The Daily Tar Heel

Serving the students and the University community since 1893

Saturday April 1st

Arts & Culture


Sia Yazdanfar, a native-Iranian photographer that is displaying an exhibit of his photographs at Thomas Stevens Gallery in Hillsborough, poses for a portrait on Sunday, March 26, 2023. The exhibit, named "Restless Anahita," features pictures of traditional Iranian clothing and Iranian women's daily lives that he captured during his most recent journey back to Iran.

'Treasure trove of stories': Iranian photographer to showcase art in Hillsborough

Sia Yazdanfar, an Iranian freelance photographer, will be exhibiting a new collection of photographs from his most recent journey back to Iran at Thomas Stevens Gallery in Hillsborough.  The exhibit, named "Restless Anahita," will run from March 31 through April 23 and is centered around women from remote corners of the country. The photographs specifically feature traditional Iranian clothing and document the women's daily lives. “Putting the people in the context of the places is a lot more interesting in photographic storytelling,” Yazdanfar said. “Wherever I go, I try to seek out the people from that place.”

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Members of the cast from 'Next to Normal' rehearse at Varsity Theatre on Franklin Street on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.

'Next to Normal' is up next for Company Carolina and Pauper Players

On Friday, the UNC Pauper Players and Company Carolina will perform their version of “Next to Normal,” a musical about a mother with bipolar disorder and the impact her illness has on her family. Emma Clements, a senior and producer, said the musical was selected last summer and rehearsals have been going on since auditions were held in January. The groups chose "Next to Normal" because of the musical's focus on mental health, she said. “There's a big emphasis in the show that we should take care of ourselves and seek help, but we should also be allowed to embrace our emotions and how we feel and all of those things are also valid,” she said. 

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Omar will make its North Carolina debut on Feb. 25 and 26 as a part of Carolina Performing Arts. The opera tells the story of Omar ibn Said, a West African scholar who was forced to board a slave ship headed for Charleston, South Carolina.

'Omar': A cultural opera hits the stage this weekend

This weekend at Memorial Hall, the Carolina Performing Arts will be showing "Omar" – an opera following the story and life of Muslim scholar Omar Ibn Said.  Leading up to the N.C. premier, UNC has hosted several events and discussions surrounding the historical context behind the opera, delving into who he was, his impact and his connection to the University. 

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Tori Ralston and Tarish "Jaghetto" Pipkins hold up a flyer for "The Bench" on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. When asked what they're most looking forward to about the show, both said, "We're looking forward to having a rehearsal, a show, and a conversation."

'The Bench: a puppet show about everything and nothing' to debut for The Process Series

A conversation with the former director of Carolina Performing Arts led Joseph Megel to create The Process Series — a feature of new works in the performing arts.  In early March, the series will debut “The Bench,” a show from veteran puppeteers Tori Ralston and Tarish Pipkins. The show is about two people, an older Black man and an older white woman, whose random encounter changes both of them. 

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Photo Courtesy of Finesse. Rhythm and Blues group Finesse performed at the Century Center in Carrboro on Saturday, Feb. 19, as part of its Black History Month Concert Series. 

Carrboro Recreation Department hosts Black History Month concert series

Members of the Carrboro community gathered on at the Carrboro Century Center on Sunday, Feb. 19 to listen to Finesse, a rhythm and blues band, perform for the Black History Month concert series. The Carrboro Recreation, Parks, & Cultural Resources Department organized the series — along with other events such as lectures and open mic poetry nights — to celebrate Black history and unite the community. 

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A student views the art displayed at the Black History Art Gallery Exhibition in the Carolina Union, Friday, Feb. 10, 2023.

Art gallery celebrating Black History Month opens on UNC's campus

The grand opening of the Student Life and Leadership’s Black History Month Art Gallery Exhibition was held on Friday in the Carolina Union Art Gallery. The exhibition came after the SLL held a Black History Month Art Contest, which encouraged students to submit pottery, photography, digitals, painted works or poetry for the chance to be featured in the gallery. 

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Ackland Art Museum provides access to the arts for UNC students, pictured here on Feb. 7, 2023.

Editorial: Out with the old and in with the hue

"While we can never fear that color is going to disappear from our world, it does impact several factors in our lives. Color is something we take for granted, yet its presence changes our emotions, perception and ability to communicate and understand each other. Since the way our surroundings look affects us in so many ways, it's important that we do more to analyze what having a larger color palette can do for you."

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