The Charlotte is Creative Podcast
103 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 14 ratingsWith a true diversity of voices and inventive approaches to content, storytelling, profiles and investigations, The Charlotte is Creative Podcast rises up at the intersection of Charlotte’s creativity and community engagement. Subscribe now for stories of creativity in the Queen City.
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Episodes
CLT Black Owned: Madeline Holly-Carothers and Ashley Creft
March 20, 2024 07:30 - 38 minutesMatt and Tim sit down with Madeline Holly-Carothers and Ashley Creft, who took an idea and built it into an organization that connects Charlotte's Black-owned businesses with each other and their community. Recorded March 1, 2024 after the Creative Mornings session.
Jennifer Sudul Edwards
January 15, 2024 08:30 - 34 minutesMatt and Tim discuss creativity and community with Jennifer Sudul Edwards, Chief Curator and Curator of Contemporary Art at The Mint Museum, in a conversation recorded immediately following Creative Mornings Charlotte, January 5, 2024 at The Mint Museum on Randolph.
DJ Fannie Mae
November 17, 2023 08:30 - 40 minutesRecorded immediately following Creative Mornings on Nov 3, 2023, Matt and Tim sit down with the one and only DJ Fannie Mae.
The 100th Episode: Will White
November 03, 2023 07:30 - 49 minutesFor this special 100th episode of the Charlotte is Creative Podcast, Matt and Tim sit down with Charlotte fashion designer Will White.
CT Anderson
October 13, 2023 07:30 - 39 minutesRecorded immediately following Creative Mornings at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on October 6, 2023, Matt and Tim sit down with CT Anderson from SpringClean.org, about the theme of Endurance.
Corey Mitchell
June 07, 2023 07:30 - 35 minutesRecorded immediately following Creative Mornings Charlotte on June 2, 2023, Matt and Time talk with Tony Award Winner Corey Mitchell, founder of Charlotte's Theater Gap Initiative.
David Jeffers
May 11, 2023 07:30 - 35 minutesFresh from his emotional presentation at the May 5 Creative Mornings event, Quadriphonic Sound's David Jeffers joins Matt and Tim to talk about his path to sound design, just what a sound designer does, and the music that inspires him.
Lauren Widrick
April 05, 2023 07:30 - 33 minutesLauren Widrick, fresh off her inspirational talk at the April Creative Mornings event, talks with Matt and Tim about walking away from a perfectly good job to chase a dream.
Mark and Maggie O'Connor
March 08, 2023 08:30 - 46 minutes"A national treasure." -Wynton Marsalis "The best musician on the planet." -Vince Gill "A supreme master at what he does." -Yo-Yo Ma "He is to music what Muhammad Ali is to boxing." -James Taylor Imagine how good Mark O'Connor must be if these are the words his peers have said about him. Mark's musical DNA includes American folk tradition as well as classical music, and even jazz -- which makes sense when you consider that his creative journey began at the feet of a pair of musical giants: f...
Charlotte Poet Laureate Jay Ward
February 08, 2023 08:30 - 40 minutesCharlotte is Creative's Matt Olin sits doen with Charlotte Poet Laureate Jay Ward, to learn more about how one becomes a Poet Laureate, and why he hid his talent for many years.
LEADING OTHERS TO SANCTUARY
January 12, 2023 08:30 - 38 minutesAt our first CreativeMornings/Charlotte event of 2023, we met three people committed to helping others find their Sanctuary: Liliana Jaramillo (Mexico), Yeferline Gomez (Dominican Republic), and Sadaf Alemi (Afghanistan). They all work at ourBRIDGE for Kids, a local nonprofit whose mission is to foster the education, acculturation, and resilience of newly arrived and first generation children and their families. In this episode of the Charlotte Is Creative Podcast, Matt and Tim sit down ...
