Chapel Hill Community Arts & Culture aims to beautify the town and add interest to the everyday Chapel Hill experience by installing art in places people might encounter it unexpectedly, Wright said.
“Our mission is to inspire creativity and celebrate the community in Chapel Hill,” he said. “And through public art, we often do that by representing voices that aren’t often portrayed in the arts.”
Arnold said he returned to the area this fall for his Master of Fine Arts rather than pursuing a program in New York because there are vital conversations that need to happen in the South to confront difficult histories and reimagine the future, which Southern artists can help facilitate.
“People want to continue to cultivate and grow the community here, create spaces that show solid work and have strong discourse,” Arnold said.
Senior studio art major, photographer and printmaker Madison Speyer has exhibited work through UNC’s art program and in the broader community.
Their upcoming solo exhibition, “Esmé’s Home,” will conclude the semester’s exhibitions for the Studio Art Majors Alliance’s SAMple gallery.
The Studio Art Majors Alliance aims to host three group shows per semester and end with a solo or joint duo exhibition, Speyer said. Speyer collaborated with their friend and fellow artist SamLevi Sizemore in the final show of the spring 2023 semester.
This year’s themed group exhibitions were “Body (of) Work,” “Anti-Portraits” and “Remember, You Will Die,” she explained.
Speyer is also showing pieces in a benefit show at Lump and a group exhibition at Peel. They said the Triangle’s arts community is supportive, communal and willing to help one another.
“It doesn’t feel like people are fighting tooth and nail for every little thing like it can in New York or something,” she said. “The Triangle is very unique, I think, in that it’s a very community-oriented and uplifting arts environment.”
Speyer also attends as many art events as they can, which they said is also a good way to find out about spaces to exhibit work.
Information about upcoming and past events can be found on individual gallery or museum websites and social media pages.
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