City of Durham Cultural & Public Art Program

Look down, Durham. 👀 We've got poems right on our sidewalks this National Poetry Month, written by Durham's Poet Laureate @thepoetryfox and brought to you by the City of Durham's Cultural and Public Art Program. So grab your friends and family and use this map to take the Durham Poetry Walk. Tag #durhampoetrywalk and we'll repost you! 🐂✨ #DurhamPoetryWalk #BullCity #DurhamNC #NationalPoetryMonth #PoetryMonth #PublicArt #CreativeDurham #DowntownDurham #PoetryWalk

Join us for the dedication of the new columbarium at historic Beechwood Cemetery and a performance highlighting the lives and contributions of four of Durham’s foundational leaders. Founded in 1924 to serve Durham’s community, Beechwood remains a sacred place of remembrance and rich local history. More than a century later, we are proud to celebrate its continued legacy with a ribbon-cutting of the new columbarium and the premiere of the Beechwood Living History Performance Project led by Ira Knight. 📅 May 20, 5-7pm 📌 3300 Fayetteville Street RSVP at the link in bio

📣 Deadline Soon! Apply by May 7 before 3:00 p.m. Get paid to grow your skills 🎨 As a part of the Durham Cultural Roadmap, the Creative Training Incentive Program (ARPA) is accepting applications until May 7. ✨ Open to independent artists, creative workers, nonprofits & arts-based businesses based in Durham 💼 Focused on workforce development to help you build sustainable, long-term success 💰 Selected participants will receive a $5,000 incentive upon completion 📈 Build skills in marketing, grants, pricing & more through professional training with Triangle Artworks 📍 Must be Durham-based to apply (live in Durham County or operate a Durham-based org/business) 🗓 Deadline: May 7, 2026 before at 3:00 p.m. 💻 Apply via Submittable 🔗 Learn more: www.DurhamNC.gov/5526 Invest in your creative future—apply today! #DurhamNC #DurhamArtists #CreativeCommunity #WorkforceDevelopment #ArtistOpportunities

🌟 Did you know that much of the common cattail is edible? Artist team Julienne Alexander & Ben Reid designed and installed four educational signs at the South Ellerbe Restoration Site along the construction fence on W. Trinity Ave, sharing the story of the site while work continues on this future wetland and stream restoration. Many cultures around the world have for centuries used cattail as a highly nutritional food source. Cattail can be very invasive in wetlands, and so this kind of routine harvesting helps to curb its overpopulation. Indigenous peoples in North Carolina, for example, used many parts of the cattail plant to make food: the cattail pollen and starchy roots can be ground to make an excellent flour; the shoots can be harvested when they first emerge and sliced for a delicious raw salad. Cattail can also be used medicinally: they have natural pain-relieving properties and are a good source of magnesium and Vitamin K. To be used safely as food or medicine, cattail must be grown in clean water as they can accumulate large amounts of dangerous metals such as lead.

Today's the last day of National Poetry Month. But in Durham? Poetry season is year-round. 🌧️✨ We're washing it right into the sidewalks so you can't miss it. Durham Poet Laureate @thepoetryfox 's words are now on sidewalks downtown. Share a photo and tag #DurhamPoetryTrail so we can keep the poetry going. #NationalPoetryMonth #DurhamPoetryTrail #CreativeDurham #DurhamNC #PoetryEveryDay #DurhamPoetLaureate #PublicArt

🌺 Beechwood Living History 🌺   Join us on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. for a meaningful evening honoring Durham’s past at Beechwood Cemetery at 3300 Fayetteville Street, Durham, NC 27707. This special event will celebrate Beechwood’s enduring legacy in Durham and will feature remarks on the new columbarium, a ribbon-cutting, and the premiere of the Beechwood Living History Performance Project led by Ira Knight @iraknightpresents , with an additional monologue contribution by Tyra Wade @theglamourarchivist of The Lincoln Affairs. The Living History Performance Project highlights the lives and contributions of Durham leaders Mr. John Merrick, Dr. Aaron McDuffie Moore, Dr. James E. Shepard, and Ms. Viola Turner.  Please note: The rain date for this event is Wednesday, May 27, 2026.  Thank you for joining us in this celebration of Durham and its incredible legacy.

