We see that every day. From finding new cures to providing new scholarships, at Carolina we know that the best is yet to come. And we hope you see it, too.
This site is a resource and playground. It is a place where you can learn about some of the incredible stories that happen here. Or perhaps you have a story to share? Help us create this site by sharing something bold, innovative or inspirational that you experienced at Carolina, particularly because a private donation made it possible. Anything is possible here, but it isn’t free. Thankfully we have generous donors who see the potential and help make it happen.
We know there are many more to tell, maybe even yours.
We want to hear them. We need your help to collect them.
Click here to share your stories or the ones you’ve heard. This is your site, so help us fill it with all the ways Carolina is making a difference in the world.
Send Us Your Story
Have a good story about the power of private giving at Carolina? Send it to us! A short summary is fine, or a complete article or a link to one.
State of the Arts
“By adding a comprehensive creative dimension to its teaching, research and public service missions, Carolina is poised to be a national leader in transforming the 21st-century liberal arts education.” — Emil Kang, Special Assistant to the Chancellor for the Arts
Creativity and innovation come from thinking about problems and connecting ideas in new ways, drawing from a rich background of diverse experiences, from science, from history and from the arts. This thinking fuels Chancellor Folt’s new initiative: Arts Everywhere.
No matter what a student studies, art and artistic expression will be essential to their education. We empower arts programs to enrich every corner of campus and make sure creative thought informs every student’s education.
On any given day, arts opportunities abound — from plays to concerts to open studios, and we’ve developed an app to let students know where art is happening. A new Intramural Arts initiative enables any student to try out any art form, regardless of skill level.
Arts are more than just an integral part of the educational experience; they move society forward by inspiring creativity and innovation. At Carolina, we’re making them indispensable.
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“It’s a special place,” said member Kari Hamel about the Ackland Art Museum. “It’s a space where the staff keeps the art fresh and makes everyone feel comfortable.”
Located on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Ackland has been a cultural resource for the Carolina community since 1958, providing an environment for children, students, and adults to experience incredible art collections and performances.
An avid fan of the Museum, Hamel has been visiting the Ackland for 20 years.
“The Ackland is so warm and welcoming to families, students and community members,” she said. “It’s one of those places where you’ll never see it all because it’s always changing and moving. There is always a reason to come. There is always something happening.”
The Ackland is constantly acquiring and showing art from across cultures and time periods for community members and students to enjoy. Set within a “university of the public, for the public,” the essence of community art is emphasized through the programs the Museum offers.
Hamel and her husband also routinely bring their three children to the Ackland.
“The Ackland has been ahead of other museums in family activities. They put families in front of the art,” Hamel said. “Because my family has such a good time there, we keep going back.”
Picture Above: A member of the Hamel family stands inside one of the sculptures that comprised the installation Step Right Up, commissioned for the Ackland’s terrace from artist Patrick Dougherty."
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string(1390) "Joanne Mills Garrett, ’69, ’78, ’90 (M.P.H., Ph.D.) planned to write a Broadway play one day.During her 30-year career with the UNC School of Medicine, Garrett never got around to writing that play, but she has found another way to make her mark in dramatic art.Garrett and her husband, Peter ’92 (Ph.D.), have created an endowment to fund the producing artistic director position for PlayMakers Repertory Company. The fund will also provide support for PlayMakers through the production of new works and educational programming for K-12 students.“Perhaps I could help launch a budding playwright, help a troubled young person learn how to express feelings though drama or establish opportunities for creativity in a world that seems of late to have forgotten the indispensable values of humanities and the arts,” said Garrett.Read the complete Carolina Story…"
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When Heather Lewis was a freshman in high
school, she was envious of the students in photography class who had the
freedom to roam the campus. That envy ended up turning into one of her greatest
passions.
After completing her art studies at schools
around the Southeastern United States, Lewis moved out to Southern California
to pursue her art career.
After years in the arts, Lewis, a Southern
girl at heart, decided to move back to the Research Triangle area where she
currently works in development for Carolina.
