- Artist Reception
January 5, 7pm - 9pm
Both the preview reception and all exhibitions are free and open to the public.
- Permanent Collection
December 8 - June 3
Michael Costello, Link, circa 1991, Blue stone, walnut
- 50 Years of Visual and Performing Arts Archives
December 15, 2006 - December 25, 2007
Blithe Spirit Production and Arts Festival Advertisement, circa 1960
Future site of Arts Center "Tank", circa 1960
- Ursula Goebels-Ellis and Kristin Gujonsdottir - Synergy
December 15, 2006 - March 11, 2007
Contemporary forms in ceramic and glass by Kristin Gudjonsdottir of Chapel Hill and Ursula Goebels-Ellis of Black Mountain, North Carolina.
Kristin Gujonsdottir, Stagnate (left) Negative (right), ceramic, cast glass
Ursula Goebels-Ellis, Untitled, Series Cosmic Connections, ceramic
- John Gay - Painting
December 15, 2006 - March 11, 2007
John Gay, Winter Tree, oil, 2005
- Student exhibition - Nash Central High
January 2 - February 4
- First Fifty - An Anniversary Exhibition
January 5- March 28
A variety of media by fifty artists, educators and supporters that have shaped the Arts Center for the past 50 years.
Jason Bryant, God's Lonely Man, Oil on canvas
- HANDCRAFTED: A juried Exhibition of Ceramics, Fiber, Glass, Metal and Wood
January 5- March 18
Susan McMurray, Jump Start Teapot, Best in Show
Dorothy McGuinness, Green Tea
- Discover NC Craft
January 5- March 28
Governor's North Carolina Craft Exhibition at the Executive Mansion Traveling Exhibition. The North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources and the North Carolina Craft Coalition organized the exhibition.
Susan Webb Lee, Red Threads, Fiber
Mark Peiser, Tourmaline 3 Tier Ripple Top Basket, glass
- Student Exhibition - Home School Association of Rocky Mount
February 6 - March 4
- Artist Reception
April 13, 7pm-9pm
Both the preview reception and all exhibitions are free and open to the public.
- Student exhibition - Winstead Elementary
March 6 - April 1
- Alexis Joyner - Spirit Flight
March 17 - June 10
Carvings reflecting a spiritual heritage inspired by African art.
- Clyde Jones - Critters
March 17 - June 10
Chainsaw critters (animal sculpture) expressing the whimsy, imagination and creativity of a natural outsider artist.
Clyde Jones with critters
- Anna Hammond - Figures of Fantasy
March 28 - June 17
Soft dolls portraying faeries, jesters and other figures of fantasy.
- 50th Annual National Juried Art Exhibition
March 28 - June 17
National fine arts and crafts exhibition juried by Juan Logan, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in Studio Art at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Linda Frost, Acid Washed, Giclee print (2006 Exhibition)
- Student Exhibition - Rocky Mount Preparatory School
April 3 - April 29
- Randy Shull
April 6 - June 27
Bright, contemporary and imaginative, the furniture and design of Ashville artist Randy Shull erases the line, between craft, sculpture and painting.
Randy Shull, Oregon Summer, Acrylic on wood panel, 2006
- Juan Logan - Notes and Observations
April 6 - June 27
This exhibition features "Notes and Observations" a series of large and symbolic face-forms.
Juan Logan, Wedgewood Family, Porcelain, decals, 2004, 9.5"x 30"x 3"
- Student Exhibition - Southern Nash High School
May 1 - June 3
- Artist Reception
July 13, 7pm-9pm
- Permanent Collection
June 9 - December 2
- Robbie Barber - Sculpture
June 16 - September 9
Exhibition of mixed media exploring Southern culture through the mystery of found art, childlike humor and profound nostalgia.
Robbie Barber, Three Barns, mixed media
Robbie Barber, Stir Crazy, Wood, steel, found objects, 2001, 17"x8"x11"
- Brown's Pottery
June 16 - September 9
The Browns are famous for their face jugs and large scale devil jugs. Brown pottery has exhibited at prominent institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution, the Chrysler Museum and the American Museum of Folk Art.
Brown's Pottery Little Charlie, Christopher and Charlie Brown (Jeanette not shown)
- John Morris - Painting and Graphics
June 27 - September 16
Featured paintings include a series of historic homes found on Falls Road, Rocky Mount
John Morris
- Potters of the Roan
June 27 - September 16
Ceramics by fourteen potters living in the presence of Roan Mountain near Bakersville in Western North Carolina.
