In the Triangle, the arts scene is always evolving. This summer, those changes—buffeted by high rent and inflation and drastic cuts to grants and other sources of federal funding—come with a charge: Turn out and support the arts. They need you.
In Durham, Horse and Buggy Press owner Dave Wofford announced he is closing the press’s longtime storefront gallery to focus on book and publication design. In Raleigh, the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) is undergoing an ambitious fundraising campaign, and the Contemporary Art Museum of Raleigh (CAM Raleigh) announced it is pausing programming indefinitely as it regroups and looks for ways to stay financially afloat and sustainable.
“Like many small museums across the country,” the CAM announcement post read, “we’re navigating the realities of a rapidly changing world, where the cost of operating a physical space has increasingly outpaced traditional support, and funding from government agencies, foundations, and both corporate and individual donors has become more competitive than ever.
As always, though, there are plenty of ways to show up for the arts. Below, find a few exhibitions—from small gallery shows to larger museum collections—that you can explore this summer.
Mid Career | Lump Gallery, Raleigh | Through June 28
The artist who goes by Critter has produced a variety of work over the course of his career. He’s made wonderfully weird websites. He’s published books both short and long. Everything he creates, whether online or on paper or in an entirely different form, is art—much of it is currently on display right now at Raleigh’s Lump Gallery.
Lump’s website describes Critter’s work as conflating “treasure and trash, authentic and counterfeit, art history and personal history, and corporate identity and personal identity.” The gallery’s current exhibition features his paintings, objects, and books. Some art is old, but Lump is also displaying recent publications and never-before-seen work. As new projects and pieces continue to “strengthen the web of allusions” across the exhibit, some of the art moves in and out to create space for more, creating an ever-changing display of Critter’s craft—one that’ll definitely be worth more than one visit. Luckily, you’ve got a few more weeks to take it in. —Daneen Khan
2025 Durham Public Schools Instructor Exhibit | Durham Arts Council | Through July 6
For the nosy among us who wondered about the cool art teacher’s art (and life) outside of the classroom, and for those looking for a reprieve from county budget anxiety, the Durham Arts Council has curated an exhibit of Durham Public Schools (DPS) teachers’ art for the fourth year. Teachers from elementary, middle, and high schools across DPS have created artwork in multiple mediums, including ceramics and the fiber arts. According to the Durham Arts Council, “this exhibit allows teachers to step outside of their responsibilities in the classroom and share their vision as creators.” All artwork labels include the school at which the artist teaches. The Durham Arts Council is hosting a closing event on June 20 from 6 to 8 p.m. —Eva Flowe
Audacity in Motion | Ella West Gallery, Durham | Through July 28
The Ella West Gallery describes audacity as refusing to shrink in the face of a challenge. It’s a fitting theme for the gallery, which opened two summers ago. Gallery founder, Linda Shropshire, created the space to highlight underrepresented voices and, as the gallery website puts it, redefine “what is considered beautiful, brilliant, and deserving of recognition within the canon of art history.”
The gallery’s current exhibition, Audacity in Motion, features work from four artists; three are based in North Carolina and one in South Africa. Each transforms their personal and collective narratives into what the gallery describes as a “forward momentum toward a more liberated future.” The artists had the audacity to share their stories through their vibrant, unrelenting work. The gallery had the audacity to give a space to amplify their voices. Do you have the audacity to see their work for yourself? —DK
Against the Machine | People’s Solidarity Hub, Durham | Through Aug. 22
Artificial Intelligence has quickly and unnervingly become ingrained in modern life. The technology can play the role of teacher, therapist, or cheerleader—and in doing so, it’s contributing to an incredible increase in energy usage, water demand, and carbon emissions. According to the MIT Review, our AI footprint will only keep growing in the coming years. So, as the world seems to be politically, environmentally, and technologically collapsing around us, the Durham People’s Solidarity Hub wants to remind us of the role AI has in the destruction.
Against the Machine is the hub’s second art exhibit. It features ten local artists whose work is designed to engage and educate attendees about the impacts of artificial intelligence. Pieces highlight the evolving technological aspects of AI and elevate the human experiences that he software fails to truly understand. Unlike something generated from a prompt, these works are raw, unique, and entirely authentic. —DK
Located right at the edge of UNC Chapel Hill’s campus, the Ackland prides itself on being the home of North Carolina’s “premier collection of Asian art.” This summer, the museum is expanding its collection by introducing work from 36 Japanese women in Radical Clay, an exhibit organized by the Art Institute of Chicago.
In Radical Clay, every featured artist is unique. Some have worked with clay for decades. Others just recently began their careers with the medium. But all are contributing to the longstanding yet little-known history of Japanese women and ceramic production.
Historically, Japanese clay art has been a male-dominated tradition. Things have changed in the last 50 years as more women have been able to hone their skills to “create forms that emulate the infinite variety of nature,” as the Ackland’s website puts it. See the forms yourself from June 6 to August 31—the museum is open Wednesday to Sunday and offers guided half-hour tours on weekends for an opportunity to more deeply connect with the exhibit. Near the end of the summer, the Ackland is also hosting an artist conversation discussing local ceramic art in the context of Radical Clay. —DK
Stitching Our Stories | Cassilhaus | Through Aug. 31
Stitching Our Stories brings the political history of the textile to the forefront with a selection of quilts by North Carolina-based fiber artists Kimberley Pierce Cartwright, Jereann King Johnson, and Sauda Zahra. All three spotlit artists are self-taught, with work that explores racial violence and past and ongoing fights for civil rights and social justice. Quilts have a rich history—used as vehicles for political storytelling and, according to some accounts, as code on the Underground Railroad.
The quilts curated pay homage to Black women such as famed civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer, Their Eyes Were Watching God author Zora Neale Hurston, and Bree Newsome Bass, a legendary activist arrested in 2015 for scaling a flagpole to remove the Confederate flag from South Carolina’s statehouse. Much of the material used to make the quilts is recycled, adding to the exhibit’s themes of transformation and community. The exhibit is only accessible by shuttle bus, and attendees must RSVP. —EF
Coming into Focus | The Nasher Museum of Art | July 17 – Jan. 4, 2026
The Duke University Museum of Art’s photography collection began with just two pieces: One of a human-pig hybrid creature, the other a portrait (of a human, not a pig). However, following the opening of the Nasher Museum of Art in 2005, Duke’s collecting picked up rapid speed, according to the Nasher. Coming into Focus is a celebration of the Nasher’s extensive photography collection, which ranges from the untitled pig-girl by Cindy Sherman, symbolic of women’s role in fairytales, to recent acquisitions showcasing the full creative history of the photograph from the 1830s and onward. Now home to thousands of photos, the Nasher’s curators aimed to show the breadth of the medium and depth of the museum’s collection with this exhibit, which runs from July 17 through next January. —EF
Seeing Red | The North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh | Through Nov. 9, 2026
Those who are familiar with color theory know that the color red holds strong connotations. It’s the shade of love and passion, of violence and fury, and of danger and luck.
The associations surrounding the color have been woven into our minds, but artists have historically relied on rare (and often expensive) pigments to incorporate its vibrancy into their masterpieces. The North Carolina Museum of Art’s upcoming exhibit shines a light on the use of red in artwork by looking not only at the art itself but also the technological, cultural, and historical contexts behind each piece’s creation.
The exhibit opens on June 15 and runs until November 9, 2026, giving you plenty of time to soak every shade, tone, and tint of the hue on display. Like the name suggests, you’ll walk out seeing red in an entirely new light. —DK
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