Raleigh Art Galleries, Museums, Supplies & More

Best art galleries Raleigh museums supplies classes your area

Anyone that wants to learn about art in Raleigh has definitely found the right blog and our first section will fully cover the best art galleries and museums near you.

After that we will get into a variety of other topics like art supply stores, events, festivals, dealers, appraisers, walking tours, local sculptures and statues, art classes, studios for rent, and the top frame shops in your area.

You can jump straight to any section that interests you most by using the table of contents on the left and here is our Raleigh art map to kick things off. We should also mention that the Southeast is an area that we have written about often on our site if you feel like reading more.

Best Art Galleries & Museums In Raleigh

If you want to visit the best art galleries and museums in Raleigh you can go to:

Many may not know that the North Carolina Museum of Art houses one of the two permanent displays of Jewish art in museums across the country including 30 works by Augueste Roden which is the most of any in the Southeast. There are also more than a dozen monumental works spread across the 160+ acre Museum Park and you can head over from 10am to 5pm Wednesday through Sunday when the doors are open to check out all they have to offer.

The Contemporary Art Museum is free to enter plus when they are open from 10am to 5pm Friday through Sunday and from 1:30pm to 5pm on Thursday providing all kinds of educational programs and cultural experience while displaying many non-traditional exhibits.

You can also find a lot of free programs near you like lectures, film screenings, artist residencies, and more at Gregg Museum of Art & Design which is open from 10am to 5pm Tuesday through Saturday.

There are art classes for all ages, summer camps for kids grades 3-12, and studio spaces to rent at Artspace and they keep regular hours of 11am to 7pm Wednesday through Saturday and until 4pm on Sunday.

The Block Gallery usually puts on a handful of different exhibitions throughout the year featuring the latest works from local artists in Chatham, Durham, Johnston, Orange, or Wake County that you can take a look at from 8:30am to 5pm Monday through Friday.

At Gallery C they do appraisals, can help with resales, and have guest artist programs where they can exhibit and sell their latest creations and you can visit them from 11am to 4pm Tuesday through Saturday.

The longest running gallery in Cary is the Gallery of Artists which is open from from 11am to 5:30pm Tuesday through Saturday and features all kinds of local artists latest works in a variety of mediums, many of which is for sale.

Materials & Supplies Near You

There are quite a few stores in this city to buy art supplies and materials like:

For more than 150 years Jerry’s Artarama has been one the best art supply and material stores in your area and they can do custom framing while also running an online art contest that many of you would probably be interested in entering.

You probably are already aware of what the other chain stores have to offer.

Shows & Events

Some of the best art shows and events held in the region are:

The International Festival of Raleigh is a 3 day event held at the Convention Center each February where there will be cultural exhibits, international performances, art, food, games, and shopping available.

The oldest event in the region is the Artsplosure Raleigh Arts Festival which takes place downtown every year over the third weekend of May when more than 150 juried artists and craftspeople exhibit their latest works across 10 different categories. There will be lots of art for sale, live music, food trucks, and more along Fayetteville Street.

Many would consider First Night Raleigh to be the biggest New Year’s Eve celebration in North Carolina when on December 30 and 31st over 20 downtown blocks get filled with dozens of performances, activities, and lots of art on display.

Art Dealers & Appraisers

When you are trying to find a new piece for your collection or to figure out the true value of something visit one of these art dealers and appraisers in your area:

You can get one of the talented artists at Bev’s Fine Art to create a unique piece just for you or you can lease and buy any of the works for sale plus they provide in-home consultations, installations, and do custom framing.

At Artsource you will find works by more than 60 artists near you or take advantage of their consulting and framing services.

You can also get paintings commissioned at The Centerpiece.

Black Rock Galleries provides professional appraisals, hosts weekly auctions, can help with selling your works, and they have warehouse to warehouse shipping services from the Northeast to Texas.

Mahler Fine Art, Gallery C, and Cary Gallery of Artists from our prior lists also sell art.

Walking Tours

Art walking tours can be a lot of fun when the weather is nice:

Joining Raleigh Walking Tours for a downtown stroll will take you past through many of the best displays of murals and public art in your area. The Warehouse District obviously isn’t an ‘art walk’ per se but you will find many galleries, studios, and things to do in this very walkable downtown neighborhood.

Sculptures & Statues

Framing art supply stores Raleigh lessons near you studios

Taking selfies with these sculptures and statues could also be enjoyable:

  • Oberlin Rising at 809 Oberlin Rd
  • George Washington Monument at 1 E Edenton St
  • Presidents North Carolina Gave the Nation at E Union Sq
  • Sir Walter Raleigh at 500 S Salisbury St
  • Dr Martin Luther King Jr Statue at 1215 MLK Jr Blvd
  • Fallen Firefighters Memorial at 200 S McDowell St
  • Sculpture in the Landscape at 319 Homestead Dr, Cary

Thomas Sayre created Oberlin Rising a few short years ago which you can find at Oberlin Village.

The George Washington Monument is quite a bit older than that as William James Hubard and Jean-Antoine created the statue which currently stands in Union Square in the mid 1800’s.

The Dr Martin Luther King Jr Statue was dedicated in his memorial gardens back in 1997.

Nash Square is the home to the Fallen Firefighters Memorial which was created by Carl Regutti.

Raleigh Art Classes

Whether you are trying to find private lessons or group classes for kids, teens, or adults the best art schools in Raleigh would be:

There are programs in animation, photography, filmmaking, audio, interactive media, and interior design available at Living Arts College.

The first charter high school in Raleigh that integrates academics with the fine and performing arts is Longleaf School of the Arts and this college preparatory school has a variety of classes in choral music, dance, instrumental music, musical theatre, and visual art.

Wine & Design isn’t your traditional art school but some of you will still probably be interested in it as they host paint and sip parties, girls nights out, work teambuilding events, and it is a good spot for a date night too.

People of all ages are welcome to take the classes and workshops in painting, pottery, photography, drawing, and more from Sertoma Arts Center.

Studios For Rent Near You

Anyone that wants to rent art studio space can contact:

A couple of other places we have mentioned throughout the post also rent out art studio space in your area like Artspace and the Sertoma Arts Center.

Framing

When you need art framing services in Raleigh try out:

You can choose from any of the 2,000 plus picture frame moldings or try the frame and glass repair services at Frame & Art Shop who has next-day service available.

There are 12 Frame Warehouse locations across the Carolina’s that all do quality custom framing.

Framecrafters provides conservation, restoration, preservation, and printing services for art and photos. There are many other business that do framing services in your area like Gallery C, Bev’s Fine Art, Artsource ,The Centerpiece Art Supply Wholesale, Jerry’s Artarama, Michaels, and Hobby Lobby.

We have also written about:

Have Fun Enjoying The Raleigh Art Scene

Well guys, we tried to cover the full art scene near you as well as possible. We listed the best galleries, museums, events, shows, supply stores, dealers, appraisers, walking tours, sculptures, classes, studios, and framers in your area.

If you made it this far you might just know quite a bit about the local art scene yourself. Feel free to share your own tips, or to let us know if we may have gotten anything wrong in the comments.

Have fun going to the galleries, museums, buying supplies or doing anything that has to do with art in Raleigh!

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This post and all of the posts on our site are edited by Dan Soloman who has been a huge fan of art since he was a little kid. His mother was a good local artist, and she taught him the trade from a very early age. He studied art and its history in both high school and college, has worked at multiple galleries, and recently has begun creating and editing online content for this site and some other online media platforms.

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