Luminous Lane is a ray of light in uptown thanks to Charlotte SHOUT!, which gives artists a platform to share their talents.

by Sharon Smith

No one ever had reason to notice this little alleyway between 3rd and 4th streets uptown. It was just a dreary sea of asphalt and concrete. Blink, and you’d miss it.

But wow. Look what happens when you give artists a wide canvas and lots of paint. At Charlotte SHOUT!, the annual 17-day arts festival which just wrapped up in April, Luminous Lane was a main attraction. Families posed and snapped pictures next to floral murals and bright, colorful collages depicting city scenes and funky designs.

Steps away, onlookers also tracked the progress of artists painting three new murals across busy 4th Street, where a bigger and bolder extension of Luminous Lane started taking shape during the festival. 

The murals and fiber art first came to Luminous Lane as part of Charlotte SHOUT!’s Spray Jam in 2023. Charlotte artist Sydney Duarte and Treazy Treaz, an artist from Australia, organized the project and gave it a theme: Bringing Light to Dark Places. Over these past two cycles of SHOUT!, dozens of artists have contributed to this vibrant showcase of largely local talent.

It’s a reminder that SHOUT! is not just a come-and-go festival. It’s an incubator for creatives, plus it gives the city something to keep and enjoy. So if you missed SHOUT!, you’re in luck — Luminous Lane is here for you.  SP

Want to see more of Luminous Lane? Here’s a photo gallery of Charlotte SHOUT! by Matt Chandler.

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