The “Research Triangle” may be the region’s most common nickname, but CAM Raleigh has another contender—the “Smithsonian of the South.” With over 25 museums and 65 art galleries in the area, the nickname makes a lot of sense; this summer, curious attendees can find a range of exhibits and moods between those spaces. 

If you’re in the mood for a road trip, though, there’s plenty to see outside the region—in Charlotte, the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art explores representations of women across time with Collection, Reframed (June 13-Novembver 9); in Asheville, the Flood Gallery Fine Arts Center’s Totem has a group exhibit featuring over 25 local artists’ interpretation of totem poles (through July); and at the Outer Banks’ Dare Arts, artist Essie Somma explores identity in flux with her Undomesticated exhibit (June 5-27). 

But for those hoping to stay local, here’s a sample of exhibitions running this summer that offer an opportunity to get out, stay cool, and support the arts. 

Kerry Burch: 5 Points Gallery Featured Artist | 5 Points Gallery, Durham | Through June 13

A local fine arts space led by ten contemporary artists, Durham’s 5 Points Gallery features original artworks ranging from artistic mediums like sculpture to fused glass to mixed media. This summer, they’re highlighting one of their ten artists, Kerry Burch, in her self-titled exhibition. Burch’s work draws from nature, with “bold color and layered texture to evoke shifting pathways and quiet moments found in the landscape” and abstract shapes that offer respite from the heat and noise of summer.

Flight | VAE, Raleigh | Through June 28

VAE Raleigh’s Flight, meanwhile, seeks to keep viewers both “grounded and untethered.” The arts non-profit’s ongoing exhibition challenged artists with a single question: What does flight look like to you? This prompt generated a collection of sculptures, photographs, paintings, and more that reimagine what it means to fly. 

In a broader sense, North Carolina lays claim to being “first in flight.” VAE explores the concept in the abstract. Beyond wings on a plane and the defiance of gravity, flight at VAE is “escape and arrival,” “the terrifying freedom of leaving the ground behind,” per the exhibit website, and a “thought becoming something larger than itself.”

Black Mountain College: Avant-Garde Art from the Experimental School, 1933-1957 | Gallery C, Raleigh | Through July 31

Gallery C also encourages audiences to reflect on the history and art of a region further west,  this one a little closer to home. 

Black Mountain College: Avant-Garde Art from the Experimental School, 1933-1957, displays works from “one of the most radical educational experiments of the twentieth century,” as the exhibition website notes. Though only open for 24 years, Black Mountain College, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, housed some of the leading 20th-century artistic minds of avant-garde art—art that transcended conventions and forever reshaped our contemporary creative landscape. 

Visionaries like classical composer and artist John Cage and renowned choreographer Merce Cunningham walked the college’s halls, and pieces spanning paintings to mixed media reflect their spirit of experimentation and collaboration. With a philosophy of viewing “education and art as inseparable from life itself,” this exhibition seeks to draw you into the soul of the school by showcasing the work of German-born American artist Josef Albers, French-American illustrator Jean Charlot, and Paris-based artist Gregory Masurovsky. 

Knowing the West | The North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh | Through Aug. 9

It’s hard to separate the American West from the pervasive cultural associations—cowboys, gold-diggers—imposed upon it. This summer, the North Carolina Museum of Art asks visitors to challenge their preconceived notions with exhibit Knowing the West, which opened May 2 and runs through the end of August. 

Curated by the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the exhibit is divided into three thematic sections, with each featuring a mixture of media that together reflect multicultural influences. The first, “Authority,” emphasizes the Native nations of the West with displays of Native clothing. “Persistence” focuses on the region’s material culture with pieces made of fabrics from across Europe and Asia. Paintings of tribal leaders characterize “Nation Building” in its effort to shed light on the relationship between Native nations and the US government.

Throughout the summer, the museum will host audio-described tours of the exhibit on June 11 and 13. On June 27, per the exhibition site, an interactive event consisting of art making, performances, and community activities with local artists will allow visitors to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary by exploring the American West. 

Dorothy Brett, “Desert Indian,” 1932/1937, oil on canvas. Tia Collection; Photo: James Hart Photography.

Care and Concern: Recent Acquisitions of Modern and Contemporary Art | Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill | July 10 – Nov. 15

Priding themselves as a “local museum with a global outlook,” UNC-Chapel Hill’s Ackland Art Museum seeks to explore this identity through a different lens with upcoming exhibition Care and Concern: Recent Acquisitions of Modern and Contemporary Art.

Like VAE, the Ackland is exploring art in its abstract form, but this time, they’re hoping to pull at your heartstrings or capture you in a belly laugh—or a mix of both. As the website describes, Care and Concern “explores how artists communicate their cares and concerns about the world around them, with collections of modern and contemporary art that the museum has acquired since 2020, focusing on artists’ global outlook.” When the exhibition opens on July 10, viewers can meditate on the love, disappointment, and anger tangible within each piece. 

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