Bidding Adieu 2023 at a Winter Art Market

One of the last events of 2023 that I attended was the McColl Center’s Front Lawn Friday + Winter Art Market. I was invited by a friend whose wife was an artist featured in the showcase. For the nearly two decades that I have lived in the Charlotte area, this was my first time visiting the McColl Center. I was amused when I discovered that it sits adjacent to the Charlotte Ballet. The first and last time that I visited Charlotte Ballet was in 2015, following a disastrous audition for the Debbie Allen Dance Academy (DADA).

The Winter Art Market at the McColl Center was a subtle yet vibrant display of local artists. Having recently worked in a museum setting, I engaged more with a few of the artists’ work and the inspiration behind it than I normally would if I were casually strolling through. I appreciated the live music given by a cover band playing Christmas tunes throughout the evening as guests engaged with artists in the Winter Art Market. Touring the other levels of the McColl Center was quite interesting, as I was able to enter multiple studio spaces belonging to artists-in-residence. Monique Luck was the only artist-in-residence whom I was able to meet (again) and tour her studio. One collage work that Monique was working on stood against the opposite wall, as grand and radiant as her spirit.

As I toured the remaining studio spaces and artwork on the upper levels of the McColl Center, I marveled at the architecture of the former Gothic-Revival style church. There is something very charming about old brick-style buildings, especially when a space like the McColl Center still maintains a quaint aesthetic to its renovated structure. In a New South city like Charlotte, preserving architectural remnants of the city’s past gives the Queen City character.

Before I left the Front Lawn Friday + Winter Art Market, I purchased a few art pieces from three different artists: Liza Cucco, Elizabeth Núñez, and Amy Yarger. Although I only stayed for one hour, I am glad that I did come out on that rainy Friday night. I realized that as a writer, I am an artist too, and artists need community. If you are an artist, you cannot forsake attending or joining events that showcase local artists. There is a synergy formed from connecting with other creative souls, whether you are supporting them financially or supporting them with your presence and engaging fellow artists about their artistic process.

The McColl Center is located at 721 N. Tryon Street in Uptown Charlotte.