The Contemporary Art Museum of Raleigh invites visitors into a space like no other less than ten minutes from NC State’s campus.
After pushing through a two-story tall door visitors enters a large room with high ceilings. This space is ever-changing. It is dynamic. It can transform. A few weeks ago, the Hopscotch Music Festival made this space its own. The Burning Coal Theatre has performed stunning theatrical renditions of plays, augmented by the creative agency the space affords. Models have strutted through the space donning sustainable fashion by designers from Redress Raleigh. The first floor of the Contemporary Art Museum of Raleigh, or CAM, serves as a venue that enhances the creative power of the events that pass through it.
“We’re a visual art museum, but we love to show all types of creativity,” said Gab Smith, the executive director of CAM. “The building is 100 years old and it used to store produce, so fresh art moves through here all the time.”
After walking through the wide-open venue space, one descends a white staircase to the ground floor. At the bottom of the stairs, attendees come face-to-face with a wall of words describing the exhibit they are about to experience. This space too is ever-changing. It offers an immersive stay in a world the artist creates. Art in this space evolves. An exhibit at CAM is a unique event in time — once a piece is packed up or painted over, another takes charge.
“CAM is always free to college students,” Smith said. “The reason to come back again and again is that CAM does not have a permanent collection. So the art is changing every 12-16 weeks.”
The exhibit that currently calls CAM home is “No Damsel,” created by artist Dorian Lynde. Strong female figures line the walls of the exhibit: a collegiate athlete, a vegan cook, a world traveler, an animal rights activist and an urban street artist, among others. There’s only one catch: the young women are reimagined versions of the beloved and time-honored Disney princesses. You’ll have to visit CAM to find out which is which.
Iliana Claudio, a first-year studying biochemistry, grew up surrounded by Native Americans. Claudio said this upbringing helped shaped her identity. At CAM, Dorian Lynde’s depiction of Pocahontas as a street artist spoke to her.
“I consider the Pocahontas [piece] to be very powerful,” Claudio said. “She’s spray painting ‘this land is my land.’ She’s representative of a community that has, for a long time, not been able to vocalize problems. More voices have been added to the pool of voices now that women have much more of a vocal play in society. It’s 3-D in comparison to a lot of art I think, because it’s very bold.”
Dorian Lynde will be at CAM the week of Oct. 2 and she will be painting additional murals in the warehouse district of Raleigh. Visitors are welcome to engage in discussion with her about her art. Artists remain connected to CAM even after their art transitions out of the space.
“Once the artist works with us, they’re part of our family,” Smith said. “We like to think that we’ve played a role in their creative growth.”
The Contemporary Art Museum of Raleigh is a collaborative and versatile platform for art media. Visitors interact with the space in various ways — by attending one-of-a-kind events and exhibits or by creating their own art in the Creation Station.
“You become a part of whatever’s happening,” Smith said.
