A New Generation of NC Artists

In Ruby exhibit, the state's up-and-coming artists sit for portraits by university students and alumni

By Duke University

June 4^th, 2019

A Partnership of Creatives

The Rubenstein Arts Center is growing the ways it serves emerging and established artists beyond Duke’s campus. Those artists need quality photography for their marketing. And North Carolina has a goal of highlighting the state’s vibrant arts scene.

Put all three needs together, and you end up with a collaborative portrait exhibit at the Ruby that is both a powerful and useful document of creativity in the state. “New Faces of Tradition: Documenting North Carolina’s Young Artists” features photographs taken by Duke students and alumni of young artists across North Carolina.

Jessie Lang, bluegrass musician (Raleigh), photographed by Rachel Jessen, Duke MFA graduate. Above: Lena Jackson, hip-hop artist (Raleigh), taken by Phyllis B. Dooney,

Michele Gourley (with Adam Rose), Mountain dulcimer player (Durham, NC) by Rohan Kothari, Duke Class of 2019.

Since 1977, the Folklife Program of the North Carolina Arts Council has identified traditional artists and their communities in order to provide them with professional support. Traditional artists practice arts that emerge from shared experiences of work, play, worship, and place. Artists are “traditional” because they are active participants in maintaining and creating the culture of their communities.

In 2016, the Folklife Program established the Millennial Traditional Artists Project with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. As staff interviewed and surveyed over one-hundred artists across the state to learn how to best serve their needs, professional self-representation emerged as a common problem.

From left, Lejuane “El’Ja” Bowens, Spoken word poet (Raeford, NC) by Will Warasila, Duke MFA student

Radha Varadan, Kathak dancer (Raleigh, NC) photographed by Aaron Zhao, Duke class of 2022.

Shaquim Muldrow, Jazz saxophonist (Durham, NC) by Bishop Ortega, Duke MFA student

Sonya Badigian, Old-time fiddler and guitarist (Durham, NC) by Tasha Thomas, Duke Thompson Writing Program

Damir Watson, Gospel drummer, (Hillsborough, NC) by Phyllis B. Dooney, freelance photographer and Duke MFA graduate

In Spring 2019, Duke Arts partnered with the NC Arts Council to pair arts students and alumni with an artist in the region to produce a documentary portrait. The resulting portraits will be released in a statewide directory and offered to artists for professional publicity. The partnership between Duke and UNC photographers and the millennial artists was mutually beneficial.

“High resolution photography is a critical tool in the artist’s marketing kit. Such photographs are essential for CD covers, festival signage, newspaper and magazine coverage, and for high quality website content,” says Sally Peterson, folklife director, North Carolina Arts Council. “Young artists working within North Carolina’s diverse traditional arts often have difficulty accessing professional development services that help them to present themselves to the public beyond their home communities.”

Sachi Dely, Painter, Montagnard (Bunong) artist (Greensboro, NC) by Phyllis B. Dooney, freelance photographer and Duke MFA graduate

Duke Roots

Past university contributions to traditional arts in North Carolina are also featured in the Ruby exhibit. George Holt (T '74) and Diane Britz (T ’74) presented the first-ever North Carolina Folklife Festival on Duke’s campus in 1974. Holt was festival director again in ’75 and in ’76 was hired by the state to produce the North Carolina Bicentennial Folklife Festival at West Point on the Eno. Its success led to the creation of the Office of Folklife Programs (OFP) within the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. The OFP became the Folklife Program of the North Carolina Arts Council in 1983.

North Carolina Folklife Festival, 1974, Duke University, by Vic Lukas, courtesy of the NC Folklife Institute

At the Ruby

Thirteen photographers submitted over 50 images for this exhibit. A selection of 25 portraits is on view during visiting hours at the Rubenstein Art Gallery through June 30. The center is located at 2020 Campus Drive.

Musician Jessie Lang with her photographer Rachel Jessen at the May 30 exhibit opening

Visitors mingle with photographers and state artists at the exhibit opening at the Rubenstein Arts Center

At the opening, artist Johnny Lee Chapman III with photographer Dalvin Nichols

Footnotes

Photos courtesy Duke Arts.

See the Exhibit

FootNotes

Photos courtesy Duke Arts.

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A New Generation of NC Artists

In Ruby exhibit, the state's up-and-coming artists sit for portraits by university students and alumni

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