As we were putting this annual issue together, two big announcements landed in my inbox—one, that CAM Raleigh is putting its iconic building up for sale, and two, that the Ackland Art Museum is expanding and nearly doubling its footprint. 

The topic of space, institutionally and more abstractly, comes up often in conversations about the arts. It centered in last year’s arts issue, when Justin Laidlaw and Jane Porter explored Durham and Wake County’s  long-term cultural plans, respectively, as local leaders are looking to more intentionally leverage the region’s reputation as a cultural hub—so long as, that is, artists can afford to pay rent and find spaces to create, exhibit, and perform. 

Revisiting the topic, a year later, has provided some updates. 

“Our city has changed so much,” Durham multimedia artist Monèt Marshall said recently. “A big challenge is knowing where we can go. We’ve lost so many theaters and spaces. I think the major challenge is, where do we make our work now?” 

The Hayti Heritage Center, where Marshall is the artistic director, has long owned its historic building; now it is opening up a membership program with a sliding scale that gives artists access to studio and performance space. Boardinghouse Arts, a new Durham venture from artist Shirlette Ammons and former Carrack owner Laura Ritchie, will open next month, expanding on The Carrack’s mission to nurture artists from the ground up. 

In Raleigh, the experimental Lump Gallery is closing after 30 years. The news is hard-hitting for generations of conceptual artists who have launched careers at Lump, but it is also bittersweet—owner Bill Thelen is overseeing the building’s transition to plum, a new interdisciplinary space, and taking time now to make his own art. 

For some artists, meanwhile, a city itself—what it means to eat, learn, commute, exist thoughtfully in proximity to other people—is a creative medium itself. Such is the case with Hyperlocal, a “network of creative makers” organized by Durham resident Kelsey Graywill who make detailed zines (you may have spotted them in a vending machine at the Durham Food Hall) that are all about connection and collaboration. 

Below, you can also find dropdown lists of exhibits, performances, and festivals to bookmark this fall. Thanks for reading!