The World Should Know: Mattie Marshall
June 29, 2022 07:30 - 45 minutesMattie Marshall is a Charlottean. Like so many in Charlotte, she wasn’t born here. But, she’s made it her home. While she’s lived in several neighborhoods since moving here, it’s the historic Washington Heights community - one of Charlotte’s original Black suburbs, named after Booker T. Washington. For more than 30 years, Ms. Marshall has been the president of the Historic Washington Heights Neighborhood Association. As she says, she may have come for the tree-lined streets, but she staye...
The World Should Know: Tommie Robinson
June 22, 2022 07:30 - 35 minutesTommie Robinson is an artist. He’s been among our most celebrated in Charlotte, NC for some time. But it wasn’t always that way. As a black man who wanted to paint for a living in post-World War II South, there wasn’t a road map for him. But, he had talent. He had passion. And – as he says – he had a hard head. So he succeeded and still paints today. Welcome to this episode of “The World Should Know …” a special podcast series developed by Charlotte Is Creative in partnership with Tom Hanche...
The World Should Know: Rudean Harris
June 15, 2022 07:30 - 50 minutesRudean Harris didn’t learn how to smile until she was a teenager. After the death of Rudean’s mother, her father moved she and her siblings to Charlotte where, her extended family could help raise them. Fighting through poverty and bigotry, the family stayed together, but there was little to smile about. But, through the kindness of those in her community, Ms. Harris learned to smile. She opened a restaurant in her mid-teens. And, for 60 years, she opened her doors, her heart and – often –...
Who Built Me: Ricky Singh
March 23, 2021 16:00 - 18 minutesRicky Singh is an educator, artist and father of four, so he knows what it takes to help build individuals and communities. He put much of that knowledge and passion to work this summer after the Black Lives Matter protests, painting several murals on and around Beatties Ford Road. On today's Who Built Me segment, producer Andy Goh talks to Ricky about about the people he credits for building him: his four boys. Despite a difference in almost 12 years between the oldest and youngest, Ricky ...
Creative Mornings Rewind: Josh Jacobson
March 16, 2021 14:22 - 47 minutesWhether you know it or not, Josh Jacobson of Next Stage and his work have likely touched your life. Josh and his team work with many of the most impactful non-profit organizations in Charlotte, and he continues to be one of the most sought-after voices in the community. In today's episode of Creative Mornings Rewind, Tim Miner sits down with Josh to talk about his career, which began in New York City learning from some of the world's largest non-profits, his transition to Charlotte and estab...
A New Home for Charlotte Art League
March 11, 2021 20:23 - 27 minutes"The vision is a community arts hub - visual, performing arts, hyper-local ... we anticipate that this 4237 community arts hub will be that now and for at least the next 15, 20, 30 years and maybe forever ..." - Tony Kuhn, Flywheel Group, LLC Something interesting is taking place off E. Sugar Creek Rd. -- the creation of an arts cluster intended to be the foundation of a new development blending cultural organizations and businesses with future retail, office and residential space along the ...
Nao Tsurumaki of Children's Theatre of Charlotte
February 24, 2021 12:10 - 39 minutesChildren's Theatre of Charlotte has long been revered by Charlotteans, but especially Head Biscuit Baker Matt Olin. Having spent much of his creative formative years working with CTC, Matt credits them for having made a profound impact on him and his creative work today. Last month, CTC hired Nao Tsurumaki to fill the vacant Managing Director position. Nao comes to Charlotte after having spent many years working in the performing arts in Washington DC, New York, and most recently, the Winte...
Irisol Gonzalez - Creative Mornings Rewind
February 09, 2021 09:00 - 32 minutesAt the February 2021 edition of Creative Mornings Charlotte, artist and Costa Rican native Irisol Gonzalez spoke about the global theme of promise. But what made her talk special was not the promises she was making to others, but the promises she made to herself. In immigrating to the US at just ten years old and without knowing a word of English, Irisol made a promise to herself that she would become a full-time artist. Today, she's a staple community member among Charlotte artists. In thi...
