Blumenthal ramps up 'immersive' programming blending tech + arts
The first exhibit of 'Blume Studios' will be an outer space exhibit using virtual reality that starts in September
The following article appeared in the April 8, 2024, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
Blumenthal to open new immersive ‘pillar of programming’ at Charlotte former Pipe and Foundry plant; Up first: outer space via virtual reality
Blumenthal Arts will launch a new immersive space in September in a warehouse it’s renting at the former Charlotte Pipe and Foundry location off West Morehead Street near uptown.
The first immersive experience at the location will be “Space Explorers: The Infinite,” which Blumenthal Arts described in a news release this morning: “Through the transformative lens of immersive VR, you'll be transported 250 miles above Earth into the International Space Station.” (Tickets are $29.95 to $69.95. The exhibit will run from Sept. 20 to Nov. 10.)
With the “Space Explorers: The Infinite” exhibit, Blumenthal is launching Blume Studios, “a new pillar of programming,” according to the news release, that “will focus on the intersection of technology, the arts and community.”
Blumenthal Arts, which until a January rebranding went by the name Blumenthal Performing Arts, has been working to add immersive experiences to its offerings in the last several years, with experiences ranging from the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit at Camp North End in 2021 to the Charlotte International Arts Festival that will return for a third year in September.
Blumenthal CEO Tom Gabbard has said that the organization has been searching for a Charlotte spot that could hold immersive public art events, live performances and educational programming.
The 56-acre former Charlotte Pipe and Foundry plant is being rebranded into a site called the “Iron District.” It was home to a pipe factory for more than a century, and in recent years has been speculated to be a possible future home for a Carolina Panthers football stadium. Blumenthal is the Iron District’s first tenant, according to the news release.
Last fall, Charlotte Pipe and Foundry opened a new $640M plant in Oakboro, 30 miles east of Charlotte. —CB
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