Durham Art Guild: Creativity & Community in the Arts

The Durham Art Guild is a mainstay of the downtown Durham community and offers many unique programs, including a yearly Juried Show, a Member’s Show, and exhibits featuring individual artists at its Truist Gallery downtown as well as the gallery in the Golden Belt complex. The Guild also supports local businesses through its Art at Work program, offers an Artist-in-Residence program, and matches professional artists with students for learning experiences through its Creative Mentorship Program. Executive Director Liz Gage shared more about the history of the Guild and how it has made such an impact for generations of Durhamites. 

Carolina Theatre: The Durham Art Guild is one of the oldest organizations in North Carolina. Can you tell us more about how the organization began and how it’s grown over the years? 

Durham Art Guild: The Durham Art Guild grew out of a need to connect and create community in the arts. A mission that is still at the heart of the organization 76 years later. Today the Guild represents over 400 artists annually, presenting over 30 exhibitions featuring 1000+ pieces of artwork throughout North Carolina. The Durham Art Guild has a home in Durham but a wide reach throughout the state with pop-up exhibitions in Wilmington and Charlotte regularly to create “cross-pollination” of the arts and advocate for artists to expand their reach.  

CTD: What is the Durham Art Guild’s relationship with our neighbor, the Durham Arts Council? 

DAG: This is a question we get a lot! The two organizations are completely separate. One of our galleries (Truist Gallery) is located in the Durham Arts Council and we’re thankful for this partnership. While we both provide services to artists, the Guild focuses more on placing artwork in multiple spaces and working with artists to grow in their career through workshops, events, exhibitions and art sales.   

CTD: What are the programs you have that connect visual artists with the community?  

DAG: Our largest program connecting local businesses with the arts is Art@Work, and we’re proud to have Carolina Theatre as a partner in this initiative. Art@Work provides services to local businesses to place rented artwork on a rotating basis in offices, empty spaces, restaurants, etc. Basically we turn your space into a living art gallery featuring local artists! And we rent the artwork from the artist, so artists are fairly compensated for their interior decor and enhancement of spaces.  

CTD: It’s always a treat for us to display artists’ work in our Star Lounge. How did that partnership begin and what have been some of the pieces we’ve helped display? 

DAG: Randy (McKay; President & CEO of the Carolina Theatre) is clearly a huge advocate for the arts and when he mentioned incorporating new visual arts somehow into the Carolina Theatre, Art@Work fit perfectly. The Star Lounge has had some incredible artwork by amazing Durham-based artists like Anthony Patterson, Crystal Williams-Brown, and Delayna Robbins.  

CTD: What is the most meaningful part of working with visual artists of all mediums?  

DAG: The artists! These folks are amazing. We turn to artists and their artwork constantly for support, emotional expression, enjoyment, and curiosity. Supporting our creative economy is essential for a vibrant and diverse city. Durham has incredible talent here and I invite everyone to come see the works at Carolina Theatre and other amazing arts-advocacy spaces in the Triangle.  

CTD: What different spaces do you utilize around Durham for galleries and showcases? What are some of the most unique? 

DAG: We have grown so much in the last two years into some really cool spaces. We got to show photographs by Zach Gunty in the Bull Durham House in collaboration with Adam Dickinson Realty, host a pop-up exhibition in an empty suite at Brightleaf Square, program the storefront windows of 21c Museum Hotel with live tree art by Malu Tan and paper people sculptures by Tina Marcus, and we love being able to showcase artists in the historic Carolina Theatre.   

CTD: What does support for the Durham Art Guild do for the arts community in our city and why is it important?  

DAG: The Durham Art Guild paid artists over $70,000 last fiscal year! This is three times the amount from the year prior and was through rentals, sales, commissions, and stipends. We are so proud to aggressively be supporting artists, even as a small organization of just two full-time employees.   

Art is an economic driver. A vibrant city is one filled with new things to see, bold ideas, bright and colorful murals, fantastic theater, and live music. We need to support the arts. It’s what makes Durham interesting.  

Please help us to support all arts organizations in Durham to make our city even more vibrant, bold, and bright. Your donation allows us to create collaborative programming with other arts partners such as Durham Art Guild, Durham Arts Council, and many independent artists who perform on the Fletcher Hall stage every year. We are grateful for your dedication to the arts community and for the creativity and whimsy it inspires in all of us. 

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