Onboarding with Boris "Bluz" Rogers
January 19, 2021 09:00 - 35 minutesOne of Charlotte's most prolific creative forces is making a move. Boris "Bluz" Rogers has been a fixture in the local creative space for more than a decade as an independent performing artist. In 2021, he's moving into a new role with the heavily established Blumenthal Performing Arts. In today's episode of the Biscuit CLT Podcast, we debut a new segment called Onboarding, where we'll talk to Bluz about his new position, what he'll be tasked with, and the transition in working as an independ...
Author Lawrence Gordon
January 12, 2021 09:00 - 40 minutesLawrence Gordon is a man who has many skills, and applies them in several different arenas. By day, he's the VP of Workforce Development at Hope Haven, a Charlotte non-profit dedicated to helping those suffering from addiction. At night, he's also a basketball coach at Carmel Christian. Lawrence's work with his kids writing children's books, however, might be his greatest passion of them all. In the past few years, he's worked with his 12 year old daughter and 11 year old son to write the co...
Creative Resolutions
December 31, 2020 02:50 - 27 minutesIn today’s episode of The Biscuit, we’ve asked several Charlotte creatives to give us what they’ve learned from 2020 and what their hopes are for 2021. You’ll get to hear from creatives like Sonya Phiffer of Elder Gallery, photographer Ernesto Moreno and painter Rosalia Torres Weiner about their hopes for the new year. 2020 has been a year unlike any other. We hope there's been room for both learning and reflection. That's what we've collected from just a small sample of Charlotte's creative...
Jody Mace of Charlotte on the Cheap
December 22, 2020 19:16 - 20 minutesIn 2009, local freelance writer Jody Mace was faced with a question that she heard echoed around the city: What do we do in Charlotte that's fun and not incredibly expensive. That's when Jody and her husband decided to build the aptly-named website Charlotte on the Cheap, where they would list as many of the fun and exciting events that were happening around the city that cost less than your average Panthers or Hornets game. More than ten years later, charlotteonthecheap.com is still the go...
Celebrate Five Years of Creative Mornings Charlotte with Matt and Tim
December 10, 2020 17:05 - 37 minutesThis week marks the fifth birthday of the Charlotte chapter of Creative Mornings (CM/CLT). What started as an effort to gather people together once a month to share, laugh, learn and celebrate Charlotte’s creative community has inspired many collaborations, as well as the development of the HUG micro-grant program, Queen City Quiz Show and Charlotte Is Creative, the nonprofit parent of The Biscuit. To mark the occasion, Matt Olin and Tim Miner, local organizers of CM/CLT and founders of Char...
The Biscuit Blitz: Chef Ron Ahlert and Anne Lambert
November 30, 2020 18:31 - 21 minutesBeing on the frontlines of building a community take a relentless devotion to the work and unwavering commitment to the cause. Chef Ron Ahlert, Executive Director of Community Culinary School of Charlotte has been putting those values to work for more than two decades. Today, he's helping lead a kitchen program that's helping to get community workers back on their feet. In today's episode of The Biscuit Blitz, Tim Miner speaks to Chef Ron and Charlotte arts mainstay and CCSC Development Dir...
Who Built Me: Greg Jackson
November 18, 2020 09:00 - 19 minutesIn the latest episode in our Who Built Me series, we talk to the founder of Heal Charlotte, Greg Jackson. Jackson, whose organization is working to provide affordable housing for families of need, named Otis Crowder as someone he wanted to pay tribute to. Jackson talks about meeting Crowder at a Rotary meeting where Jackson was speaking about Heal Charlotte, and them becoming friends quickly thereafter. Despite the differences in their backgrounds, Jackson and Crowder developed a deep mutua...
Scratch Made with Matt and Tim
October 22, 2020 08:00 - 28 minutesIn a new series called Scratch Made, head biscuit bakers Tim Miner and Matt Olin sit down for a socially-distanced conversation on Tim's open air back patio. The two take turns answering each other's questions on five topics that are on their minds or happening in the Charlotte creative scene. Hear them talk about what they love and hate about Zoom meetings, the future of live events like Creative Mornings, how creatives can use this time, ways they've rediscovered the city, and takeaways fro...
