2026 HBCU Artist in Residence
LAMAR WHIDBEE, born and raised in Hertford, North Carolina, is an interdisciplinary artist and licensed clinical mental health counselor whose practice bridges visual art and therapeutic inquiry. After beginning his journey as a collegiate football player at Winston-Salem State University and North Carolina Central University, he shifted toward creative work, ultimately earning his MFA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his LCMHCA from NC State University.
Whidbee’s work—exhibited in galleries, museums, and public art spaces across North Carolina and several states throughout the country—explores memory, mental health, and family through mediums such as oil, acrylic, charcoal, and graphite. Grounded in both artistic rigor and counseling training, he uses art as a therapeutic tool, inviting reflection, emotional processing, and community dialogue.
He has taught and facilitated workshops in middle schools, colleges, and universities including UNC Chapel Hill and Duke University. A husband and father of two, Whidbee continues to build a practice that merges creativity, healing, and storytelling, offering pathways to understanding the human experience.
