Artspace’s biennial fundraising exhibition and celebration of NC artists from the Mountains to the Coast
FRESH is a biennial fundraising exhibition that celebrates the incredible creative output across North Carolina, while demystifying the typical art jurying process.
For the month of October, ALL 250+ submissions of original artwork by artists from the Mountains to the Coast will be on view in Galleries 1 + 2. Visitors to the gallery will have an opportunity to purchase works, vote for the People’s Choice prize, and experience the work of artists who have never exhibited before alongside the work of seasoned professionals.
This year, our juror, Jessica Orzulak, Associate Curator of the Asheville Art Museum, reviewed all of the works in person and chose pieces for a juried exhibition. The final juried selection represents a diverse cross section of the imaginative, thought-provoking and skilled art that is being created across our state today.
All works are available for purchase! Each sale of art supports both a North Carolina artist and Artspace in our mission to provide subsidized studio space in the heart of downtown Raleigh, accessible art education for all ages, exhibitions and artist residencies with regional and national artists.
Purchase a piece from the exhibition! ALL pieces in this show are available for purchase.
FRESH is sponsored by the John W. and Anna H. Hanes Foundation.
Important Dates:
October 4: First Friday and opening of FRESH exhibition
October 11: FRESH Art Break Tour
October 17: FRESH Films: Artspace X Scatterbrain Animation Screening
October 24: FRESH Perspectives: Collector’s Panel
November 1: First Friday, opening of FRESH juried exhibition, and juror remarks
January 5: FRESH juried exhibition closes
The Juried Exhibition
Gallery 2
November 1 – January 5
This year’s juried exhibition contains 35 works of art from artists across the state and a wide variety of different mediums including photography, sculpture, painting, fiber arts, and more! The artists put forward exceptionally creative and high-quality works, all of which are available for purchase.
Congratulations to the featured artists:
- Angelo Arnold
- John Felix Arnold
- Mark Anthony Brown Jr.
- Caitlin Cary
- Pepe Caudillo
- Jane Cheek
- Wendy Collin Sorin
- Derrick Davis
- Jacqueline Dulin
- Kiki Farish
- Patrizia Ferreira
- Donna Hall
- Andra Harrop
- Jerome “Buzzy” Hughes
- Brian Imfeld
- Erin Ives
- Sanjé James
- Linette Knight
- Ina Liu
- Rigoberto Mena
- Ivana Milojevic Beck
- Chieko Murasugi
- Erica Parsons
- Gerardo Ponce-Martinez
- Matt Ramey
- Eliza Redmann
- Ambiorix Santos
- Ann Silverman
- Yana Slutskaya
- Natacha Sochat
- Taro Takizawa
- Matthew Troyer
- Polina Vee
- Janice Withers
- Alexandra Zuckerman
Prize Winners
1st Place
Mark Anthony Brown Jr., American Gothic, After Parks, archival pigment print on baryta paper, 24 x 17
3rd Place
John Felix Arnold, Foundation (2), resin cast, charcoal, ash, with brass mounts, 4 x 8 x 2
Jessica Orzulak, Ph.D., is the Associate Curator at Asheville Art Museum. Her research focuses on contemporary art in North America and decolonial approaches to photography. She received her doctorate in Art History and Visual Studies from Duke University where she was the Eleonore Jantz Curatorial Fellow for the Archive of Documentary Arts. She is organizing the exhibition Sovereign Memories: Photography, Remembrance, and Displaced Histories which will be presented at the Davis Museum at Wellesley College in spring 2025.
FRESH Programming
October First Friday
October 4, 6-10pm, FREE
Explore the opening of FRESH, where all 250+ submissions of original artwork by NC based visual artists will be on view. Visitors will have the opportunity to purchase artwork, vote for the People’s Choice prize, and experience work by artists who have never exhibited alongside the work of seasoned artists.