Exit Interview: Aaron Dodge
October 09, 2020 08:00 - 28 minutesOne of the city's most versatile entertainers sits down in today's episode of the Biscuit CLT podcast with host Tim Miner. For the past three years, Aaron Dodge has dominated Instagram and now TikTok feeds alike, but in 2020 he's jumping into the show full time. After working with renowned Charlotte video production team The Littlefield Company, Dodge is fulfilling a long-time vision of being a full time entrepreneur. Tim talks to Dodge about the work he did for The Littlefield Company, the ...
A Quick Catch Up With Matt and Tim
September 25, 2020 08:00 - 44 minutesThe last few months have been a lot of things, but one thing they haven't been is boring. In today's episode of the podcast, producer Andy Goh talks to head biscuit bakers Matt Olin and Tim Miner about everything that's been happening since the pandemic took over in March. Hear Matt and Tim talk about the reimagination of Creative Mornings, the Black Lives Matter mural, new funding for artists, and much more. Visit InvestInCreatives.com to find out more about funding for Charlotte artists, ...
Who Built Me: Henry Rock
September 17, 2020 16:17 - 13 minutesHenry Rock, founder of City Startup Labs, works to help build young men into entrepreneurs, so it makes sense that he knows a thing or two about the value of a mentor in building social capital. It's no surprise then, that he himself had several influential figures in his life that helped shaped him into the leader he is today. In today's episode of Who Built Me, we talk to Henry about the lessons he learned from his great grandmother Ella, a suffragist and historian, his father and uncles w...
Exit Interview: Molly Shaw
September 17, 2020 16:03 - 33 minutesFor almost a decade, Molly Shaw has served as the President and CEO of Communities in Schools, a vital position of leadership where her work directly impacted students across Mecklenburg County. This summer, however, Molly has left her position to explore new opportunities. In the very first edition of Exit Interview, Tim Miner sits down with Molly for a chat about the challenges she faced, the lessons she learned, and what she sees as the greatest needs schools are facing today. Read more a...
Who Built Me: Sarah Delia of WFAE
September 04, 2020 08:00 - 13 minutesWhen getting started in any field, particularly one as unforgiving as journalism, having a mentor is essential. On today's episode of The Biscuit CLT Podcast, we've got another edition of our Who Built Me series, this time we're featuring the host and lead reporter of She Says and The List, Sarah Delia. Sarah Delia talks about a mentor she had in college named Martha who worked at a radio station at James Madison University. Martha had no obligation to pay Sarah a moment of time, but after S...
Who Built Me: Meredith Dean of The Dean's List
August 28, 2020 08:00 - 11 minutesWe spend much of our lives trying to be conscious of the effects our words have on those who receive them because you never really know how something you say can affect someone. Something that you may find casual might be wildly inappropriate or even harmful to someone else. In today's Who Built Me series, we talk to Meredith Dean, CEO and Founder of The Dean's List, about four men in her life whose words shaped who she became. The words of the first three men were not well-intentioned, and...
Who Built Me: Rachel Stark, Senior Urban Designer for the City of Charlotte
August 13, 2020 08:00 - 17 minutesThe great landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted said, "The enjoyment of scenery employs the mind without fatigue, yet exercises it, tranquilizes it yet enlivens it, and thus, through the influence of mind over body, gives the effect of refreshing rest and reinvigorating the whole system." Every day, City of Charlotte Senior Urban Designer Rachel Stark looks at our city and works to create Olmsted's vision. Everything from the structure of public spaces to the Black Lives Matter mural dow...
Who Built Me: Eric Ndelo of Mac Fly Fresh
July 01, 2020 08:00 - 18 minutesIn an effort to define social capital and show the profound effects it has on our community, we're introducing a new series of podcasts called Who Built Me. We've asked several prominent Charlotteans to talk about the people and ideas that have shaped them into who they are today. In the latest edition of The Biscuit's Who Built Me series, Andy Goh talks to artist and entrepreneur Eric Ndelo. Eric is cofounder of screen printing company Mac Fly Fresh, located in Camp North End and known for ...
