From Across the Globe — To Chapel Hill: You Make It Possible
Every season, Carolina Performing Arts transforms Chapel Hill into a crossroads of global artistry.
This year alone, artists from Australia, China, Denmark, England, Germany, Ireland, and Norway will travel thousands of miles to share their stories, traditions, and groundbreaking work with our community. From Ireland’s bold reimagining of Shakespeare in Lost Lear to England’s Samsara, a breathtaking work rooted in Southeast Asian dance traditions, each performance opens a window to the world.
How That Happens: Annual Giving
Behind every curtain rise is a community of supporters who make it possible. Your annual gift ensures these extraordinary performances don’t just visit once—they become a lasting part of our cultural fabric.
From plane tickets and rehearsal space to visas and artist residencies, every unforgettable performance begins long before the spotlight shines. Annual giving powers each step of that journey to the stage. Gifts from donors like you ensure we can welcome international talent year after year—enriching our campus and community.
Will you make a gift that helps global artistry continue to thrive on our stages?
Why Your Support Matters
Bringing the world’s artists to Chapel Hill takes more than vision—it takes the steady support of donors like you.
Did you know…
International airfare for one artist can exceed $1,500
Housing and hospitality for a week-long residency can top $4,000
Specialized equipment and freight can cost thousands more
Annual gifts bridge the gap between ticket sales and the true cost of presenting bold, global artistry. Your generosity helps cover things like:
- Artist travel, visas, and freight
- Housing and hospitality for visiting performers
- Rehearsal space and technical needs
- Community workshops and student engagement opportunities
Beyond the Stage: The Ripple Effect
Wherever you choose to give, you’re not just supporting a performance—you’re shaping the experiences that ripple through classrooms, communities, and cultural life at Carolina. And the ripple is tangible. Last season, donor support brought together an international team of artists and UNC students for the first residency of Night Sky with Exit Wounds, a new opera inspired by Ocean Vuong’s poetry.
In January 2025, donor support made it possible for mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron, composer Bryce Dessner, director Kaneza Schaal (a Southern Futures Resident Artist), and a team of international collaborators to gather in Chapel Hill for the first creative residency of Night Sky with Exit Wounds, an opera-in-progress based on the poetry of Ocean Vuong. For a week, these artists worked side by side with local musicians and producers, exploring how words, music, and visual art could converge into something wholly new.
The residency culminated in a work-in-progress showing where Vuong’s poetry leapt from the page, carried by Barron’s voice and the haunting sound of bells cast from undetonated weapons left from the Vietnam War. UNC faculty facilitated conversations, and students—already studying Vuong’s work in class—found their understanding transformed. One student reflected, “Hearing Vuong’s poetry in conversation with music from bombshells and Fleur Barron’s angelic voice truly elevated my perception of what poetry could become.” Another shared that the performance revealed “the connectedness of poetry and music” and inspired them to take more risks in their own writing.
This is what your gift makes possible: international artistry brought to Carolina, students discovering new forms of expression, and a community encountering perspectives that resonate long after the curtain falls.
Stories like this are only possible because of donor support—proof that your gift doesn’t just bring global artistry to Chapel Hill, it ensures the arts live on through the students and communities forever changed by them.
Be the Reason the Arts Live On
The ripple starts with you. Your gift brings artists across oceans, opens doors for students, and creates moments of connection that echo far beyond the stage.
Will you help ensure global artistry doesn’t just pass through Chapel Hill, but becomes part of its story—for this season and for generations to come?
Any gift, at any level, makes it possible. Together, we can ensure that Long Live the Arts is more than a motto—it’s our shared reality.
Have questions? We’d love to hear from you. Contact CPA’s Development team at 919-238-9623.