FRESH First Friday experiences //
- Just In Case You Leave Your Shell exhibition opening with work by Jalen Jackson, inaugural Artspace HBCU Artist in Residence in Upfront Gallery
- Meet and shop with our 30+ studio artists
- Art making activity for all ages, 6-9pm
- Live jazz music by Collin Williams, 7-9pm
- The Art of Wine tastings hosted by Yvette Holder featuring North Carolina wineries, 6-9pm
First Friday is free and open to the public, no registration needed. October’s FRESH First Friday is made possible by Sharefile, John W. and Anna H. Hanes Foundation, and Ivan Gobern, Realtor.
FRESH Art Break Tour
October 11, 12-1pm, FREE
Join Creative Director Annah Lee for a free guided tour of our open FRESH exhibition. Take a deep dive into the diversity of art in FRESH, ask questions, and enjoy conversations about the works and themes behind them. If you’re looking for a simple way to learn more about the North Carolina arts world, our Art Break Tour is a fantastic place to start.
Approximately 45 minutes.
FRESH Films: An Artspace X Scatterbrains Screening Event
October 17, 6:30-8:30pm, FREE
Artspace and Scatterbrain Screenings are teaming up to host a curated animation screening featuring five local animators. Stick around after the screening for a moderated panel discussion hosted by Tony Hankerson Jr. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is highly encouraged.
Animators + Animations //
- Anna Lee – Host and Artspace NC Emerging Artist in Residence, screening “Passersby”
- Marc Russo – screening “On the Run”
- Stella Rosen – screening “Recompose”
- Kaye Vassey – screening “Protocol: Last Resort”
- Jacob Garcia – screening “Growth”
- Tony Hankerson Jr. – Panel moderator
About Scatterbrain Screenings //
Quarterly animation screenings featuring North Carolina artists hosted by Anna Lee. Follow Scatterbrain Screenings on Instagram @scatterbrainscreenings to learn about future screenings.
FRESH Perspectives: Collector's Panel
October 24, 6-8pm, FREE
Join us for a lively conversation about art collecting. We have gathered a group of collectors including artists, critics, and community leaders who will share why collecting is important to them, what strategies they use in building an art collection, and share some of their picks from FRESH.
Our panelists include:
- Colony Little – local art writer and creator of Culture Shock Art, a contemporary art blog dedicated to amplifying the voices of Black artists and artists of color.
- Clarence Heyward – celebrated local painter and former NC Emerging Artist in Residence at Artspace (2021)
- Stacy Bloom Rexrode – local artist and Curator of Exhibitions and Collections with the City of Raleigh
November First Friday
November 1, 6-10pm
Explore the opening of the FRESH juried exhibition! Our juror will create the final juried exhibition of 30-40 artworks representing a diverse group of living artists who call North Carolina home. Visitors will have the opportunity to purchase artwork and experience work by artists who have never exhibited alongside the work of seasoned artists.
FRESH Juried First Friday experiences //
- Just In Case You Leave Your Shell exhibition with work by Jalen Jackson, inaugural Artspace HBCU Artist in Residence in Upfront Gallery
- Remarks by FRESH juror Jessica Orzulak
- Meet and shop with our 30+ studio artists
- Art making activity for all ages, 6-9pm
- Sounds by DJ Rhymic, 6-9pm
- The Art of Wine tastings hosted by Yvette Holder featuring North Carolina wineries, 6-9pm
First Friday is free and open to the public, no registration needed. November’s FRESH First Friday is made possible by Sharefile and John W. and Anna H. Hanes Foundation.
Thank you to our FRESH Sponsor
Accessibility
As part of our mission, Artspace strives to be accessible and welcoming to people with disabilities. If you have an accommodation request or questions regarding inclusion, please contact us at info@artspacenc.org.
Questions?
If you have any questions related to the FRESH exhibition, please contact Annah Lee, Creative Director at alee@artspacenc.org. For questions related to programming, contact David Moore, Director of Community Engagement at dmoore@artspacenc.org.