Arts & Entertainment

Every spring, Raleigh Arts and United Arts Council of Raleigh & Wake County partners with Wake County Public School System to produce Gifts of Gold, a temporary art exhibition of Wake County student-made artwork. Almost 200 Wake County students from over 90 WCPSS schools, ranging from kindergarteners to high school seniors, are represented in the exhibition. This year’s exhibition will be held at The Chapel at Dix Park on March 10-11, 2026 from 1:30 to 6 p.m. and March 12, 2026 from 1:30 to 8:30 p.m., with a reception on Thursday, March 12, 2026, from 6 to 8 p.m. Gifts of Gold is a visual part of Pieces of Gold, a performing arts event that features over 1,000 students performing in a packed auditorium of parents, teachers, and community leaders in the Memorial Auditorium at the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts. This year, Pieces of Gold marked its 43rd anniversary, while Gifts of Gold will celebrate 33 years of artistic excellence!

Every spring, Raleigh Arts and United Arts Council of Raleigh & Wake County partners with Wake County Public School System to produce Gifts of Gold, a temporary art exhibition of Wake County student-made artwork. Almost 200 Wake County students from over 90 WCPSS schools, ranging from kindergarteners to high school seniors, are represented in the exhibition. This year’s exhibition will be held at The Chapel at Dix Park on March 10-11, 2026 from 1:30 to 6 p.m. and March 12, 2026 from 1:30 to 8:30 p.m., with a reception on Thursday, March 12, 2026, from 6 to 8 p.m. Gifts of Gold is a visual part of Pieces of Gold, a performing arts event that features over 1,000 students performing in a packed auditorium of parents, teachers, and community leaders in the Memorial Auditorium at the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts. This year, Pieces of Gold marked its 43rd anniversary, while Gifts of Gold will celebrate 33 years of artistic excellence! Event Details When: March 12, 2026 from  6 to 8 p.m. Where: Dix Park, The Chapel, 1030 Richardson Drive, Raleigh, NC 27603

Feb. 1 - April 26, 2026 Join us for an artist talk and reception for The Road Through “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” on March 26 from 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. The Road Through "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" is an intimate documentary exhibition sharing the portraits and stories of LGBTQIA+ veterans who served before the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The exhibition includes intimate portrait photography paired with first-person oral histories by photographer, oral historian, and U.S. Marine Corps veteran Theresa Scott. Learn more about the Exhibition at Pullen Arts Center. Location:  Pullen Arts Center, 105 Pullen Road, Raleigh, NC Parking: Visitors must have a parking permit between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Check-in at Pullen Arts Center’s front desk for a license plate-based parking permit. View our parking map. Cost: Free and open to the public To purchase artwork, contact Pullen Arts Center for details.

“Continuum: Classical to Contemporary Islamic Art,” is a group exhibit curated by Public and Community Artist Kulsum Tasnif that celebrates process, reverence, and renewal within Islamic art. It gathers Muslim American artists working across traditional and contemporary forms – from Tezhip (illumination), Arabic calligraphy and Islamic geometry, to new works inspired by these classical disciplines. Join us for an Artist Reception on Wednesday, April 22, 2026 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Block Gallery located inside the Raleigh Municipal Building.

Woven installation by Patrizia Ferreira at Walnut Creek Wetland Center Free and Open to the Public Join us for the opening of Air Chrysalis on International Mother Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Date: April 22, 2026 Time: 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Location: Walnut Creek Wetland Park, 950 Peterson Street, Raleigh, NC 27610 To view the artwork, take the Walnut Creek Greenway trail South from either the Peterson Street entrance or Education Center trail to the greenway. The work is suspended over the greenway trail between the bridge and pavilion. From State Street or further south, take the Walnut Creek Greenway past the pavilion. From Garner Road, take the Walnut Creek Greenway east towards the Education center and head south, continuing on the Walnut Creek Greenway. Learn more about the installation and artist

Celebrate student creativity and storytelling at this year's Night at the Enviro Art Museum! We will showcase artwork from the Capture It! Arts Contest and Trashion Art Contest. The gallery will be on display at Pullen Arts Center from May 1-31, 2026. Night at the Enviro Art Museum Details When: Thursday, May 14 from 4-7pm Where: Pullen Arts Center, 105 Pullen Rd, Raleigh, NC 27607 Artwork: Students in grades 8-12 created compelling artwork and videos related to water quality and how pollution impacts our Raleigh lakes and streams. Related Links

Join artists Adam Cooley, Natacha Sochat, Rachel Stewart, Beverly Lovelace, Heather Lee McLelland, and Linette Knight at the Opening Reception on May 16, 2026, from 2–4 PM. The exhibition brings together diverse media and perspectives, including textile-based work exploring sustainability and identity, multidisciplinary explorations of philosophy and social justice, abstract portraiture, ceramics reflecting memory and transformation, and fiber-based works rooted in community and healing. Meet the artists and learn more about their various creative processes! The exhibition runs from May 4 until June 21, 2026. It will be in all the gallery spaces – Raleigh Room, Hall Gallery, and Lobby.  Learn more about the May/June Exhibition. Location:  Sertoma Arts Center, 1400 W. Millbrook Road, Raleigh, NC Cost: Free and open to the public To purchase artwork, contact the Sertoma Arts Center for details.

Free outdoor Shakespeare comes to Raleigh! All the world’s a stage! This fourth annual free-to-the-public event brings Shakespeare’s madcap story of love, mistaken identity, and finding oneself, As You Like It, to five locations around the Triangle. When the spirited Rosalind is exiled by her usurping uncle, she dons a male disguise and flees to the forest, only to find it crawling with fellow refugees—including her crush, the farmer-poet Orlando. What follows is a masterclass in romantic chaos as Rosalind, acting as "Ganymede," mentors a lovesick Orlando in the art of wooing while juggling mismatched shepherds and searching for her long-lost father. Through wit, bad poetry, and high-stakes matchmaking, the group of outcasts proves that reconciliation is possible, and that finding love is the greatest adventure of all. Set in a fictionalized North Carolina and infused with local music, this abridged version is the perfect way to experience the magic of Shakespeare under the open sky or on your busy schedule. Tickets are free but reservations are recommended. Location: Fred Fletcher Park Performance Time: 6 p.m. Ages: All Cost: Tickets are free, but reservations are recommended. Reserve Your Tickets