WALTER’s Top 10 Stories of 2020
From essays to artist profiles to poetry, these are the stories our readers loved this year.
Category: Arts & Culture
The Hard Path: Country Musician Rissi Palmer
Country music star Rissi Palmer has created her own success in a genre that hasn’t always been welcoming to Black performers.by David Menconi / photography by Samantha Everette Rissi Palmer wasn’t actually present for her most recent high-profile exposure. It…
In Dialogue: Simone Leigh’s Corrugated at the NCMA
This timely acquisition for the North Carolina Art Museum has a surprising link to local history.
The Art of the Pivot: Caitlin Cary’s Multifaceted Career
Known as both a performer and a visual artist, Caitlin Cary creates scenes of Raleigh and Durham with needle and fabric.
For 18 Years, Mary Poole Helped Build the Triangle’s Art Scene
Outgoing Artspace CEO Mary Poole carved out a place for local artists in Raleigh. by Joel Haas In 1980, the Raleigh Arts Commission recommended the establishment of a center for visual and performing arts run by a non-profit corporation. Set…
UNC’s Short Story Dispensers in Chapel Hill Make Literature Available to Anyone
Around University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s campus and local coffee shops around town, unique futuristic machines dispense short stories and fiction with just the wave of a finger through the college’s Arts Everywhere program.
9 Books to Check Out in December
Take advantage of a few days off this month to curl up with one of these novels recommended by Mamie Potter of Quail Ridge Books.
10 Virtual Holiday Performances in the Triangle Worth Watching
From televised performances of the Nutcracker to Christmas caroling: most holiday productions are virtual this year but you don’t have to miss out on your favorite shows.
Art in Service: Rosalia Torres-Weiner’s Flowers Blossom
A Charlotte artist finds a way to help the Latinx community amidst COVID-19 with her paintings.
Hometown Humbug: Behind the Scenes of Ira David Wood III’s A Christmas Carol
Loyalties and families formed within the cast of our long-running production of Charles Dickens’ story.
The Greatest Story: Justice Theater Project’s Black Nativity
Director Dr. Asabi developed a new script and music to present Langston Hughes’ groundbreaking musical as a virtual performance.
The (Annotated) WALTER Holiday Playlist
Evergreen songs one from far and wide—but from right here, too. David Menconi shares his favorite holiday songs from Triangle artists.
Christmas Stories, Somewhat but Mostly Not True
Author Daniel Wallace shares stories of holidays past, and the lessons they hold for us today.
Uncharted Territory: Lump Gallery at 25 Years
Blount Street gallery Lump offers thought-provoking contemporary art and interactive virtual and in-person exhibits.