An experimental art festival returns to Wilmington. Here’s what to know

One of Wilmington’s favorite immersive and multidisciplinary art festivals will be held in Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach.

The SARUS Festival for Site-specific and Experimental Art is a celebrated platform for artistic presentation and exchange, organized by the Alban Elved Dance Company, and offers a space for diverse artistic expressions.

The festival will feature local, national and international artists, showcasing a range of disciplines, including visual art, dance, sculpture, performance art, photography, concert music, and film. Participants are from Wilmington and across North Carolina, Arizona, Tennessee, South Carolina, Maryland, the United Kingdom, Germany and more.

There will be performances, workshops, a symposium, exhibits, and social events.

When is the festival?

The SARUS Festival for Site-specific and Experimental Art will be held Friday, Aug. 8, Saturday, Aug. 9 and Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025, at five different venues in Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach.

Where are the 2025 participating venues?

• The Studio Theater at Cape Fear Community College at the Wilson Center, Wilmington, Aug. 8

• Jengo’s Playhouse, 815 Princess St., Wilmington, Aug. 9

• Hope Recovery Faith Community, 3403 Winston Blvd., Wilmington, Aug. 9-10

• Beach access #2 on Wrightsville Beach, Aug. 10

• Barzarre at 1610 Castle St., Wilmington, Aug. 10

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Performances

The festival will return with its familiar diverse and futuristic artistic styles while also including a couple of new programs.

• “The Breathing Archive,” is a collection of intermedial ekphrasis: artwork is created in response to artwork. The archive is populated with drawings, paintings, and poetry by visual artists, audiences, and anyone who feels called to put their experiences at SARUS to paper during or after performances. Artwork from “The Breathing Archive” will be auctioned off on Friday and on Sunday. Proceeds from the auctions will support the festival.

• Also new is the “Flow & Drift” Contact Improv Mini Retreat.” Contact improvisation is a playful, interactive, and improvisational dance form that explores movement and social connection through shared weight, touch, and physical awareness.

• The festival continues its collaborative partnership with Cape Fear Community College Music Program. Sound Bodies – Coil performance is a week-long collaboration among Cape Fear Community College music faculty and local and visiting artists in residence. The program on Aug. 8 will showcase the creative powers forged through the merging of classical, folk, and experimental music with dance, visual art, installation, and film.

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Festival schedule/programming/tickets

For more detailed information on programming, schedule and tickets, visit https://sarusfestival.weebly.com/festival-schedule.html.

Cheryl M. Whitaker covers community news for the StarNews. Reach her at cheryl.whitaker@starnewsonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: SARUS Festival for Experimental Art in Wilmington, NC: What to know