Reflecting on Art in Alamance County

 

"The Hand of James Love Being Creative" (circa 2019) © 2025 The Love Trollinger Initiative LLC. All Rights Reserved.

*This post was written on the spot and may contain errors. 

I'm happy to be writing primarily on this platform where 1) I don't have to worry about how many people I already know see it 2) it should still be up, even after I pass on 3) it gives me the chance to say more than a post or something like that would.  I'm a writer and poet, as well as an artist--these are labels to help you understand my gifts and what I enjoy doing. Am I good at them? That's for someone else to decide.  I just do them because I love doing them.

My love for doing something does not mean others will love what I do nor except it. I moved back to Alamance County to care for my mom with big ideas of bringing the kind of art scene I was accustomed to in Asheville with me.  Safe to say that hasn't panned out. Here are some stats about this area: 

Alamance County, located in North Carolina, has a population of approximately 179,165 as of 2024.

The county seat is Graham, and the largest city is Burlington, which had a population of around 57,303 in 2020. 

Demographics:

• Age Distribution: 5.6% of residents are under 5 years old, 21.9% are under 18,

and 17.4% are 65 years and over.

• Gender: 52.1% of the population is female.

• Race and Ethnicity: 71.1% identify as White alone,

22.5% as Black or African American alone, and 15.4% as Hispanic or Latino. 

Economy:

• Median Household Income: $60,866.

• Employment: The county has a diverse economy

with significant employment in healthcare, education, and manufacturing sectors. 

Education:

• High School Graduate or Higher:

88.5% of residents aged 25 and over have at least a high school diploma.

• Bachelor’s Degree or Higher:

27.7% hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. 

Non-Profit Organizations:

Alamance County and Burlington host a variety of non-profit organizations

serving the community in areas such as health, education, and social services. Notable non-profits include:

• United Way of Alamance County:

Focuses on education, health, and financial stability to improve quality of life. 

• Alamance County Meals on Wheels:

Delivers meals to homebound senior citizens, ensuring they receive nutritious food and regular social interaction.

• Alamance County Community YMCA:

Offers programs that promote youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility.

• Family Abuse Services of Alamance County:

Provides support and resources for individuals affected by domestic violence.

• Alamance Arts: Promotes the arts in the community through exhibitions, education, and outreach programs.

For a comprehensive list of non-profit organizations in the area, you can refer to the Alamance Chamber’s directory:

https://members.alamancechamber.com/list/category/non-profit-community-service-95?

A much different place from Asheville and Buncombe County, especially when it comes to art.

Asheville, being big on tourism, had a more lively art scene.  There was a place for an artist to get in that world, even if they sold on the street like the artist Xtraluckyloserz.  It seems Alamance County is on a different wave when it comes to art.  And it makes good sense.

Alamance seems to be more conservative, more slower pace, less attraction to the area.  If anything, most young people try to get out of the area and go to places with more opportunity and jobs. I should know--I was born in Burlington, NC, at the old Alamance Hospital that was once in front of where Eastlawn Elementary is located (as of this writing). But I have been gone for a while, and had hoped to return to a much different area.  I just returned to  different generations of people. The mentalities, more or less, are the same. But there is a need for expansion to happen here, especially in the realm of art. Art can help expand our ideas of what is possible and give us new thoughts and feelings that we hadn't experienced before. Burlington, NC, for example was known for its trains back in the olden days.  People worked on the railroads, then eventually in the mills and textile, and now, it's more of a magnet for healthcare with companies like Labcorp (which is based in Burlington) dominating the space.  But what about art?

Yes, Alamance Arts is here. Yes, the Burlington Artists League is here. Yes, there was a gallery that opened just above Persnickety Books (in their first location), but it's all traditional art.  Nicely framed, images of nature or animals, a few Biblical references, etc.  But nothing that would match the energy and artistic output of artists featured in Raw Vision Magazine.  And why not?  I do not have those answers.  Maybe it's because the idea of what art is or could be hasn't widely caught on?  Maybe it's the way art is taught or the approach to art is taught?  Whatever the reason, the more exciting art seems to be in Winston-Salem, Asheville, Raleigh, Durham. So there is an opportunity here to expand the arts scene, but it feels like an uphill battle.  Alamance Arts is the lead arts organization here. The BAL is home to artists too; As of this writing, I am a member of the league, but I do not plan on hanging my work or even entering into many of the competitions--and the reason being because the art I love to make, the art I naturally make, the art that is not easily defined, is not the kind of art they want nor is it the kind that sells.  But art to me is about than selling. Yes, we love to sell, but art was originally a vehicle to communicate.  It was a medium that brought communities together.  I think about Christian art. The Christian faith would have no imagery if it weren't for artists imagining Biblical scenes and characters.  We would only have a book.  Words, and would have to do our best to visualize what the writers are saying without visual aids.  I think about the Catholic and Orthodox church.  When I discovered them, or stumbled upon them rather, I loved them for their use of artwork in services and in daily life.  Growing up as a protestant, the artwork emphasis just wasn't there.  And with the majority of Alamance County (at least form observation) claiming Christianity, it is mainly of the Protestant order, and there does not seem to be an emphasis or importance given to art.  

Art does not have to be traditional to communicate something to its viewers. In fact, I dream of an Alamance County where people from those bigger cities come in to see artwork produced by residents that defy the traditional view of artistic expression.  That's why I think I am back here. Yes, to care for my mom, but to help expand what art can be here.  Right now, I am leaning towards being totally independent. I am looking for galleries that may want the kind of art I make.  You can see some of the art I have made over the years here.  But I don't only want to keep it digital, so if you are in this area and share in this dream with me, email me: admin@ltisite.com, and let's see if we can work together on this.  Someone may read this and decide to do it themselves without including me, and that's fine.  As long as a lane opens up for the kind of expression that I am speaking of, then that's the goal. There are so many kids and adults here who could benefit from communicating through art, but think they have to paint watercolors, or draw from life, and all of that--and there is nothing wrong with those forms! But just like hip-hop at its beginning gave a form of musical, visual, and bodily expression to young, inner-city kids who didn't approach those mediums like that before hip-hop, we need that, but the visual arts version, so that people feel that art is for them too, and not just a select few, or thinking that their creativity is only limited to the internet through memes, videos, and social media posts--nothing wrong with those forms either!  But imagine the child who rips up shirts, and attaches them to a support to communicate not only feelings, but a story?  And then get to share that story with others in the community and inspire someone else--without having to go through the applications, and the talking to this person and that person, and figuring out how much commission the gallery is going to take, and all the tape that most established art venues have that hinder a young person from even feeling like anyone would care about their expression because its not sellable or because they don't understand the terms of the institutional art world.  Btw, I made a piece similar to the one I am describing--click here to see it.  

I really want to get across the message loud and clear that art is everyone's birthright, and it doesn't need to be neatly framed or have painted borders to be art.  You can use tape, staples, paper, whatever material you can to share your message, your heart, your soul with community members.  And who knows: there may be someone who loves it and wants to buy it from you. Now, that's a win-win!