On the Ground for the Black Lives Matter Mural
June 11, 2020 17:23 - 24 minutesOn the morning of Tuesday, June 9, 2020, Charlotteans woke up to a bold new mural being painted on a prominent stretch of South Tryon Street that read "Black Lives Matter." Inspired by similar murals in Washington, DC and Raleigh, a group of Charlotte artists and organizers came together within a matter of hours to create their own homage to the movement. What makes Charlotte's mural unique, however, is that each letter is designed and painted by a different artist. The result is stunning. ...
Who Built Me: Ohavia Phillips
June 08, 2020 08:00 - 14 minutesIn an effort to define social capital and show the profound effects it has on our community, we're introducing a new series of podcasts called Who Built Me. We've asked several prominent Charlotteans to talk about the people and ideas that have shaped them into who they are today. In the latest edition of The Biscuit's Who Built Me series, Andy Goh talks to media personality and entrepreneur Ohavia Phillips. Ohavia's energy and dynamic presence are well known throughout the city. Much of the...
Who Built Me: Toni Freeman
May 25, 2020 08:00 - 15 minutesIn an effort to define social capital and show the profound effects it has on our community, we're introducing a new series of podcasts called Who Built Me. We've asked several prominent Charlotteans to talk about the people and ideas that have shaped them into who they are today. First up is Toni Freeman. In a long career filled with leadership positions at the Arts & Science Council, Junior League, Women's Impact Fund and more, Toni knows what it means to give and receive guidance. Her men...
CMCLT Rewind: Winston Robinson
March 12, 2020 12:15 - 38 minutesIt's hard to find someone who is more fiercely proud of being a native Charlottean than Winston Robinson. So much so, that Robinson's nickname of "Wilmo" is inspired by his native neighborhood of Wilmore. That, combined with the work that he's doing as former president of the Lockwood Neighborhood Association, through A Vibe Called Fresh, an annual food and music festival open to all residents, as well as founding an LLC, The Applesauce Group, to support it all. In today's episode of the The...
Classic Black: Owl and Brian Gallagher of the Mint Museum
March 05, 2020 03:07 - 45 minutesGood things come in threes, and with this week's episode, The Biscuit CLT Podcast hits the trifecta with an episode on visual creativity in the Queen City. Classic Black is the most recent sculptural exhibition at the Mint Museum Randolph. Inspired by the hauntingly dark and matte basalt sculptures of Josiah Wedgwood. The sculptures are striking in their own right, but they're presented in conjunction with the amorphous and flowing designs of local artist Owl, part of the Southern Tiger Col...
Intimisos: Franco Fasoli and Octavio Garabello Talk to Tim Miner
February 27, 2020 01:12 - 33 minutesIt takes institutions of all shapes and sizes to make a vibrant arts scene. The national and international artists attracted to both the walls of LaCa Projects, and prestigious residencies at McColl Center for Art + Innovation bring exciting and fresh perspectives from outside the Queen City. Today on The Biscuit CLT Podcast, co-biscuit baker Tim Miner talks with Argentinian visual artists Franco Fasoli (currently an artist in residence at McColl) and Octavio Garabello, whose collaborative e...
Angels to Anathema
February 24, 2020 05:42 - 41 minutesIn 2016, Charlotte art mavens Jen Sudul Edwards, Hillary Burt and Neely Verano came together to form The Sphere Series, a collection of panel discussions centered around contemporary art and how we view our own society through art's lens. This Wednesday (February 26), The Sphere Series returns with Angels to Anathema: What Do We Do When Beloved Artists Behave Badly? Hosted at the Mint Museum Uptown at 6:00 p.m., The Sphere Series discussion looks at how the body of work of creatives like Pab...
CMCLT Rewind: Stacy Cassio
February 13, 2020 05:00 - 39 minutesAt the February edition of Creative Mornings Charlotte held at The Comedy Zone, Stacy Cassio delivered a moving talk about the global theme of "Invest." As the head of Pink Mentor Network, Stacy is leading by example by investing in women in the city of Charlotte. Her organization is helping empower women by providing a network or resources and support, leading to a more equitable environment in the Queen City. In today's CMCLT Rewind, Tim Miner and Matt Olin speak to Stacy immediately follo...
