Asides: Events and news about the Triangle’s arts scene

If you’re in downtown Raleigh at lunchtime on Friday, take advantage of the N.C. Symphony’s Friday Favorite series, noontime performances in Meymandi Concert Hall.

They kick off the series this Friday with “Festive Overture,” Op. 96, by Dmitri Shostakovich and Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, "Pathétique.” Associate Conductor David Glover will lead the orchestra.

Additional concerts in the Friday series are planned for Nov. 13, Dec. 4, Feb. 5, March 4 and May 6.

Tickets are $28; $10 for students. To purchase tickets go online at www.ncsymphony.org or call the Symphony box office at 919.733.2750 or toll free at 877.627.6724.

Double delight

There are still tickets available for some living legends this week in Durham.

The Blind Boys of Alabama and Aaron Neville are double-billed at the Carolina Theatre on Friday. The Blind Boys, whose career spans 70 years and includes five Grammy awards, will perform their signature gospel songs. Neville is touring without the Neville Brothers, promoting for his latest album, “My True Story,” a collection of doo-wop classics (“Under the Boardwalk,” “Tears on My Pillow”).

The show starts at 8 p.m. on Friday at the Carolina Theatre, 309 W. Morgan St., Durham. Tickets start at $37. Call 919-560-3030 or http://www.carolinatheatre.org.

Sacred art, sacred animals

It’s not often that an art exhibit alone can bring profound change but there’s the possibility of that this week when the Block Gallery hosts a pet adoption during the opening reception of “Sacred Spaces.”

The adoption complements Shannon Johnstone’s “Landfill Dogs” series. Johnstone takes dogs that have been homeless for two weeks to photograph at the landfill, hoping to bring attention to their plight as the dogs photographed are destined for the landfill if they are not adopted. She writes: “However, this landscape offers a metaphor of hope. It is a place of trash that has been transformed into a place of beauty. I hope the viewer also sees the beauty in these homeless, unloved creatures.”

In addition to Johnstone, works by artists Scott Hazard and Jon Kolkin also will be on display through Nov. 13. The reception is from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Block Gallery in the Raleigh Municipal Building, 222 W. Hargett St. Call 919-996-3610 for more details.

Midcentury modern

Paintings, prints and drawings by artists active in the middle of the 20th century are featured in an exhibit of midcentury modern art on view at the Lee Hansley Gallery through Nov. 21.

Thirty artists are featured including Margaret Crawford, Maud Gatewood, Madeleine Heidrick, Anne Kessler Shields, Anne Wall Thomas, Robert Barnard, George Bireline, Joe Cox, Claude Howell, Gregory Ivy, Richard Kinnaird and Dennis Zaborowski.

Works by internationally known artists Bernard Buffet and Le Corbusier also are in the show as well as sculpture by E.C. Langford, William Mangum and Robert Howard.

The gallery is at 225 Glenwood Ave. in Raleigh. Call 919-828-7557 or go online at leehansleygallery.com for more details.

Pullen open house

Pullen Arts Center is having an open house from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday with instructor demos, family art activities for the family and a Pottery Olympics competition. There will be a pop-up gallery with art for sale. Pullen Arts Center, 105 Pullen Road, Raleigh. 919-996-6126

Deadline for grants

The deadline is fast approaching for the City of Raleigh’s Technical Assistance Grants. Raleigh arts groups may apply for four technical assistance grants this year. The are available for organizations that want to make their facilities for accessible to people with disabilities, offer development opportunities for staff and board members and overall organization development.

Applications are due Thursday for grants presented Nov. 16 and again April 1 for grants given in May. For more information and to download the guidelines go to nando.com/artgrants

This story was originally published October 10, 2015 at 5:01 AM with the headline "Asides: Events and news about the Triangle’s arts scene."