We are pleased to share the news that the Raleigh Arts Commission and the Public Art and Design Board have voted unanimously to recommend the Raleigh Arts Plan to City Council for adoption. Stay tuned for more information in 2016.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Wednesday, January 13 at 4pm
NC Museum of Art
2110 Blue Ridge Rd, Raleigh

Each January, the United Arts Council presents new arts and cultural data, information on upcoming arts events, the new Piedmont Laureate, and in conjunction with the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, recognizes Wake County citizens and companies who are significant supporters of the arts. The gathering is free and open to the public.

Learn more

Going up soon in a neighborhood near you: citizen-initiated public art projects!  Organizations and individuals continue to submit projects for consideration on City property or City right-of-ways.

Want to submit a project? Learn more

Image: Creative Crosswalk by Amanda Snavely

We are sorry to bid farewell to our wonderful 2015 Piedmont Laureate James Maxey. What a great job he has done this year. Be sure to stay up to date on his writings at www.JamesMaxey.net. Thank you James for all your hard work! 

The 2016 Piedmont Laureate will be announced in early January.

Blog Exerpt: Thanks for a Great Year, and Plans for Next Year
This is my last post as Piedmont Laureate. 2015 has raced past at breakneck speed. I suppose the traditional approach would be to look back at what I’ve done as laureate this past year. Instead, I’m going to talk about my plans for next year before wrapping up with some thanks to the people who helped make this a great year. When I was introduced as Piedmont Laureate last year by 2014 Piedmont Laureate Carrie Knowles, she told me afterwards that the most challenging part of being the laureate was that there wasn’t a lot of time left for writing. I held out optimism that I’d be able to work on at least a few projects. Since my schedule didn’t really start filling up until April, I spent the opening months of the year cranking out a first draft for Cinder, my last book of the Dragon Apocalypse series. After that, writing new fiction kind of got lost as I shifted gears to designing various workshops. In the end, I’ve logged about 100,000 words of writing this year, probably my lowest word count in a decade. On the plus side, I’ve had a lot of time to recharge my creative batteries, and a full year spent thinking and talking about writing has helped me form a vision of what I’d like to do in my upcoming projects. Read more

Piedmont Laureate Blog | Piedmont Laureate Program

Image: James Maxey

Don't miss our 13th Annual National Arts Program exhibit featuring close to 100 delightful works of art by our talented City of Raleigh and Wake County employees and their families. On view through January 15. See the list of award winners

Image: Joshua Masters, Sleeping with Memories, 2015
(Teen, First Place)

Block Gallery
Raleigh Municipal Building | 222 W. Hargett St. | 919-996-3610
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GIFT CERTIFICATES FOR ARTS CLASSES MAKE PEOPLE SMILE!
Are you still looking for the perfect gift for the creative person in your life? A gift certificate to Pullen Arts Center can open doors for creative exploration in jewelry, glass, pottery, printmaking, painting and more. Please stop by or call Pullen Arts Center at 919-996-6126 for more information. We will be open until 10pm on December 23. 

Browse Winter/Spring Classes
Register online, by mail or stop by Pullen Arts Center.

Image: Pullen Arts Center class

PULLEN ARTS CENTER IMPROVEMENT PLAN
2nd Public Meeting | Tuesday, January 12, 6-8pm
Pullen Community Center, 408 Ashe Avenue, Raleigh
Please join us for our second public meeting and share your thoughts. We need your input! The 2014 Parks Bond Referendum allocated $6 million for improvements to Pullen Arts Center and North Pullen Park. In the second of three public meetings, the City of Raleigh’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department will present diagram options developed by the project’s architect and landscape architect in response to the input we received at the first public meeting in October.

Updates are always available online.
Check out the project page

Questions? Contact James Marapoti at 919-996-4777 or James.Marapoti@raleighnc.gov

UPCOMING CLOSURES
Pullen Arts Center will be closed December 24-25 and January 1. On December 31, Pullen Arts Center will close at 4pm.

PULLEN ARTS CENTER
105 Pullen Road, Raleigh | 919-996-6126

GALLERY
Student/Instructor/Patron Show
Through December 30 

Image: Purple clay necklace by Sarah Peters

BROWSE WINTER/SPRING CLASSES
Register online, by mail or stop by Sertoma Arts Center.

Jewelry - Workshop: Doming, Stamping & Cold Connecting
Age: 16yrs. and up. If you love to make jewelry with wire and beads, then learning how to make jewelry with sheet metal is a natural progression. Warning: Once you learn these techniques, you are likely to become addicted and the design possibilities are infinite! In this workshop, you will learn how to cut sheet metal with tin snips, file it, dome/dap it, stamp and texture it and connect charms to it without using heat. You will learn how to make your own hook and clasp, and you will leave this class with a finished bracelet that you designed. Jewelry kits are available upon request. (Notify Sertoma of request at least two weeks before start date of workshop.) Kits vary in price and materials. Elizabeth Strugatz instructs. Jewelry kit info and class supply list  

Course Fee: $65
#178770 Dec 19-20 Sa-Su 12:30 PM-4:30 PM

UPCOMING CLOSURES
Sertoma Arts Center will be closed December 24-25 and January 1. On December 31, Sertoma Arts Center will close at 4pm.

SERTOMA ARTS CENTER
1400 W. Millbrook Road, Raleigh | 919-996-2329

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