Carolina Performing Arts

We create shared performing arts experiences that bring artists, ideas and audiences together — fostering belonging and discovery on stage, in classrooms and across campus and community.

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Two people stand on a theater stage smiling toward the camera, one holding a conductor’s baton and the other presenting a decorated cap in the foreground.

A more joyful, connected Carolina through the arts.

We envision a North Carolina that is healthier, more joyful and more connected through shared arts experiences. Your support helps bring this vision to life — creating opportunities for people to come together, engage with new ideas and experience the arts as a vital part of campus and community life.

Cards

A violinist plays in an auditorium while a person wears a cap with multiple sensors during a brain mapping performance.

Where curiosity is nurtured

Through performances, residencies, workshops and clinics, we connect artists, students and faculty across disciplines, creating space for new ideas to be explored and discovery to unfold.

Two women take a selfie together at an event in front of an Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater sign.

Shared experiences that bring people together

Through live performance across dance, music, theater and more, we create moments of connection, reflection and joy that bring people together — live and in real time.

A person plays an upright bass while another person mimics the gesture of playing next to her.

Expanding access to the arts

We make the arts more accessible through $11 student tickets, choose-your-own pricing, free workshops and community partnerships, ensuring more people can participate and benefit.

Two musicians sit on a stone wall, one holds a violin and one holds a banjo.

Music, history and advocacy — reflections on Rhiannon Giddens’ artist residency at Carolina Performing Arts

The Southern Futures Artist-in-Residence at Carolina Performing Arts brought partnership, connection, history, advocacy and joy to UNC-Chapel Hill.

Read Rhiannon Giddens’ Story

The reach and impact of Carolina Performing Arts

For more than 21 years, Carolina Performing Arts has focused on expanding meaningful engagement with the arts across campus and community. This past year alone, that work brought people and partners together through performances, workshops and free clinics — expanding access, welcoming new audiences and deepening connection and well-being.

Research shows…

that arts engagement strengthens social connection, reduces stress, and supports emotional and cognitive well-being.

1 in 5

attendees is a student — supported by accessible $11 tickets

300+

students and community members engaged through 15 free workshops and clinics with visiting artists

1 in 3

ticket buyers attended for the first-time, demonstrating growing reach and engagement

Support Carolina Performing Arts

Your support brings the performing arts to life at Carolina, fueling bold creative work, deepening connections across campus and community, and ensuring that transformative live performance remains accessible to all.

See Related Funds

Office of the Executive Director for the Arts Expendable Fund

Provide support for CPA's vital operations and the creation of thought-provoking arts experiences.

Student Angel Ticket Fund

Provide support for access to transformative CPA arts experiences for all students.

The Resident Artists Fund

Provide support for artists in developing new work and techniques, advancing interdisciplinary research and engaging students through academics and campus life.

Arts Engagement Fund

Support programming that provides transformational arts exchanges among artists, students and community members — using arts as a tool to advance discovery, interdisciplinary learning, leadership skill building, connection and belonging.

Your support in action

See Related Stories

Professor Flavio Frohlich faces the camera seated at a desk wearing tACS head-gear

Arts, Culture & Humanities

4 min read

When music meets the mind

Carolina Performing Arts and UNC Health professionals teamed up on interdisciplinary collaborations that sparked creativity and innovation.

Dr. Frederick Bowman Jr. sits in a lounge chair at his home in Chapel Hill.

Access, Affordability & Scholarships

4 min read

A lifetime of giving

For 53 consecutive years, Dr. Frederick Bowman Jr. has quietly given back to UNC-Chapel Hill. Now, at 96, his extraordinary legacy is clearer than ever.

Contact us

Ensure every UNC-Chapel Hill student and person across North Carolina has access to arts experiences that build a more connected, healthier future for us all. Connect with our development team to learn more.

A person wearing a suit and tie stands smiling in front of a brick wall.

Michael Auchter

Chief Development Officer

Co-leads external affairs division, focusing on development strategy and fundraising.

mrauchte@unc.edu (919) 962-3510

“I’m grateful to Carolina Performing Arts for creating space where the worlds of arts and athletics can meet and reflect each other in such a powerful way.”

A conductor smiles and gestures with a conductors baton in front of a white background.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera and the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal