You can find Charlotte art in the most unexpected places. Check out these 10 gems

All around Charlotte, there’s art just waiting to be discovered. I’ve been on a treasure hunt across the city recently, checking out some of the beautiful and awe-inspiring works that many newcomers or even people living and working here awhile may not realize are around.

From massive murals to hidden galleries, here are 10 unexpected places where you can find art from one end of the Queen City to the other.

Neighborhood: Northwest Charlotte

1.) Artwork: “Pillars of Dreams” sculpture

Location: Valerie C. Woodard Community Resource Center, 3205 Freedom Dr., Charlotte

This billowing sculpture, made of two super-thin interlaced layers of aluminum, seems to float in front of the Valerie C. Woodard Community Resource Center. The building houses Mecklenburg County Health and Human Services agencies. Attached to nine hollow columns, “Pillars of Dreams” offers mesmerizing views from every angle, especially from vantage points underneath the sculpture toward the sky.

It was designed by Marc Fornes of THEVERYMANY studio and commissioned by Mecklenburg County in partnership with the Arts & Science Council and the Public Art Commission in 2019. Based in New York, Fornes’ work combines art and architecture.

Fornes also designed “Wanderwall,” a giant blue and green patterned exterior wall, on the Stonewall Station parking garage in uptown Charlotte. His work is in collections around the world, including at the Centre Pompidou museum in Paris and London’s Heathrow Airport.

2.) Artwork: Rotating selection of local art

Location: Pauline Tea-Bar Apothecary, 2326 Arty Ave., Charlotte

As sultry jazz plays on a speaker, customers at the Pauline Tea-Bar chat quietly, work on laptops or trace designs through the large table-top zen garden.

Current featured art includes tufted wool creations by fiber artist Cat Babbie, acrylic paintings by M.J. Lopez, watercolor and ink works by Eva Crawford and a permanent mixed media installation by Lo’Vonia Parks. Exhibits change quarterly.

Lopez, who recently became the Tea-Bar’s curator, said plans are underway to create a large collaborative piece featuring the work of many local artists this fall.

Although the mediums vary, Lopez said she and owner Sherry Waters always try to feature local art that “aligns” with the vision of the tea shop.

“Does it bring a calming presence? Does it make you go deeper into the subject matter and engage… talk to the other patrons who are here? Does it align with what this place brings because this is a place for community, a place for engagement.”

Outdoors, there’s a small meditative labyrinth and an ongoing partnership with Art on Doors. New artwork will be added in the fall.

Neighborhood: University area

3.) Artwork: “Remembrance Stones”

Location: UNC Botanical Gardens (Susie Harwood Garden, near the gazebo), 9304 Mary Alexander Road, Charlotte

Tucked away in the quiet and lush UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens is a sculpture created as a memorial by students and faculty in the aftermath of the 2019 school shooting that killed students Ellis Reed Parlier and Riley Howell and injured four others.

After the tragedy, the gardens invited the university community to create remembrance stones as a way to grieve and process what had happened. Hundreds of people wrote messages on small smooth stones with black markers, provided by the gardens’ staff, and placed them around the gardens.

According to a 2022 article published by UNC Charlotte, when the sculpture was dedicated, the gardens’ leadership wanted to create a more permanent memorial. They enlisted the help of two Department of Art and Art History professors, Marek Ranis and Thomas Schmidt, who designed a 12-foot tall sculpture to hold large recreations of these messages of solace and hope.

Forty-two students helped to transfer the original messages onto large river rocks, replicating not only their words but the original handwriting and drawings. The students engraved the stones and then filled the letters and symbols with black paint to recreate permanent replicas of these messages of hope.

Neighborhood: Multiple

4) Artwork: Paintings, sculptures, public art

Location: Various Charlotte Mecklenburg libraries

Tony Tallent, associate director for library experiences at Charlotte Mecklenburg Libraries, has spent much of his career trying to get more art into the library. He said the organization’s efforts have continued to expand since the COVID pandemic. All 21 of the library’s branches now include public art.

Tallent’s love of art has led him toward making it “more accessible to our public so that people of all ages can enjoy fine art, beautiful art, whimsical art, you name it, in places that they’re going to be naturally and not have to pay to get in.”

