Home to the famed Black Mountain College, Penland School of Craft, and several prestigious university museums and galleries, North Carolina contains some of the nation’s most important craft communities alongside a growing contemporary art presence.
Print SelectionsNorth Carolina hosts some of the nation’s most significant craft communities alongside contemporary art venues. From Black Mountain College’s legacy and Penland School of Craft to renowned university museums and artist-run spaces, explore a state where craft tradition and experimental practice intersect.
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Center for Craft, Creativity, and Design
The Center for Craft is a national nonprofit 501c3 organization dedicated to advancing the field of craft through fostering new ideas, funding craft scholarships, and backing the next generation of makers, curators, and critics. Website Address 67 Broadway St, Asheville -82.55275644473477,35.59757792876614
FEATURED IN
“Loving After Lifetimes of All This” at Asheville’s Center for Craft, Creativity & Design
Asheville Art Museum
The Asheville Art Museum is home to an outstanding collection of American art of the 20th and 21st centuries and showcases the richness of Western North Carolina’s unique artistic history. Website Address 2 South Pack Square, Asheville -82.55153767206156,35.59475694896655
Black Mountain College Museum and Art Center
The Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center preserves and continues the legacy of educational and artistic innovation of Black Mountain College. Website Address 120 College St, Asheville -82.55056990673455,35.595920465738615
Tracey Morgan Gallery
Tracey Morgan Gallery specializes in contemporary photography, works on paper, painting, sculpture and installation by emerging and established artists from the United States and abroad. Website Address 22 London Road, Asheville -82.5379164134934, 35.56419809711087
FEATURED IN
James Henkel at Tracey Morgan Gallery in Asheville, NC
Ralston Fox Smith at Tracey Morgan Gallery, Asheville
Blue Spiral 1 Gallery
15,000 square-foot gallery in downtown Ashville. Website Address 38 Biltmore Ave, Asheville -82.55096669931459,35.593509483767036
FEATURED IN
Outside the Lines at Blue Spiral 1, Asheville
Turchin Center for Visual Arts
The Turchin Center for the Visual Arts at Appalachian State University engages visitors from the university, community, nation and beyond in creating unique experiences through dynamic and accessible exhibition, education, outreach and collection programs. Website Address 423 W King St, Boone -81.68049603059183,36.217011175527944
The Ackland
The Ackland presents approximately 10-12 changing exhibitions a year, with more than half the Museum’s gallery space dedicated to special and traveling exhibitions. Website Address 101 S. Columbia St, Chapel Hill -79.05508381293521,35.91249980736781
Betchler Museum of Modern Art
Modern Art museum developed from the private collection of Andres Betchler featuring the work of important and influential artists of the mid 20th century. Website Address 420 South Tryon St, Charlotte -80.8474852711733,35.224489146564
Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts and Culture
The Gantt Center celebrates the contributions of Africans and African- Americans to American culture and serves as a community epicenter for music, dance, theater, visual art, film, arts education programs, literature and community outreach. Website Address 551 South Tryon St, Charlotte -80.84815649937445,35.22334807797479
McColl Center for Art and Innovation
McColl Center for Art and Innovation is a nationally acclaimed artist residency and contemporary art space in Charlotte, North Carolina. Website Address 721 N Tryon St, Charlotte -80.83602099015161,35.23261966283792
The Mint Museum Randolph
The Mint Museum's intimate galleries invite visitors to engage with the art of the ancient Americas, ceramics and decorative arts, and European and African art, among other collections. Website Address 2730 Randolph Rd, Charlotte -80.81461227116569,35.19732408175727
The Mint Museum Uptown
Mint Museum Uptown houses the internationally renowned Craft + Design collection, as well as outstanding collections of American, contemporary, and European art. Website Address 500 South Tryon St, Charlotte -80.83961988968554,35.22997513497066
Van Every Smith Galleries
Davidson College's campus gallery features a 3,500 piece permeant collection . Website Address 315 N. Main St, Davidson -80.84813630200489,35.50171016136035
Nasher Museum of Art
The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University is a major center for the arts in Durham and the surrounding region. Website Address 2001 Campus Dr, Durham -78.92903540422316,35.999061199379796
FEATURED IN
Native Voices, 1950s to Now at the Nasher Museum
Free Associations In A Collector’s Cache at the Nasher @ Duke
John Akomfrah Film “Precarity” Tells the Story of Jazz Musician Buddy Bolden at the Nasher at Duke
Weatherspoon Art Museum
The Weatherspoon Art Museum at UNC Greensboro presents, interprets, and collects modern and contemporary art. Website Address 1005 Spring Garden St, Greensboro 36.06613356099172, -79.80600376140569
FEATURED IN
Illusions of Weight: Nancy Rubins at the Weatherspoon Art Museum
