Exhibitions
With approximately six new exhibitions each year, there is almost always something new to see at the Gregg. These engaging shows present diverse artists, cultures, media, and techniques and examine the regions where art and design intersect with science, engineering, math, and technology. Many originate at the Gregg, while traveling exhibitions from other institutions are sometimes brought in to broaden the range of perspectives offered. Each offering is enhanced by related programming, and many are accompanied by thought-provoking publications.
All exhibitions are accessible, and admission is always free. Large-print gallery guides for visitors with low vision and other accommodations can be provided on request.
Curious about what’s next? Check out our Upcoming Exhibitions page here.
Current Exhibitions
Material Messages: The Tales That Textiles Tell
March 21, 2024 – February 8, 2025
Throughout history cloth has been a powerful tool of communication. In many non-western cultures around the world it has been created and used to document, celebrate, commemorate and depict events large and small. Material Messages showcases the unique vocabularies crafted by artisans through color, pattern, motif, and techniques like weaving, dyeing, embroidery and appliqué, to deliver messages within and beyond their individual cultures. Many of the cloths, like a beloved book with folded corners and faded pages, show the marks of use that in themselves tell a story. Material Messages expresses how different cultures communicate both similar and distinct messages through their particular cloth making traditions and reveals the depth and breadth of the artistic visions of these multi-cultural makers.
BABENGA – The Sacred Forest
May 16, 2024 – January 11, 2025
Cameroonian artist Jean Michel Dissake’s sculptural works use found and recycled materials to represent a balance between nature and technology by weaving natural objects such as wood, vines, termite dust, water hyacinths, and palm fronds together with computer boards, aluminum wire, license plates, and car parts. Informed by his cultural heritage as well as wisdom gained from living for nine years in the forest on the Mungo River, Dissake’s work invokes a dialogue on ecological and spiritual matters and speaks to timely issues of unity, peace, love, and oneness with nature.
BABENGA – The Sacred Forest is co-curated by Marriott Sheldon, a Raleigh artist and long-time curator of Dissake’s work, and Roger Manley, former director of the Gregg. Dissake was invited to participate in this year’s Venice Biennale, the world’s most prestigious art expo.
Selections from the Collections
Ongoing with Rotating Objects
Drawing from the Gregg Museum’s collections of over 54,000 objects, Selections from the Collections displays a sampling of the many different kinds of pieces in its holdings. Though objects in the exhibition will rotate from time to time to facilitate their preservation and so that different artists and kinds of objects can be exhibited, the same general themes, materials, and variety of work will remain a part of this ongoing exhibition. For many years, Gregg audiences have been treated to wide ranging but relatively short-term exhibitions that explore topics or present artists’ works for a matter of months, and then get changed out and replaced by entirely new shows. While this will continue, most visitors have departed without realizing that the Gregg staff also maintains vast collections used for teaching, research, supporting student projects, and, on occasion, as source material for the exhibitions in the public galleries. The semi-permanent Selections from the Collections exhibition in the historic Residence seeks to remedy that. This new rotating installation will ensure that there will always be fascinating things to see and share at the Gregg!
Class Visits and Tours
Gregg exhibitions support and enhance the curriculum of the university’s classroom teaching by offering opportunities for professors to incorporate class visits, individual assignments, or research projects as well. Contact the museum’s Director of Education to make arrangements; it may be possible to customize our offerings to meet the needs of particular courses or syllabi. K-12 teachers are also encouraged to consider making use of the Gregg’s exhibitions and resources.