A line without a beginning, an unending line, it contains within it its past and future, and its perpetual present. 

As the artist fellowship program approaches its 30^th anniversary, the circle seems an apt metaphor in many ways. The exhibition of the first fellowship winners in 1980-81 was held at Green Hill Art Gallery, then as now an institution devoted to displaying the work of the best contemporary North Carolina artists. The exhibition returned to Green Hill Center again in 1983 and once more in 1992, but hasn’t been hosted there since—until now.

In the intervening years the circle has grown much larger for the Arts Council and North Carolina artists. The first year only four fellowships, all in visual arts, were awarded for a total of $20,000; in 2008-09 twenty artists in four disciplines received $200,000 in awards, making North Carolina one of the most generous states in the region in its support of artists. 

As we move forward, seeking new ways of connecting people with art and artists, of showing them the artistic wealth around them every day in our state, we must see the opening as both an invitation and a re-imagining of the circle itself, and our place in it. If we do that, we will have even more to celebrate in the coming years.

An excerpt from the catalog of the NCAC Artist Fellowship Exhibition
by Jeff Pettus, Senior Program Director for Artists & Organizations, NCAC