Project Art Downtown

MISSION       MURALS        COMMITTEE MEMBERS/CONTACT INFORMATION       

Elizabeth City is for people who love art and artists love Elizabeth City. The anchor of art in town is the Arts of the Albemarle (AOA). It is a gallery where you can view art or buy handcrafts and paintings. The building once was an opera house and now houses a preforming arts theater. Annually, Elizabeth City hosts SPLASH, a one-week gathering of artists from around the country conceived to promote, create and educate in the value of the arts. Now, to make a more visible statement, Project Art Downtown is a committee engaged in promoting public art. Murals are the focus but in the future other forms of public art will be embraced. We are looking for contributors: artists, donors, and building owners willing to host murals.

The 33 panels on the Main Street side of the old Southern Hotel are all native North Carolina birds. The creative motif is attributed to local artist Holly Luke. She printed black & white images and used decoupage method to apply them. All of the backgrounds were done by local citizens during a "paint in the park" event with free pizza for the volunteers.		Of the 78 hand-painted panels on the Southern Hotel, 45 are on the Road Street side. A call to local artists resulted in all 45 panels being painted by individuals at their home or shop. They were collected, put on display at one of our 1st Friday Art Walks and then installed the following month. It transformed the mostly vacant building into a place where the locals can point up and say "I painted that panel.”

MISSION

Improve the vibrancy of downtown Elizabeth City with public art thus expanding Elizabeth City's reputation as an art community, increasing tourism and making downtown more enjoyable for local residents.

MURALS

What better way to express art than to make it visible to everyone? Wall art murals in downtown Elizabeth City do just that. It is a new endeavor for Elizabeth City. We are just getting started.

Historic Pailin's Alley, renovated into a hub of downtown life, has benefitted from a beautiful large mural by local artist Holly Cole. The colorful mural celebrates Elizabeth City's history and reflects our modern vibrancy.