Local Art Exhibits and Museums

Published on April 4, 2022

If you’re looking for art inspiration around Durham, here are some top picks for local art exhibits and museums. This article was originally featured in Best of the Bull and has been updated for 2022:

Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University

Since their opening in 2005, the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University has been as much of a visually compelling fixture in the Bull City as Duke Gardens. Formerly the Duke University Museum of Art, the Nasher Museum boasts some of the finest exhibitions from across the world. According to their website, the “strengths of the museum’s permanent collection are Medieval art, art of the Americas (largely pre-Columbian), Classical Antiquities and modern and contemporary art.”

Some of their permanent and many of their visiting collections of contemporary art exhibits are focused on interdisciplinary art from artists of African descent. Pulling in visually compelling pieces centered around music, theater, environmentalism, and cultural identity from both the African continent and the American South, the Nasher Museum draws out our curiosity and asks us to self-reflect at every turn.

5 Points Gallery (formerly Pleiades Arts Gallery)

5 Points Gallery is North Carolina’s premier fine arts gallery in the heart of downtown Durham, NC. Its nine contemporary artists live and work locally in the Raleigh-Durham area, creating original works in a range of different media, including painting, fused glass, sculpture, and mixed media. 5 Points Gallery’s mission is to form meaningful connections and dialogue with their community of art lovers, local businesses, organizations and collectors.

21c Durham Art Museum

Downtown Durham’s historic Hill Building was transformed in 2015 into the 21c Museum Hotel, bringing global ideas to the local community through modern art. Visitors can view a wide selection of sculptures, mixed media artwork, videos and more. 21c’s seasonally rotating galleries are open to the public 24/7, so walk in any time day or night with a date or your favorite people.

Durham Arts Council Royall Center for the Arts

Voted “Best Art Gallery” in Durham Magazine’s 2017 “Best of Durham Competition,” the Durham Arts Council’s building is loaded with four exhibit spaces worth of paintings, ceramics, fiber arts, glass art, jewelry, digital photography, and other mixed media from Durham and the Triangle’s most talented artists.

Durham Arts Council’s building consists of the Allenton Gallery, the Semans Gallery, the Ella Fountain Pratt Legacy Gallery and the SunTrust Bank Galleries occupied by the Durham Art Guild. Every year, the Durham Arts Council produces CenterFest, Durham’s annual street arts festival, which occurs the third week of September.

  • Current exhibit highlight: Durham Public Schools Art Instructor Showcase
  • Link to website: https://durhamarts.org/

Mural Durham

Wandering through downtown and beyond, you will notice vibrant murals (26 to be exact) adding a color and beauty to dozens of store-fronts and historic building walls. In collaboration with Duke Arts and Artstigators, Mural Durham is a living archive that captures the growing number of murals across Durham. Depicting everything from historic Black Wall Street and classic Durham advertisements, to abstract street-art graffiti and more, every mural is a true work of art.

By Cindy Xu
Cindy Xu Career Ambassador
Send Email