2nd Friday Art Walk Preview

The 2nd Friday Art Walk in Carrboro and Chapel Hill is this Friday, June 12. Many participating galleries host free public receptions with snacks and opportunities to meet the artists between 6pm and 9pm. The Carrborean free monthly print edition devotes its center pages, Gallery Place, to the monthly exhibits in Carrboro. Here are those previews for June, with most text and images provided by the galleries.

The ArtsCenter, 400 Roberson Street

“A Good Question”: Ippis Halme studied ceramics but now mainly draws with pen, ink and colored pencil, along with crocheting & collage work. 

This show is inspired by the Jacques Derrida quote from The Animal That Therefore I Am, “The animal looks at us, and we are naked before it. Thinking perhaps begins there.” He flips the Descartian idea of animal as biological machine into animal as the place where our own ability to think lies in our recognition that we not only look at the animal, but the animal also looks back at us.

This N That Gift Gallery, 118 East Main Street

Eric Dixon: "I like to create bold graphic art that is done with traditional techniques. It’s different from what I’ve normally seen. I like subjects such as animals, skulls, characters. While growing up I wanted to be a tattoo artist, graphic designer, painter, cartoonist and comic book artist. I developed a style that stands out. Add bold colors and I’m in love."

Peel Gallery, 708 West Rosemary Street

School is out but art is in session: UNCG MFA Thesis show, "Vending Machine." This exhibition features work from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s MFA in Studio Arts 2026 graduates. The title of the show is an homage to the Gatewood Studio Art Building’s vending machine, which this cohort fueled with nutritionally-suspect treasures during long studio days. The past two years have led to enormous growth in their disparate practices, through media exploration, conceptual iteration, and craft refinement.

Muse Gallery, 201 East Main Street

"Being an animal activist and feminist, my artwork flows from what moves me and from where I find beauty: women, animals, the earth, color, pattern and light. My art represents the deep connection I feel with these elements."– Sudie Rakusin

Frank Gallery, 370 East Main Street

This show features the work of member artists Peg Bachenheimer, Elijah Kell, and Carol Retsch-Bogart, as well as guest artists Sasha Bakaric and Clarke Munford.

For this exhibition, Carol Retsch-Bogart has combined textiles, prints, inks, paint, and more. To provide some structure (and a challenge), she has limited herself to working on nine vertical panels that evoke totems.

Elijah Kell creates intricate glass sculptures that capture light, color, and movement — balancing fragility with strength. Elijah first worked with glass art at the age of ten, and that experience sparked a deep connection that has since defined his artistic journey and career.

Drakeford Library Complex, 203 South Greensboro Street

Showing through July 16 with reception Thursday June 18, 6-8pm, with artists: Joel Bergquist, Michael Galinsky, Michael Benson, Hunter Landen, Sammy Slade, Judy Edwards Woodall, Katharine Whalen, Stan Lewis, Stacy Watson, Ron Liberti and Marcela Slade. It would have been Dex’s 60th year! Happy Birthday DEX! Exhibit is on the lower level and second floor. 

Carrboro Town Hall, 301 West Main Street

William Parker is a self-taught visual artist originally from Detroit, MI now based in Raleigh, NC. The paintings are surreal scenes of the artist’s everyday life, thoughts, dreams and music. Curated by Marcela Slade and showing through July 16.

The Beehive Salon, 102 East Weaver Street

Moxy Fox Salon, 102 East Main Street

Robert Votta