Making Art as Big as Basketball

“The Carolina experience, just as much as going to a basketball game, should be to discover something new about the world and this journey of global culture literacy — and even more than that, to really understand how you respond to the unknown.”

Emil Kang launched Carolina Performing Arts at Carolina in 2004 to transform the University’s arts program with a goal to make art as big as basketball on campus. He believes that everyone should find how art speaks to them.

Growing up, Kang felt like he never had a real voice for his life. In college, he finished all his pre-med requirements and majored in economics to please his parents. But all along, he secretly minored in art history. In art history classes, Kang found his voice and a sense of curiosity, something he believes made him who he is today. After graduating, he turned down a job offer at a major bank against his parents’ wishes to be a receptionist at the Eli Wilner art gallery, where he went on to become manager. This led to a string of great jobs, and his final one before Carolina was with the Detroit Symphony as the first Asian American president of a major orchestra.

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