Public Art Displays

Ackland Museum Store

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100 E. Franklin Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Directions

(919) 962-0126

Mon-Sat, 10 am - 5 :30 pm; Thur, 10 am - 8:30 pm; Sun Noon - 5 pm

The Ackland Museum Store has a focused emphasis on merchandise that supports and reflects the Museum’s core mission to animate, inspire, and transform people’s lives with works of art.  The Store’s inventory includes home décor items such as pottery, glass, and metalwork; kitchen and tabletop items; jewelry and accessories; children’s toys and books; and stationery.  Books about art history and criticism, contemporary art and design, and culture and lifestyles are also available, as well as books by UNC and regional authors and artists’ monographs. 

A dedicated gallery space at the Ackland Museum Store features rotating exhibitions of original artworks in a variety of media by local and regional artists and artisans.  The premier exhibition features works by seven North Carolina artists who have a connection to Penland School of Crafts, whether as a teacher, student, or resident.  The show, entitled "Nothing is Impossible," features work by Margaret Couch Cogswell (book arts, multi-media), Celia Gray (encaustic paintings), Bryant Holsenbeck (environmental art), Ann Marie Kennedy (paper art, installation), Evan Lightner (furniture), Gretchen McLaren (metal), and Sylvie Rosenthal (woodwork, sculpture).

ArtsCenter (The)

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300-G East Main St Downtown
Carrboro, NC 27510

Directions

phone (919) 929-2787

Open Mon.-Fri., 10am-9pm; Sat., 10am-10pm; Sun., noon-4pm; plus evening and weekend special events.

Presents jazz, folk-traditional and world music, plus theater and children’s programs. Light fare, wine and coffee available during performances. Cost varies by performance. The ArtSchool offers classes in the visual, literary and performing arts for all ages and levels of experience, and the two galleries present exhibits on a rotating basis. Parking.

Carrboro Town Hall

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301 West Main St
Carrboro, NC 27510

Directions

phone (919) 918-7309

Open Mon.-Fri., 8:30am-5pm.

Chapel Hill Downtown Murals & Public Art

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Downtown
Chapel Hill, NC

Directions

Take a walking tour of the twenty colorful murals painted by artist Michael Brown with the Chapel Hill Downtown Walking Map created by Go! Chapel Hill Active Living by Design. Map is available on the town’s website as well as the Franklin Street Visitors Center. The town of Chapel Hill has a growing indoor and outdoor permanent collection now totaling over 150 works of art in a variety of media. Visit Chapel Hill Arts for details.

Chapel Hill Town Hall

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405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd
Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Directions

phone (919) 968-2749

Open Mon.-Fri., 8:30am-5pm.

Hanes Art Center Gallery

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115 South Columbia St (just south of East Franklin St)
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3405

Directions

phone (919) 962-2015

Open Mon-Fri 8am-5pm.

Horace Williams House

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610 East Rosemary St (Downtown)
Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Directions

phone (919) 942-7818

Open Tue.-Fri., 10am-4pm; Sun., 1-4pm; closed Sat., major holidays

The only historic house in Chapel Hill open to the public. This 19th-century house was owned by a succession of University professors. On the death of Horace Williams, a UNC philosophy professor and the last owner-occupant, the University of North Carolina became the sole owner of the house named for him. Restored in 1974, the house is maintained by the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill as a cultural resource and art exhibition space.  Guided tours of historic Franklin Street leave the Horace Williams House each 2nd Sunday at 2 pm. Tours not held in July and August.  Guided tours of the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery leave from the cemetery gazebo (South Road across from Carmichael Auditorium) at 10am every 2nd Saturday. Both tours are $5 per person. Guided walking tours suspended during entire months of July and August.

North Carolina Botanical Garden

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100 Old Mason Farm Rd (off US Highway 15-501)
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3375

Directions

phone (919) 962-0522

Open year-round Mon.-Fri., 8am-5pm; Sat., 9am-5pm; Sun., 1-5pm; and Memorial Day to Labor Day, open until 6 pm on weekends. The Garden's paved visitor parking lot will be closed and locked after hours.

The largest natural botanical garden in the southeast, consisting of nearly 800 acres of preserved land with nature trails, carnivorous plant collections, aquatics and herb gardens. Also offers revolving exhibits of paintings, quilts and other media, plus sculpture in various sections of the botanical collection. Free guided tours of the display gardens every Sat (Mar-Oct), and first Sat (Nov - Feb) at 10am. Parking. The garden’s LEED Platinum 29,000 square foot “green” Education Center includes an auditorium, classrooms and gift shop with outdoor patio space and native plant landscaping. The Nature Trails are open until dusk, but visitors must park in the gravel “Overflow Lot” if they wish to stay on the trails after the 5 p.m./6 p.m. closing time, when gates to the paved lot are closed and locked. Guides also lead tours of the environmentally friendly Education Center once a month on Saturday at 1:30 p.m., providing a behind-the-scenes look at the unique features that make this one of the most efficient buildings in the state of North Carolina.