David Ross, Trout Platter, Stoneware, 2006, 2.5"x22"x18"
Click HERE to view additional works
- The Sculpture Salmagundi Exhibition - 11th Anniversary
July 6 - September 26
National indoor and outdoor sculpture exhibition juried by Robbie Barber.
Robbie Barber, Under Seige, steel, found objects, fake brick, 7'x11'x9'
(Outdoor Exhibition)
- The Fabric of Jazz
July 6 - September 26
A tribute to Jazz in all its variety and musical complexity by New Mexico textile artist Lauren Camp.
Lauren Camp, In His Own Language, fiber
- Artist Reception
October 5, 7pm-9pm
- Tri State Sculptors 2007 Indoor Exhibition
September 4 - October 6
- Tri State Sculptors 2007 Outdoor Exhibition
August 10 - January 31
Member exhibition of Tri State Sculptors Education Association members from Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
- Henryk Fantazos - Imagination
September 14, 2007 - January 6, 2008
Eccentric and imaginative art culminating in surrealism. Fantazos uses "The South, that wonderful, fragrant and haunting mythic land as a source of inspiration."
Henryk Fantazos, Three Carousels, oil on wood, 24" x 40"
- Student Exhibition - Faith Christian School
September 5 - September 30
- Dazzala Knight - Mezzotints
September 14, 2007 - January 6, 2008
Traditional mezzotint prints exploring the African-American heritage of Knight, a Princeville, NC native.
Dazzala Knight, My Aunt Brenda, Mezzotint, 2005, 10"x8"
- David Simonton - Staying The Night: Black-and-White Photographs (1994-2006)
September 26, 2007 - January 6, 2008
Photographs featuring selections from over 340 cities and towns in North Carolina.
David Simonton, Rocky Mount, NC, Gelatin silver print, 1997
- Dan Finch - An Evolution in Clay
September 26, 2007 - January 6, 2008
Highly crafted functional and decorative works in the strong tradition of North Carolina pottery.
Dan Finch
- Jerry Jackson - Implied Ancestry
October 5, 2007 - January 6, 2008
Jerry Jackson
- Student Exhibition - Tarboro High School
October 2 - October 28
- Shawn Phillip Morin - Drawings, Castings, and Carvings
October 5, 2007 - January 6, 2008
Shawn Morin, Contemporary
- Student Exhibition - Southwest Edgecombe High School
October 30 - November 25
- Student Exhibition - Our Lady of Perpetual Help
November 27 - December 30
July 7 2006 - June 10, 2007
Click HERE to view selected works
Reunion. These folks ain't company! Is a retrospective exhibition of Melvin Stanforth, Professor Emeritus at East Carolina University School of Art that showcases four decades of creative expression. The exhibition represents a cohesive timeless installation comprised of past and new works, embracing viewers on multiple levels while evoking new meaning to the retrospective concept. The exhibition includes art works, correspondence installation, poster work series installations, interactive digital videodisc, influences installation, billboards, web-based interactive exhibition, related workshops, and special events.
Exhibition Dates
Rocky Mount Arts Center, October 5 - December 28, 2006
A.D. Gallery, Locklear Hall, at UNC-Pembroke, August 13 - September 14, 2007
The Turchin Center of Appalachian State University, October 5, 2007 - January 19, 2008.
Mel Stanforth is as important to this project as the art itself. Stanforth's participation at each exhibition venue will complete the Reunion experience. The following artist statement gives insight to the nature of Stanforth and the exhibition.
"
It is Parking-On-the-Grass-Time. I intend that the presentation of forty years of images puts the babies in the oldest grandmother's arms.
A Reunion.
I intend that proud, still grandfather notes do two steps with the limber back kids, side-by-side, making community. To gather: A Reunion. These Folks ain't company!
This show is not finished when the gallery doors open.
Participation in making some of what is to be seen, eventually, during the exhibition, will be achieved within the warm traditions of family reunions. Folks will get together and make image(s) so that ..."these folks ain't company."
I want to have some of this reunion in spaces, indoors or outdoors, that is not known as The-Gallery-Space of the exhibition venues. It is Parking-On-the-Grass-Time, All Blues."
An interactive DVD produced by Eye Integrated of Greenville, NC will serve as documentation of the exhibition and will allow viewers to move freely through individual pieces to explore various bodies of work by Stanforth. The DVD will be available for sale at all exhibition venues.
