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08/29/2012 12:08 PM

Charlotte's creative community to showcase arts during DNC

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CHARLOTTE -- Charlotte’s creative community has put in a lot of time getting ready for the DNC. Dancers will take their talents to the street in spontaneous performances next week.

"If someone starts dancing in the middle of, of a sidewalk I think people are gonna take notice," said Martha Connerton from Kinetic Works.

The idea is to give delegates, the media and other visitors a taste of the arts in Charlotte. It might even encourage some locals to travel inside the zone that will be dominated by the convention.

"We know a lot of people are planning on completely staying away from the area during that time. Maybe this is a way to kind of encourage people not to stay away," said Connerton.

The dancers are just one part of a larger effort by the creative community to be seen during the DNC. It’s called the Quasimodo project.

"We've sort of gone from that narrow core group of visual people to writers and theater people, dancers," said Faron Franks from Que-Os.

The idea is to show that there is a thriving community of those types of people in Charlotte.

"I think most cities like ours have this kind of inferiority complex where, you know, we tend to look elsewhere, to the bigger cities for what is edgy, what is cool," said Manoj Kesavan, also from Que-Os. "If we bring together all that talent, we could create something which is, you know, which is very impressive to anyone from anywhere."

In proving something to visitors, it’s possible that the creative community can change opinions at home too.

"We have some ideas. We can contribute," said Franks. "We can be part of the leadership."

The Quasimodo project has brought together artists and designers from numerous disciplines.

"These sculptures that we're doing are gonna be the visual component of the sound salon," said Monty Montague from Boltgroup.

To be clear, that involves a product innovator creating visual art to be used in an exhibit built around the spoken word. The Quasimodo project is all about that sort of collaboration.

Those attending the DNC should take notice.

"One of the missions of Quasimodo is to make sure that the creative pulse of Charlotte is seen and felt during the DNC," said Montague.

Organizers, however, say that the project has been successful even before the first exhibit or performance.

"How much impact we have during the DNC isn't as important to us as establishing this network of creative people in Charlotte," said Franks.

In other words, the DNC is not the end, just the beginning.

"The DNC is really the launchpad for Quasimodo," said Montague.