Raleigh's visual arts scene takes flight

Art Business News, April, 2003 by Amy Leibrock

"This ain't the Big Apple. We're no toddlin' town. We're Raleigh, where our favorite color is beige, our favorite flavor is vanilla, and we have more churches than bars," wrote Dennis Rogers in a recent Raleigh News & Observer editorial. Rogers' wry words carry some truth about North Carolina's capital city, but amid the vanilla-loving church-goers live a growing number of artists, gallery owners and art collectors who support a lively and diverse visual arts scene.

When talking about their town, residents are quick to point out that Raleigh isn't a typical sleepy southern city. In recent years, it has become a boomtown--the city and surrounding Wake County swelled by 200,000 people between 1990 and 2002. Both businesses and professionals were enticed to make Raleigh their home, in part, by the city's No. 1 "Best Place to Live" ranking from Money magazine in 1994 and several other such accolades in years since. As a result, gallery walks, public art programs, festivals and museums have been building momentum to cater to the evolving population.

"I think the art scene here is becoming a lot more open-minded" said Molly Miller, owner of Bickett Gallery, a one-year-old contemporary art gallery and wine bar. "I think the older crowd is a little bit set in their ways, from a visual arts standpoint, but [those] 40 and under have been craving [art that is] new and fresh."

"It's been a tremendous blessing to me," said artist Eric McRay about moving to Raleigh. "Coming from Washington, D.C., I didn't have great expectations, but I've been very fortunate. Since I've been here, I've been able to build a career as a fulltime professional artist."

McRay, who has been in Raleigh for 14 years, rents studio space at Artspace, a nonprofit visual arts center that includes 25 glass-enclosed open studios and exhibition spaces. Located in Raleigh's City Market area, Artspace is one of the cornerstones of a busy arts district and is where many First Friday gallery walkers start their evening. The walk, now 12 years old, draws thousands--from serious art buyers to families looking for a fun night out--to the downtown's galleries and restaurants.

"The key word in Raleigh is diversity now" said Linda Frenette, executive director of Visual Art Exchange, another nonprofit association and gallery in City Market. New residents, she said, are more receptive to new types of art, so traditional Southern styles that used to dominate are shifting to a more cosmopolitan aesthetic.

Raleigh's interest in art is also reflected in its renewed public art programs. Last year, the City of Raleigh Arts Commission held the Raleigh Red Wolf Ramble, a public exhibition of 100 artists' renditions of red wolf sculptures. "It was very family friendly and popular" said Linda Hall, executive director. "We're trying to build on that momentum to keep those families coming to see sculpture." This year, the commission is exhibiting 16 new sculptures, including a metal gate by Jim Gallucci, which incorporates metal from the World Trade Center.

Raleigh's art scene is also fostered by the North Carolina Museum of Art. Its collection spans 5,000 years of art history and features a strong Dutch collection and 170 acres of land for mounting outdoor installations. Right now, the museum and the entire state are in the midst of celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first flight at Kitty Hawk. Along with hosting a year-long festival of events related to flight, the museum is mounting "Defying Gravity: Contemporary Art and Flight" an exhibition which will be on view from November to March and feature 70 works derived from the interaction between aviation and the imagination.

While the museum is a great asset to the city, one local visionary is working to open a new museum devoted strictly to North Carolina contemporary art and craft. Lee Hansley, owner of Lee Hansley Gallery, is spearheading the project called MoCA/NC, the Museum of Contemporary Art: North Carolina. He is negotiating for a space downtown and hopes to be open by late October. "North Carolina is one of the most craft-rich states in the country" said Hansley, "and there is no museum that celebrates specifically North Carolina contemporary craft" In his gallery, Hansley represents 35 artists, mostly from North Carolina and the southeast, "working in the modernist mode," he said.

Even with the area's changes, artist Bill Thelen said the taste of the average Raleigh art patron still leans toward the conservative. Thelen opened Lump gallery seven years ago to provide a forum for installation and younger artists but has been more successful building a reputation beyond North Carolina than in his backyard. Lump's artists often do shows in other cities and were invited to exhibit at the Artpoint alternative fair alongside Art Basel Miami Beach last year. But all the buzz is starting to filter home. "Local people are tending to buy a little bit more" said Thelen. The gallery finally started making money in the past two years.