This project received funding from the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of North Carolina Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, City of Rocky Mount and private donors.
For more information on this exhibition and to view selected works, Click HERE.
Young at Art
Nash and Edgecombe Elementary and Middle School Students
February 27 - March 18
Arts Education Building at the Imperial Centre for Arts and Sciences
New Aesthetic
Nash and Edgecombe High School Students
March 27 - April 15
Artist Reception: April 13, 7-9pm
Arts Education Building at the Imperial Centre for Arts and Sciences
Student Gallery Exhibitions
Nash Central High
January 2 - February 4
John Gay and Jessica Prunty, Instructors
Home School Association of Rocky Mount
February 6 - March 4
Melissa Hartsell, Coordinator
Winstead Elementary
March 6 - April 1
Lynne Carmichael, Instructor
Rocky Mount Preparatory School
April 3 - April 29
Carrie Morningstar, Instructor
Southern Nash High School
May 1 - June 3
Kelly Williams, Instructor
Click HERE to view works from some of our 2006 exhibitions
The Arts Center Permanent Collection consists of 300 + works by artists primarily from North Carolina and the southeast. The collection includes key regional artists such as Frances Speight, Sarah Blakeslee, Ben Owen, Sr., Mark Hewitt, Cynthia Bringle, Billie Ruth Sudduth, Hobson Pittman and Louis Orr. The current emphasis for new acquisitions is fine craft with a concentration in ceramics. Acquisitions are funded through the City of Rocky Mount, the Friends of the Arts Center, Wilkinson Acquisition Fund and private donations.
Click HERE to view selected works from the Permanent Collection
Help Build a Collection
The Arts Center currently maintains and exhibits 300 works in its Permanent Collection. Although the collection includes many key North Carolina and nationally recognized artists, there are many needs, which require financial assistance from generous donors.
We have numerous works in storage awaiting funding so they may receive conservation, proper framing or appraisals in order to be exhibited.
The need for additional artworks to fill gaps in our collection is great, but purchasing museum quality works is an expensive endeavor. One way to achieve our collection goal is through the generosity of donors who make restricted gifts to fund conservation and/or art acquisitions. A restricted gift means that you, as the donor, direct specifically how your gift will be used.
Why build a Collection?
A Permanent Collection is the corner stone for any museum. As the Arts Center approaches the move to the new Imperial Centre for Arts and Sciences and its 50th Anniversary, the Center will begin to work toward museum accreditation. The Permanent Collection will not only be vital to the success of the accreditation, but will serve as an educational tool for area art patrons and teachers as an ambassador as the collection travels to other arts facilities for years to come.
Join the Collectors Circle
Donors who contribute $500+ annually will enjoy an annual behind the scenes tour of one of North Carolina's fine art facilities or collections.
How do I make a contribution and what do I get for my contribution?
Individuals or organizations may contribute in the form of art donations, restricted gifts, acquisition funds, or the art adoption program.
- Art Donations
The Arts Center will accept works from private collections. Donors should check with Arts Center staff to inquire if the artwork fits the collection needs and is suitable for the collection. Donors will be permanently recognized on the wall labels displayed with the donated work of art.
- Restricted Gifts and Acquisition Fund
Financial contributions can be made in either of these forms. Restricted gifts can fund specific acquisitions, conservation and/or framing. Restricted gift donors who fund 75% or more of the acquisition will be permanently recognized on the wall labels displayed with the work of art. Acquisition fund donors will not be individually recognized on the wall labels displayed with the acquisition.
- Art Adoption Program
Sponsors may adopt a work of art that is in need of conservation and /or framing. Sponsors who contribute 75% or more to the framing and /or conservation cost will be recognized for 10 years on the wall labels displayed with the work of art. This tag line will accompany the donor identification.
The names of Collectors Circle and acquisition fund donors will be displayed in the Permanent Collection Gallery.
What type of work is needed for the collection?
The collection consists of four primary areas:
- Fine Art
- Fine Craft
- African American/African Art
- Folk Art
For a list of needs or art works, contract Jerry Jackson at 252-972-1164.
We have recently added a number of new works to the Permanent Collection. To see al ist of these works, click the link below. If you have work that you would like to donate or loan to the Arts Center's Permanent Collection, call 252-972-1163.
Recent Acquisitions to the Permanent Collection
For more information, email
maureen.daly@rockymountnc.gov