A few points of special interest: At South County Regional Library on Rea Road, following a 15-month building renovation that ended in 2021, Tallent and branch manager Laura Highfill carved out several new areas to use as gallery walls to display art.

Local artist Chris Georgalas’ work, currently on view, has been particularly popular, Tallent said. He has already sold three paintings, thanks to the exhibition, and led a couple hands-on community workshops which were at capacity.

At the new University City Regional Library branch, which opened in February, visitors can see one of the library’s latest art acquisitions: a life-size replica of an appaloosa horse. It took about two years of conversations with the artist and others to make it possible.

The sculpture, called “Stella Terra,” is hand-made by artist Anne Lemanski with an interior of lightweight coiled copper and the outside covered in archival paper with a variety of images. In place of the apple spots, Lemanski used inkjet printed replicas of images from vintage encyclopedias.

Each image — a rooster, an elephant and a monarch butterfly among them — is placed where the spots would fall on a real horse.

There are other hidden art gems, too, like the library’s 100+ collection of original children’s book illustrations, which are displayed in branches throughout the city. Tallent said the library is working to develop an online directory so the public can more easily discover the artwork featured in each of the branches.

Neighborhood: NODA

5) Artwork: TAOH Outdoor Gallery

Location: 2200 N. Brevard St., Charlotte

Artist Erik Woodall has painted multiple murals at the TAOH Outdoor Gallery in NODA, which opened last September. He said the graffiti park is an incredible resource for the community.

“When I was growing up, you had to find an old abandoned wall somewhere and you didn’t know if it was going to be OK or not. Now… anybody can come here. So people who would never have access to even try this at least have the ability to give it a shot.”

The space was co-founded by muralist Osiris Rain, interdisciplinary artist Sydney Duarte and Australian-born artist and activist Treazy Treaz for the community to create and enjoy. The art is constantly changing. It’s open for creative expression and to the public 24 hours a day.

TAOH is short for “The Awakening of Humanity” and is linked to “Piece for Peace,” an international movement founded by Duarte and Treaz to use art and creativity as a means to “unify human consciousness” and inspire positive change.

On May 17, the group hosted its second annual “Piece for Peace” event at the TAOH Outdoor Gallery. Duarte said 30 artists painted that day and created new murals. More than 2,000 community members stopped by to participate in hands-on creative workshops, like spray painting and t-shirt making.

But the lot, provided by real estate developers Proffitt Dixon Partners, like the art, is only temporary. At the end of July, the TAOH Outdoor Gallery co-founders hope to find a permanent location to re-establish the concept.

“In essence, TAOH Outdoor Gallery is more than just a space,” Duarte said. “It’s a catalyst for transformation, enriching lives and shaping Charlotte’s cultural identity for generations to come.”

6) Artwork: Monthly rotating exhibition and permanent works by local artists

Location: The Artisan’s Palate, 1218 E. 36th St., Suite A, Charlotte

At The Artisan’s Palate, chef Christa Csoka makes sure the emphasis is on local, whether it’s for food and cocktails or artwork on display. The restaurant, which opened in 2019 and has since expanded its menu and layout, has integrated local art into its design since the beginning.

Every month, Artisan’s Palate features a different artist in its 17’ X 14’ gallery space. More than 50 artists to date have exhibited their work there — displaying everything from paintings and photographs to glass work and papier mache. Many artists, she said, are alumni of the ArtPop Street Gallery program.

In June, the gallery will feature the woodcut prints of Jenn Garrison on textiles and paper.

If you’re looking to purchase art, the restaurant also carries a colorful selection of limited edition prints signed by the artists. “These are all artists here in Charlotte… and they’re amazing,” Csoka said. “My whole staff, everyone comes in, they all get excited for each new art show. We think of it as our own little mini museum every month..”

The restaurant’s design also incorporates artwork from around a dozen artists.

On the back patio, there’s a collaborative mural that was created by several prominent local artists in 2020 — Sam Guzzie, Owl, Georgie Nakima and Dakotah Aiyanna. All four of them were among the team of artists that painted the Black Lives Matter mural on Tryon Street in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder that same year.