Lewis found that while being in a college town
provides for a unique cultural experience, what Chapel Hill lacked was a
community of photographers to inspire creation. When friends reached out to
create that community, she jumped at the opportunity. In 2016, she helped found
Mother
F Stop.
“Mother F Stop started with a group of three
women who have become moms since being in grad school together. It’s now the
biggest focus of our life, so the name itself is a play on words,” Lewis said,
“while also referencing a term in photography.”
Mother F Stop, which was originally intended
to be a blog, was born to reproduce a community of artists, photographers and
people to share and discover new things, moments and experiences. The community
became more than just a resource, but a place to inspire creation.
Lewis speaks very candidly about what inspires
her work.
“My work since grad school has been about
nostalgia, and I like to use the word ‘hireath’ to describe it, which is a
Welsh word meaning a longing for home,” Lewis continued, “but recently much of
the work has been about the grieving process. My fiancé, Daniel, unexpectedly
passed away about four years ago. He literally was here one day, and not the
next. I felt I really couldn’t explain myself to people because I was trying to
map out life without the person I was mapping out life with. I started reading
works by C.S. Lewis and Cheryl Strayed, and their words really resonated with
me and through reading I was able to visualize my next art pieces.”
Lewis ended up stripping down Daniel’s
clothes, notebooks and med school books, and repurposing them into art that she
now proudly displays in various galleries. Being vulnerable through her work
allows her to connect more deeply with her viewers and help people understand
grief.
“I’d hang Daniel’s belongings in their new
forms in a gallery and inevitably there would be a person who would come up and
say ‘I get this,’ ‘I understand this,’ and ‘I needed to know someone else out
there felt the same way as I did,’” she said.
For Carolina’s third annual Arts Everywhere
Day, Mother F Stop is holding its first photography exhibit, “Inaugural”. This
exhibit features work from photographers who were highlighted in the blog’s
first year. On view are photographers representing 5 different countries and 13
states. The exhibit will be located
within the SAMple Gallery on the second floor of Hanes Art Center from April
1st through April 12th.
“Each year, Arts Everywhere Day is a way for
us to celebrate the power of the arts to bring people together across
disciplines, interests and backgrounds. Heather’s exhibit “Inaugural” is a
clear example that the arts are for everyone. She is a Carolina staff member
bringing works by artists from around the world to students in Chapel Hill.
It’s a win-win-win for the Carolina community,” said Kathryn Stewart, associate
director of Arts Everywhere.
Lewis said she is really excited to have the
exhibition on Carolina’s campus and to be a part of Arts Everywhere. “If you’re
not going to art galleries as a student, you aren’t going to be exposed to the
documentaries people are shooting, different processes people are experimenting
with, or art trends currently happening. I’m glad our Carolina students are
getting this exposure.”
Arts Everywhere collaborates with diverse partners to embed the arts into daily life at Carolina through creative and cutting-edge programs that promote artistic expression, live arts experiences, and learning through the arts.
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“It’s a special place,” said member Kari Hamel about the Ackland Art Museum. “It’s a space where the staff keeps the art fresh and makes everyone feel comfortable.”
Located on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Ackland has been a cultural resource for the Carolina community since 1958, providing an environment for children, students, and adults to experience incredible art collections and performances.
An avid fan of the Museum, Hamel has been visiting the Ackland for 20 years.
“The Ackland is so warm and welcoming to families, students and community members,” she said. “It’s one of those places where you’ll never see it all because it’s always changing and moving. There is always a reason to come. There is always something happening.”
The Ackland is constantly acquiring and showing art from across cultures and time periods for community members and students to enjoy. Set within a “university of the public, for the public,” the essence of community art is emphasized through the programs the Museum offers.
Hamel and her husband also routinely bring their three children to the Ackland.
“The Ackland has been ahead of other museums in family activities. They put families in front of the art,” Hamel said. “Because my family has such a good time there, we keep going back.”
Picture Above: A member of the Hamel family stands inside one of the sculptures that comprised the installation Step Right Up, commissioned for the Ackland’s terrace from artist Patrick Dougherty."
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