Renovated Pullen Arts Center seeks to make arts more accessible. Peek inside new space.
Located on the north end of Pullen Park, the Pullen Arts Center has been closed to the public since November 2017.
In the nearly four years since then, the rectangular brick building, closed off from the beautiful park landscaping around it, has seen vast changes.
The $8.2 million project has resulted in a larger space with large glass windows, promoting an effortless transition from the outdoor park to the indoor education space.
“In my mind, what we’ve done is make visual arts more accessible to anybody in the community that wants to participate,” said Director Eliza Kiser in a phone interview with The News & Observer.
The center is open for scheduled classes, tours and gallery visits. There will be a dedication ceremony Sept. 1 at 10 a.m.
The Pullen Arts Center, located at 105 Pullen Road, has been dedicated to educating emerging artists in the community since 1961. It provides classes, studios and exhibition opportunities for artists of all ages.
In 2014, a bond allocated $6 million to improving the space. The ultimate $8.2 million costs included planning, design and construction, said Lora Greco, Capital Projects engineering supervisor in a phone interview with The News & Observer.
The renovation expanded the space from 15,000 square feet to 22,500 square feet. There are more exterior programming spaces, including a pottery courtyard, and improved accessibility and parking on the north end of the park campus.
“This was a multipurpose construction project that not only included the expansion of the Arts Center, but a renewal of the North Pullen Park campus,” Greco said. “There was a desire to address accessibility and increase parking and link the park facilities and amenities in that section of the park.”
Renovations were aimed at improving studio spaces, providing more opportunities for art exhibition, incorporating local art into the building, and improving the relationship between indoor and outdoor features.
The project also expanded the infrastructure of the building by increasing the size of rooms and improving plumbing, power, lighting and ventilation.
“It really just was doing the unglamorous work of making sure that artists have the types of spaces that they need to do their creative work without being hindered by the space,” Kiser said.
A place for artists
The building features meandering exhibition halls throughout, allowing exhibitions from beginning and emerging artists, as well as semi-professionals and professionals.
Part of improving exhibition opportunities is incorporating local artists’ handmade works into the building. These elements include light fixtures hanging over the front desk and a tile backsplash in the kitchen made by roughly 30 artists of all ages, among other features.
“We have a chalkboard mural wall where we’re going to be able to have artists come in every two or three months, and just create a new feature on the wall,” Kiser said.
Classes include bookmaking, drawing, pottery, jewelry, painting and printmaking, with classes offered for all ages and skill levels. Classes are typically eight to 12 people in size.
Creating a seamless relationship between outdoors and indoors was a priority for both the Center and its architects.
“Architecturally the original building was this enclosed box, and so the architect wanted to take the addition and in more of this open box concept and draw people in to showcase those programs and activities,” Greco said.
The updated Pullen Arts Center will provide the community with a long-awaited for space to explore and learn creative arts, Fiser said.
“We cannot wait to have people back in this building. We can’t wait to see what Pullen Art Center is like when it’s filled with artists,” Fiser said.
This story was originally published August 18, 2021 at 2:02 PM.