“Zones of Contention: After the Green Line,” at the Weatherspoon
CAM Raleigh
CAM Raleigh is the non-collecting contemporary art museum that provides an environment for transformation through educational programs, cultural experiences, and bold, non-traditional exhibitions by living artists. Website Address 409 W Martin St, Raleigh -78.64567627116185,35.776885943539924
FEATURED IN
Wall to Wall: Sarah Cain at CAM Raleigh
Lump Gallery
Small artist-run contemporary gallery. Website Address 505 S Blount St, Raleigh -78.63651654234297,35.773771647680306
FEATURED IN
Lump in Raleigh, NC
North Carolina Museum of Art
The NCMA’s free permanent collection spans more than 5,000 years, from ancient Egypt to the present, and its 164-acre Museum Park showcases the connection between art and nature through site-specific works of environmental art. Website Address 2110 Blue Ridge Rd, Raleigh -78.70475777844047,35.80890221357019
Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art
SECCA continues to produce original exhibitions, publications and programs with international and American contemporary artists. Website Address 750 Marguerite Dr, Winston-Salem -80.2906899999798,36.120021999837135
Diggs Gallery
Diggs Gallery is home to one of the South's leading showcases dedicated to African and African-American art. Website Address 601 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr, Winston-Salem -80.22495692606032,36.091954329900446
Attic 506
Attic 506 is an art space that houses a coalition of artist-run initiatives in Chapel Hill, NC. Through collective effort, the gallery provides much needed exhibition venues, art studios and the regions first art book store. Website Address 506 W. Franklin St, 2nd Floor, Chapel Hill -79.06384399999887, 35.910295059371364
Anchorlight
Anchorlight is a creative space, founded with the intent of fostering artists at varying stages of their development. Anchorlight provides a combination of artist studios, residency opportunities, and exhibition space. Website Address 1407 South Bloodworth St., Raleigh -78.63369927116389,35.76277597776378
Museum of the Cherokee Indian
Museum of the Cherokee Indian preserves and perpetuates the history, culture, and stories of the Cherokee people. The museum has helped to revitalize the stamped pottery tradition by creating and working with the Cherokee Potters Guild; traditional dance by sponsoring the Warriors of AniKituhwa; traditional 18th century Cherokee dress; feather capes; and language. Website Address 589 Tsali Blvd Cherokee, NC -83.31639360083196,35.48453145297867
The Folk Art Center
The Folk Art Center is a museum of Appalachian arts and crafts near Asheville, North Carolina. It also houses offices for three separate Parkway partners: the Southern Highland Craft Guild, the National Park Service, and Eastern National. Website Address 382 Blue Ridge Pkwy, Asheville -82.48223050970172, 35.593994793735654
VAE Raleigh
VAE Raleigh is a 45 year old nonprofit contemporary art organization that supports artists and creative communities through memberships, exhibitions, grants, and programs that foster experimentation, collaboration, and equity in the arts. Website Address 706 Mountford St, Raleigh -78.65056899815093, 35.777438040479666
Little Animals
Little Animals is a new type of gathering space for activities such as art exhibitions, films, and music, combining a traditional gallery with a social club for the community. Website Address 31 Carolina Lane, Asheville -82.55314745636085, 35.59765010308867
River Arts District
The River Arts District Artists (RADA) serves, connects, and advocates for the artists of Asheville’s River Arts District. RADA is the collective voice and organizing body for a community of working artists whose creativity fuels the cultural and economic vitality of Asheville. Website Address 24 North Lexington Ave, Asheville -82.55275412172797, 35.59578557407025
FEATURED IN
How Did Asheville Make the List of 40 Most Vibrant Arts Communities in America?
John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center
The John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University is a collective center for the arts in Western North Carolina, and is home to the WCU Fine Art Museum, BAC Performance Hall, and Niggli Studio Theater. Website Address 199 Centennial Dr, Cullowhee -83.18433732024216, 35.307450497353045
Cameron Art Museum
The Cameron Art Museum (CAM) provides a cultural gathering place that enriches the lives of museum visitors and the Wilmington community through high-quality exhibitions. Website Address 3201 S 17th St, Wilmington, NC 28412 -77.91539374232937, 34.18432121947463
FEATURED IN
We Belong Here at the Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington
The Bascom: A Center for the Visual Arts
Since 1985, The Bascom has served Western North Carolina through a mission to create visual art experiences that inspire and empower individuals and communities through seeing, thinking, and doing through free exhibitions, robust educational programming, and community outreach initiatives Website Address 323 Franklin Rd, Highlands, NC 28741 -83.20422175767061, 35.057823267439154
FEATURED IN
Walker Tufts’ Satellites & Salamanders IV at The Bascom: A Center for the Visual Arts, Highlands