the artscenter

My children have attended summer camps here and they have wonderful programs for children through adults in summers and year round. Most travelers may not also realize that they have shows -- a cozy venue, music groups, theater. Check out their schedule.

The Artscenter is that. Great location for Carrboro and Chapel Hill for Art Classes, Performance and Art Shows. Staff is super friendly and teachers will work with what ever level experience you have. For performance shows, concerts or plays, the auditorium has great sound and not a bad seat in the house

The rebirth of Carrboro as a creative community began in 1974 with the ArtSchool, since 1987 The ArtsCenter. No better place in the southeast for kids to explore their creative interests at summer camp, after school, or even in school. Almost 500 classes for adults, plus music, gallery, and theatre. Facility is aging and that creates issues, but instructors and staff top notch.

Recently attended the 10 by 10 plays. Soooooo fun! I'll be sure to go next year. The best in community theater and locals support it.The theater is old, small & cozy but so great.

There is always a good show at the Artscenter, and the prices are surprisingly affordable! They also have some wonderful classes, and great kid's camps, also.

This is a great small venue to see all sorts of entertainment - plays, standup, movies, etc. Definitely intimate and not a bad seat in the house.

This is a really cool place to visit to see a show, take a class, or view some local art. PRO: The lobby area is extremely nice, its clearly been recently redone. The bar and the ticket booth both look great.CON: The stage is unusually shaped so its very difficult to get a seat in viewing the front of the stage; most seats are off to one side or the other.

Our organization spent a lot of time here setting up an exhibit that shared stories of being homeless. Staff, especially exhibit coordinator at the time, Laurie Ritchie, were absolutely wonderful! Our exhibit was a success and it was great getting support from the local community. Classes here are wonderful also and I really appreciate the art exhibited during art walks. A++

Carrboro is a small town. But the talent that pours into the Arts Center is not small town - it is rich in every way...and the classes they offer enrich our bodies and souls. There is something for every age here.

The ArtsCenter is a unique asset to this unique town. It offers classes and workshops year-round in all forms of art, a gallery featuring students of the center and other local artists, and performing arts venues. I visited with my husband and daughter last Sunday to see "10 by 10 in the Triangle": a performance featuring ten actors and ten directors presenting ten plays of ten minutes each. We really enjoyed the performances and the intimacy of the theater.The gallery that night featured an exhibit by the Paperhand Puppet Intervention: many styles of puppetry and artistic expression, including giant puppets, masks, rod puppets, and props. This group works out of the Saxapahaw (Buddy Collins) Community Center on Saxapahaw Road, just off of Highway 54, 11 miles west of Carrboro, and performs all over the triangle.

The ArtsCenter has been a Carrboro institution for 30 years, yet despite growing up in the area, I only recently started attending events there. On June 17, I saw Royal Southern Brotherhood play there, with Johnny Sansone opening and performing with the band. It was an amazing show! They played in the theater, which doesn't have a single bad seat, and the acoustics were incredible! The ArtsCenter doesn't advertise much, so if you're going to be in the area, you MUST check out their site (www.artscenterlive.org) for shows and other events. Parking is easy and FREE, and they're walkable to everything Franklin Street and downtown Carrboro have to offer! Entry to galleries is FREE, but tickets for live shows and registration for classes can be purchased through their website.

Last Thursday, June 7th, The ArtsCenter in Carrboro hosted YouTube darling and ukulele virtuoso, Jake Shimabakuro. Jake performed to a sold-out, high energy crowd. There was no opening act but the lobby filled up long before the show began. Much of the audience brought along their own ukuleles with the hope of meeting Jake and grabbing an autograph or a photo opportunity. After the set, Jake was kind enough to remain in the lobby and visit with everyone in the audience who stayed after the show. This display of devotion to the fans is a rare occurrence for a touring act and added significantly to the overall experience.The show itself featured an incredible display of skill and prowess on the part of Jake. Coming into the show having seen only a few of his YouTube videos, I did not expect the kind of stage presence and high-energy performance that he offered. He mostly performed original compositions, with a number of covers thrown in. As would be expected, the covers received some of the greatest anticipation and applause. Jake covered a varied group of artists including The Beatles, Leonard Cohen, Adele, and Queen, all of which received considerable audience support. The audience itself was incredibly respectful towards the artist; with my own concert-going experience mostly in rock music, it was a nice change of pace to be a part of an audience that remained dead silent and attentive during slower, quieter songs. Jake was quite talkative with the audience in between songs, discussing the songs’ origins and being quite grateful to the audience for their support. The best part of the show came when Jake discussed his recent trip to Japan, during which he was able to experience traditional Japanese folk music being played on a 13-string native Japanese instrument known as the “koto.” Being so moved by the music, he began adapting it to the ukulele immediately following his return to his native Hawaii. He christened the song “Sakura, Sakura,” a beautiful composition which captivated the audience, myself included, and showcased the true scope of Jake’s talents. If I had one complaint, it would be the short nature of the set that Jake played. Lacking an opener, the show lasted less than an hour and a half, something I would usually be a little disappointed about. With the sheer physically exerting nature of Jake’s ukulele playing, however, it’s likely that his fingers simply cannot sustain longer sets. A solution to this could be the addition of a relevant opening act in the future, not for the sake of warming up the audience, but simply to expose the audience to a different artist and extend the time of the set.Overall, the show was fantastic. The venue, coming in at around 350 seats, was small enough to provide an intimate setting for the audience, but large enough to ensure that the energy remained extremely high throughout. The audience comprised of young and old alike; clearly, Jake’s music and personality appears to a wide swath of people. The addition of Jake meeting with everyone in the audience after the show was simply icing on the cake. If Jake ever returns to the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area, I will certainly be making plans to attend.

Great to be up so close to the stage and the actors. You really can get involved with the play.

I have taken several workshops here, and lucked into hearing bits of performances that were going on at the same time. This is a really active, vibrant center offering a huge range of classes, workshops, concerts, exhibitions, performances and more. Wish I lived close enough to go to more things here!

The Art Center participates in 2nd Friday Art Walk which I frequent attend. They offer classes and host performances. I was last there for a December 2011 Artist Holiday Craft Show which focus on local artists. The facility is great. They serve coffee, beer, and wine. The bathroom facilities are good and the parking is free.