slowly become somber as viewers realized these hundreds of upcycled plastic bottles are only a fraction of what Charlotteans use each year.

• Audrey Baran and Ryan Persaud: Grid

Grid was a movement and music collaboration between Charlotte-rooted artists Baran Dance and Sweat Transfer. Unset to a dynamic, electronic score, this structured improvisation explored themes of chance, coincidence, and collective pattern making. Each weekly performance offered a unique composition created in real time, reflecting the ephemerality of collaborative and collisional experiences. 

• Jason Payne and Bunny Gregory: QC Crown Towers

Five towers formed the five points of Charlotte’s ubiquitous crown logo. Each tower was a representation of the ingenuity and ideals of the artists Jason Payne, Bunny Gregory, and other local artists. The people of the city are the ones that bring it to life with their energy; each tower was illuminated from within to illustrate that the crown shines forth from all involved in the hustle and bustle of the metropolitan area.

• David Butler: I am

With so many amazing reasons to love the City of Charlotte, it can be easy to forget what makes the city shine…its people! Artist and Charlotte native DavehasWingz documented the city center and its visitors with limited edition Polaroids. If you find Dave roaming the streets of uptown, simply ask him to take your picture and he will gladly provide you with a free memento that will serve as not only a reminder of an amazing night in the city but also a constant reminder that people are what help Charlotte shine and our voices are what help Charlotte be great.

• Destiny Wilson: Heart and Sole CLT

Experience Charlotte’s most memorable and notable places through the contribution of the community in a most unconventional fashion…through the Air Jordan 1 High OG. Heart and Sole CLT preserved the city’s soul and history and combined it with the present by using the iconic shoe of one of Charlotte’s most famous residents, Michael Jordan, former professional basketball player and owner of the Charlotte Hornets, as the canvas.

• Elizabeth Palmisano: Wishes and Whispers

Wishes and Whispers invited the public to engage with art in a playful way and reveal the wishes of Charlotteans hidden within. At first look, the artwork was faint and partially concealed, but once guests triggered the sensors, Whispers illuminated from behind and unveiled dreams from the Charlotte community. Some Whispers required visitors to work together and activate multiple sensors simultaneously to reveal their message. 

• Justin Hicks: Brooklyn: The Collective Memory

The Collective Memory project commemorated and celebrated Charlotte’s once vibrant Black Wall Street community known as Brooklyn — upholding the legacies of those who came before us one brick at a time. The interactive experience invited people to learn the history of the once flourishing Brooklyn neighborhood through life-size portraits, archival books, and documented videos of former residents sharing their stories. Shedding light on urban renewal and the displacement of minority communities as a by-product, this immersive experience gave visitors an understanding of how we navigate the effects of moving people in and out of spaces as infrastructures grow. Collaborator: Sam Hoggs.

• Kimberly McGuire: Queen Charlotte’s Secret Garden

Did you know Queen Charlotte was an amateur botanist? Imagine what her garden may have looked like and who she may have allowed to visit. This was a playful fantasy, with its enchanting scenery and colorful, light-filled surprises at night. 

• Meghan Nance: PopBridge Creative Arts

Visitors would cross the little red bridge for hands-on art creating, music making, and body moving fun! The littlest festival visitors (ages 2-7) could wander freely between interactive story time, a colorful open art table, a silly dance party, or calming sensory play as they are invited to touch, make, scoop, splash, dance, listen, draw, watch and wiggle. 

• Moving Poets (MyLoan Dihn and Till Schmidt) : Color Play

Come get immersed in the spirit of creativity, as a visual artist directed a dancer to use her body as her paintbrush. Everybody’s turn, footstep, and hip sway drove the development of the colorful and dynamic 15′ x 12′ performance painting. Through key phrases and creative triggers, a unique visual story unfolded connecting the painter, dancer, and audience. The artist also painted with large format tools: a mop, squeegee, broom, and leaf blower. The audience experienced the creation of the painting live and from multiple points of view through real-time live projection mapping (the painter’s perspective, bird’s eye view, stage view). There was also be an opportunity for audience members to direct the dancer. 

• Oliver Hopkins: Mazing Shadows

Mazing Shadows asked visitors to take an adventure with friends and family through a labyrinth constructed out of shadows. They had to nagivate the many twists and turns and along the way enjoy a dazzling display of shadow-based art forming a beautiful world anyone can get lost in wandering and wonder. 

• Rebecca Lipps and Thomas Whichard: H2O

Just as water is life, without water, this art project did not exist. H20 was an interactive mural that requires visitors to splash it with water to reveal hidden imagery and messages. The message of H20, “Without water… this does not exist,” contains a double meaning. First, the plants and animals depicted in the mural were chosen because they depend on water to survive. Second, the imagery of the mural was hidden by a hydrochromic surface and could only be seen through the application of water. As you play and discover the art, consider water’s impact, and be kind.

• WonderWorld: The People’s History of Charlotte

A short filmed displayed on the facade of the historic building, scored by CSO.