PNC Bank Presents Gantt After Dark

The first Gantt After Dark of 2017 starts the year off with a bang! February’s Gantt After Dark will focus on: THE ARTIST. Come indulge in artist talks, live music, food, painting, drawing, and short films.

Gantt After Dark At A Glance

• Live Music with 5th + York
• Observational Painting with Artist, Brittani George
• Paint + Sip with Cathay Dawkins
• An Amateur Master Class led by Dammit CHD:WCK!

• Rough Cuts: A Cultural Film Study

Live Music with 5th + York

The Gantt After Dark house band, 5th & York, will provide the soundtrack for the evening with their unique sound, brilliant melodies and captivating rhythms. In addition to headlining at regional festivals and playing local clubs, they have opened for legendary artists Frankie Beverly & Maze; Earth, Wind & Fire; Chicago; Anthony Hamilton; and the late Gerald Levert. Free to attend.

Observational Painting with Artist, Brittani George

Teaching Artist, Brittani George, will share her process of observational drawing. Guess can talk to the artist directly about her creative process, see how she builds an image from its inception to completion in one sitting, and learn about her upcoming class “Eat Your Colors” at the Gantt Center in April 2017. Free to attend.

Brittani George is a self-taught artist living in Charlotte, NC. As a Winston-Salem State University alum, she engages her studies in life sciences to express the connection between art and nature. The essence of her work marries the free-form aspect of creative thought with geometric patterns and creates a visual narrative of depth and cohesiveness.

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Paint + Sip with Cathay Dawkins

Sip wine and indulge your inner artist during an evening of relaxation, wine-tasting and guided painting. All art supplies, instruction and a complimentary glass of wine are included. Additional drinks are available for purchase throughout the painting session. Seating is limited to 20 participants, so purchase your tickets early. $25 ($20 for members)

Cathay Dawkins founded Beyond the Arts, in 2010, where he currently serves as Executive Director and Lead Instructor providing free and low-cost classes to Mecklenburg County’s youth, young adults, and senior citizens. With a curriculum based on North Carolina teaching standards, Dawkins provides instruction at several area institutions including CedarWood Academy, Aristotle Prep, United Community, Charlotte Housing Authority, 4H Mint Hill, Omni Montessori, The Last Word Bookstore, and the Harvey B. Gantt Center.

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An Amateur Master Class led by Dammit CHD:WCK!


Join Gantt Center teaching artists DammitWesley and CHD:WCK for our first ever Amateur Master Class, as they demonstrate perspective, proportion, anatomy and color mixing. $15 ($10 for members).

The human figure is one of the most enduring themes in the visual arts. From highly detailed, anatomically correct renderings, to loose and expressive sketches, this figure drawing course will celebrate the black body, form and the spectrum of melanin through the observation of a live model.

CHD:WCK! is a visual artist from New Jersey, based in Charlotte, NC. He explores raw and intrinsic beauty through photography, collage, and mixed media art.

Dammit Wesley is a live painter and graphic designer. Combining illustrative and traditional styles, he creates large acrylic paintings featuring memorable pop icons and cultural references. Not one to take himself too seriously, Dammit Wesley uses a bright color palette and dark subject matter to create a sometimes comical and uncomfortable juxtaposition of aesthetics and an underlying message.

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Rough Cuts: A Cultural Film Study

Rough Cuts is a monthly series that screens works-in-progress by local and regional filmmakers.

Screenings are open to the public and may include a facilitated session allowing the audience to  share constructive feedback with the filmmaker. Take advantage of this intimate viewing opportunity while gaining insight into the filmmaker's creative process. This month we will screen two short films by DaRemen and, curator of the program, Will Jenkins. Free to attend.

Film #1 (6:00 PM)

30 minutes
Premiere Screening

In his six-hour series, Africa's Great Civilizations, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. takes a new look at the history of Africa, from the birth of humankind to the dawn of the 20th century.

Funding Credit: Major corporate support for Africa's Great Civilizations is provided by Bank of America, Johnson & Johnson and Ancestry. Major funding is also provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Gilder Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS

Film #2 (7:00 PM)

10 minutes, Shot digitally on a Nikon dslr
Premiere Screening
Filmmaker: DaRemen J., 22-year-old filmmaker and photographer

“The Gantt Center is the perfect place to showcase, because of the culture of the museum itself. Being a young black artist I've experienced/seen/heard a lot about the world around me and I just want to show people that life is really what we make of it, a more positive outlook.”

- DaRemen J., filmmaker and photographer

Film #2 (8:00 PM)

15 minutes, Shot digitally on a Nikon dslr
Premiere Screening
Filmmakers: Will Jenkins (filmmaker/photographer) & co-director Zachariah Stein (filmmaker)

“I'm not originally from Charlotte but I have been here for almost 10 years and I've had the opportunity to see the art scene grow and change. The Gantt Center is a staple in the African American art community and should be the link for all different types of artists. My work and film has been heavily influenced by the growing African American art scene and their connection to social media. I want to hold up a mirror to how we all interact on a day to day basis.”

- Will Jenkins, filmmaker

The curator of Rough Cuts, Will Jenkins, was born with a camera in his hand. From snapshots, to videography, to post production work, Will, or as his friends know him, simplisticphobia, is interested in finding ways to make his clients look even better than how they thought they wanted to look.

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Gantt After Dark is generously sponsored by PNC.

Where art + culture come to life!