Emerge Art Gallery and Art Center will be opening an exhibit on June 3rd featuring art from kindergarten through 12th grade students across Pitt County Schools with a free opening
Pitt County Arts Council at Emerge offers East Carolina University as well as the Greenville, North Carolina, community members support for local artists, musicians and performers with membership groups.Â
Emerge Gallery & Art Center Marketing Coordinator Sarah Lazure said the Black Creatives of Pitt County (BCOPC) consists of approximately 45 members. She said the idea for the group came about after Black artists worked on the United Against Racism street mural on First Street.Â
âAfter the street mural was done, they (members) decided they wanted to form a group, stay in touch with one another, collaborate, promote, network and to offer a safe space for Black artists whether they be visual, music, performing, writers, so they could come together, support each other and have a community,â Lazure said.Â
Emerge Gallery and Arts Center, located at 404 S. Evans St. will continue to host its January Exhibition, which opened on Jan. 5 and is available through Jan. 28, with works by sculptor Aaron Yocum and abstract painter Jun S. Vasconcelos.
Sarah Lazure, Marketing Coordinator for Emerge Gallery and Arts Center, said in an email statement artwork by Yocum, an artist from the Raleigh-Durham Research Triangle, is showcased in the Don Edwards Gallery. Local artist Vasconcelosâ abstract painting hangs in the adjacent Harvey Wooten Gallery, she said.
Presently, the gallery is closed to the public due to concerns over COVID-19, Lazure said, but private appointments are available via email. The gallery has posted virtual tours and documentation of the artwork, viewable through Emergeâs website or through its Facebook and Instagram pages. Lazure said the gallery will resume itâs normal schedule Jan. 23.