There are metal planters and bike racks created by Sam Sykes, murals by Nick Napoletano, Dari Calamari and Liz Haywood. In the main dining room, a beam stretches across the ceiling featuring artwork from other artists like Osiris Rain, Dammit Wesley, Mike Wirth, Swych and Sharon Dowell.

Neighborhood: Uptown Charlotte

7) Artwork: Luminous Lane murals

Location: 100 E. 4th St., Charlotte

Bursting with colorful murals, Luminous Lane connects 3rd street to 4th street, between College and Tryon Streets in uptown. Inaugurated in 2023 during Charlotte Shout, it now features the work of 58 artists.

In its first year, artists created designs based on the theme “Bringing Light to Dark Places.” Beginning in 2024, the theme was expanded to artworks representing “peace.”

Luminous Lane was curated by artists Sydney Duarte and Treazy Treaz, who also co-founded the TAOH Outdoor Gallery and the Piece for Peace movement.

Artwalksclt.com has created a digital map and self-guided tour for visitors. Placards with artist information, including QR Codes, are also displayed by each mural in Luminous Lane.

8) Artwork: “La Cascade” sculpture

Location: Carillon Tower, 227 W. Trade St., Charlotte

Inside the lobby of the Carillon Tower, Jean Tinguely’s strange and wonderful kinetic sculpture “La Cascade” is prominently displayed. Standing 40 feet tall, it’s constantly in motion.

It’s fun to watch as it whirs and rotates with bizarre components. That includes part of an animal skull jaw that looks like it’s trying to chew, a spinning red Ferrari race car hood and a stone lion’s head that spits water — rescued from the former Hotel Charlotte that once stood in the same spot as the Carillon.

“La Cascade” is the final sculpture by the Swiss-born Tinguely, whose artwork is being celebrated around the world this year to mark the centennial of his birth. The piece was commissioned in 1991 by the Bechtler family, who knew Tinguely personally.

Tinguely also frequently collaborated with and was married for years to French artist Niki de Saint Phalle. After you visit “La Cascade,” be sure to catch Saint Phalle’s iconic “Firebird” in front of the Bechtler Museum. That’s probably the most prominent piece of public art in Charlotte.

Neighborhood: Southwest Charlotte

9) Artwork: “Metalmorphosis”

Location: Whitehall Corporate Center, 3701 Arco Corporate Dr., Charlotte

This stunning sculpture made of seven independently rotating stainless steel segments was designed by Czech artist David Černý. Located on the plaza of Whitehall Corporate Center’s 200-acre office development, the sculpture was installed in 2007.

According to a report from Radio Prague International when it was unveiled, “Metalmorphosis” is 23 feet tall and weighs about 14 tons.

The sculpture’s fountain is currently being waterproofed. A representative from the property management office said she expects the work to be completed by the end of June.

Even when it’s not moving, the sculpture is an impressive sight. You can also check the current status of the artwork online at metalmorphosis.tv/live-view.

Neighborhood: Multiple lobbies with art

10) Lobby art

Locations: Various

Multiple entertainment venues feature local artwork in their lobbies, including:

▪ Arts Factory at West End Studios, 1545 W. Trade St., Charlotte

▪ Blume Studios, 904 Post St., Charlotte

▪ Cain Center for the Arts, 21348 Catawba Ave., Cornelius

▪ Theatre Charlotte, n501 Queens Road, Charlotte

The Arts Factory at West End Studios, home to Three Bone Theatre, features new artwork quarterly created by local artists from QC Family Tree, a neighborhood-based organization centered around Enderly Park. Artwork comes from artists selected for its 10-week Culture Bearer Residencies or members of the social justice focused Rhizome Coalition.

At Blume Studios, Blumenthal Arts’ new immersive arts space, local art is integrated into every presentation with changing features in the lobby and outdoor areas. Work by local artists is also available in the gift boutique. No ticket is needed to access these ancillary features.

The Cain Center for the Arts in Cornelius hosts rotating exhibitions, including a June show featuring some of the outstanding artists from ArtFields 2024, an annual art competition in Lake City, South Carolina.

And at Theatre Charlotte, the Visual Arts Series features local artists whose work corresponds in some way to the themes of each stage production.

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This story was originally published May 28, 2025 at 5:40 AM.