Recently I caught up with Megan Gulledge to discuss her upcoming show “Love Varies” at 101 Café, opening this First Friday. In a town where every other bar or restaurant downtown tries to double as an art gallery, artists’ works often seem to blur together, and it’s rare to find one who really stands out from the crowd. Megan is definitely an emerging artist to take notice of.
Read more »

What has long been one of my favorite traditions in downtown Raleigh, First Friday, has come and gone again. Every month, galleries downtown open up their new exhibits and Raleigh’s budding creative class, as well as other visiting artists, get to display their new work for everyone to see. This month had all the conditions to make it an exceptional showing, both for Bike First Friday, and for First Friday in general. Friday night had everything – great weather, enthusiastic people, and bikes. And more bikes. And then about 20 more on top of that – 114 total, and to my knowledge that’s the most we’ve ever had. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is NOT about sheer volume, it’s about a group of people getting together to promote art, alternative transportation, and community in a way that anyone of any age can appreciate. It’s great to have the numbers, but it’s the people that make this event rock. I’m digressing, so, here are some images of cool people, places and things encountered on First Friday:

Read more »

The gem on Hillsborough St. in 1962 — at night, the way Joe Cox intended it. (Photo courtesy the NC Office of  Archives and History, State Archives.)

Forty-seven years ago next month, Branch Banking and Trust Company  opened its  “State College Office” at the corner of Hillsborough St. and Oberlin Rd. The ribbon cutting ceremony was held with great fanfare, with the mayor of Raleigh, the chancellor of NC State and the president of BB&T in attendance.

Though the pick and shovel groundbreaking had occurred several months earlier, the bank’s opening “broke ground” in another, more significant way — it was the first Raleigh bank to feature a work of public art as an integral part of its design — a dazzling stained glass mural.

“The mural represents the growing cooperation between artist and architect that is rapidly spreading throughout the country,” the N&O reported in an article on the event in 1962.

The architect of the State College Office was F. Carter Williams; the artist who designed the stained glass mural was none other than the renowned Raleigh artist, color theorist and School of Design professor, Joe Cox.

Read more »