The world seems to be ending on a daily basis. Join Durhan Poet Laureate Chris Vitiello @thepoetryfox and other area poets read their declarations, laments, testimony, diatribe, vespers, and everything else—all in one unforgettable night. Thursday, April 30, 6 - 9 p.m. Durham County Library Main Branch @durhamcountylibrary Free and Open to the Public!

📣 Calling Durham Creatives! Get paid to grow your skills 🎨 As a part of the Durham Cultural Roadmap, the Creative Training Incentive Program (ARPA) is now accepting applications. ✨ Open to independent artists, creative workers, nonprofits & arts-based businesses based in Durham 💼 Focused on workforce development to help you build sustainable, long-term success 💰 Selected participants will receive a $5,000 incentive upon completion 📈 Build skills in marketing, grants, pricing & more through professional training with Triangle Artworks 📍 Must be Durham-based to apply (live in Durham County or operate a Durham-based org/business) ⏰ Deadline: May 7, 2026 by or before at 3:00:00 PM 💻 Apply via Submittable 🔗 Learn more: www.DurhamNC.gov/5526 Invest in your creative future—apply today! #DurhamNC #DurhamArtists #CreativeCommunity #WorkforceDevelopment #ArtistOpportunities

📧 Our monthly newsletter drops soon! Sign up to receive the latest news from the City of Durham’s Cultural & Public Art Program including info on the Creative Training Incentive Program (ARPA). 🔗 Subscribe at the link in our bio.

21 POETS, 1 GREAT NIGHT. The Reading for the End of the World is Thursday April 30 and you don’t want to miss this lineup of poets reading into our shared apocalypse! 4/30, 6-9pm, @durhamcountylibrary main branch in the auditorium, FREE READERS: Dasan Ahanu Gabrielle Calvocoressi Nate Dixon Joe Donahue Jaki Shelton Green Matia Guardabascio Destiny Hemphill Lauren Hunter Joe Fletcher Laura Jaramillo Fred Joiner CJ Martin David Need Nina Oteria Marta Nunez Pouzols AM Ringwalt Susannah Simpson Kristi Stout Chris Tonelli Han VanderHart Chris Vitiello @creativedurham & the Durham Poet Laureate pgm @thepoetryfox

Applications open: Join the Durham Public Art Committee (PAC)! PAC is seeking community members with backgrounds in the arts, arts administration, and creative and professional fields—including individuals with experience in law or finance. Help shape the future of public art in Durham! PAC members review and recommend artists for commissions, public art project designs, and advise the City and County on all things public art. 🔗 Learn more and apply at the link in bio. 📸 Imagine a Day Without Water mural by Zac Bender

🌟 Did you know that the historic Durham Beltline passed along the South Ellerbe Restoration Site? Artist team Julienne Alexander & Ben Reid designed and installed four educational signs at the South Ellerbe Restoration Site along the construction fence on W. Trinity Ave, sharing the story of the site while work continues on this future wetland and stream restoration. From the late nineteenth century through the 1950s, this project site was surrounded by factories, mills, and warehouses that manufactured cotton, hosiery, and tobacco products. In order to facilitate transport of goods to and from these warehouses, the Duke family financed a spur rail as a shortcut connecting directly into the larger Norfolk & Western Railway (originally the Lynchburg & Durham Railroad). Running between the eastern border of the South Ellerbe Restoration Project and Orient Street, the Durham Beltline was in active service until the early 1980s. As they crossed along this corridor, passengers on the train would have looked down over South Ellerbe Creek, heavily polluted by industries on all sides. The future Durham Rail Trail, a walking path along the old Beltline track, will be completed in 2028, giving modern-day passersby a view of a restored Ellerbe Creek, kept clean by its new stormwater management system. The future Durham Rail Trail, a walking path along the old Beltline track will give modern-day passersby a view of a restored South Ellerbe Creek, improved by the stormwater control measures provided by the South Ellerbe Restoration Project.