Theatre Charlotte's "The Odd Couple"
January 30, 2020 14:00 - 37 minutesYou may know that co-Biscuit baker Matt Olin has an extensive history in theatre... in production and direction. His most recent theatre performance was more than twenty years ago! So when he auditioned for, and was cast, in Theatre Charlotte's upcoming production of The Odd Couple, it was an example of Matt stepping outside of his comfort zone. By performing on stage, Matt Olin truly is living out his Creative Mornings motto of everyone being creative, and everyone being welcome. In this e...
Liner Notes: Cyanca
January 23, 2020 06:34 - 32 minutesNeo soul and R&B singer/songwriter Cyanca released I'm Staying Home, her second EP in the spring of 2019. By the end of the year, her lead single "Patti Mayonnaise" had been named song of the year by Queen City Nerve. This success has helped lead to live performances across the country, but she remains loyal to her home state of North Carolina. In today's episode of the Biscuit CLT podcast, producer Andy Goh talks to Cyanca for another segment of Liner Notes. Cyanca talks about her backgroun...
CMCLT Rewind: Manny and Adrienne Threatt
January 09, 2020 05:00 - 38 minutesAt the first Creative Mornings Charlotte of the new decade, Manny and Adrienne Threatt of Hope Vibes delivered a stirring presentation in the hall of Myers Park Presbyterian Church. If you're not familiar with Hope Vibes, they're a non-profit organization here in Charlotte that provides basic services to our homeless population. Hosts Tim Miner and Matt Olin talk to Manny and Adrienne about how their upbringing spurred them into action, The Hope Tank (their mobile shower and hygiene statio...
Adam Farber of Middle C Jazz
January 02, 2020 05:00 - 35 minutesConsidering the closure of local music venue staples such as Tremont Music Hall, the Double Door Inn, The Chop Shop among others, the mere act of opening a music venue in the heart of Uptown can almost be seen as an act of defiance. A bold gesture in the face of trends, indeed, one that only proves to be even more courageous when the venue in question is dedicated to jazz. In today's episode of The Biscuit CLT Podcast, producer Andy Goh talks to Middle C co-owner Adam Farber. Adam founded Mi...
Noel Freidline and Maria Howell
December 19, 2019 05:00 - 1 hourChristmas is *gasp* less than one week away, so that means you have just under seven days to enjoy one of the best parts of Christmas: the music! On this week's episode of the Biscuit CLT Podcast, producer Andy Goh talks to long-time Charlotte jazz musicians, pianist Noel Freidline and singer Maria Howell. Having played together for a decade since meeting at the Jazz at the Bechtler series, Freidline and Howell have begun recording and performing together under the moniker "Noel and Maria."...
CMCLT Rewind: Joni Deutsch
December 12, 2019 05:30 - 44 minutesJoni Deutsch of WFAE, delivered a thoughtful talk on the global theme of "Silence" at this month's Creative Mornings Charlotte gathering. After everyone cleared out, hosts Matt Olin and Tim Miner sat down to talk to Joni. In this episode of the Biscuit CLT Podcast: CMCLT Rewind, hear Joni talk about how she developed her love of music, the role of public radio in storytelling, and how her podcast Amplifier is putting a spotlight on the Charlotte music scene.
CMCLT at 50: A Chat With Matt and Tim
December 05, 2019 05:00 - 1 hourFour and a half years ago, Matt Olin and Tim Miner sent email invites out for a first-time gathering of creatives at Laca Projects in Wesley Heights. With the goal of attracting 40-50 people, it quickly became clear that they were on to something when the event sold out. And then sold out the next week. And the next week, the week after that and so on. Tomorrow morning at Black Hawk Hardware in Park Road Shopping Center, Matt and Tim will host the 50th meeting of Creative Mornings Charlotte...