Gregg Museum Invites Talented Muralists to Apply for CHASS Indoor Mural

The Gregg Museum of Art & Design and Arts NC State are excited to invite North Carolina muralists to apply for a project to create an indoor mural for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS). 

This initiative aims to enhance NC State’s Caldwell Hall Lounge and reflect CHASS’s innovative vision. Artists can submit their qualifications for the mural in Caldwell Lounge, a heavily used and cherished community space. The submission deadline is Feb. 19. Finalists will be selected in May, with plans to install the mural by early August.  Online applications can be submitted here.

Sara Segerlin, the new chair of NC State’s Public Art Committee and Director of the Gregg Museum, is thrilled to announce CHASS’s open call and encourages North Carolina artists to apply. 

Segerlin expressed her excitement: “It is an honour to lead the Gregg Museum’s enhanced efforts to invite and activate art across NC State’s campus. I look forward to collaborating with CHASS’s team and Dean Deanna Dannels. CHASS has thoughtfully organized an open call for muralists to revitalize their student space while highlighting North Carolina’s stories and diverse communities.”

The mural will celebrate CHASS’s commitment to responsible innovation, cultural understanding and a human-centered approach to problem-solving. It aims to inspire pride among students, faculty, staff, alumni and visitors while also contributing to NC State’s public art collection. 

As NC State’s liberal arts college within a STEM-focused university, CHASS highlights the connection between critical thinking and human experience. This mural project is part of a branding update intended to strengthen CHASS’s identity. It will be displayed on the west wall of Caldwell Lounge, a space designed for reflection and community engagement. Artists are encouraged to align their vision with CHASS’s core values, representing over 4,500 students and 43,000 alumni who embody NC State’s “Think and Do” motto.

NC State’s open call aligns with the Public Art Committee’s goal to support the university’s Physical Master Plan, including reinforcing culture and place and strengthening campus connections. 

The Public Art Committee is working on a structured Campus Development Process to review proposals and update public art guidelines. Segerlin mentioned that more work is planned to raise awareness of the Public Art Committee and more clearly define a strategic Public Art Program that draws upon NC State’s core areas as a STEM-based campus, for example, Plant Sciences or Climate Science and Sustainability. There will be community discussion workshops in Spring and Fall 2025 to gather community input and collaboratively set long-term goals and support needed to sustain a campus-wide Public Art Program. 

This initiative aims to follow the Physical Master Plan, boost STEM research, and more effectively involve students, faculty, and staff in honoring community stories. NC State has a rich history of public art. Through Professor Chandra Cox’s founding of the Public Art Committee, clear processes for public art have been established, and Cox’s recent College of Design students created a digital map of the university’s artwork. 

A recent example is the public artwork by Larry Bell, titled Reds & Whites, located at the Susan Woodson Plaza near Hunt Library on the Centennial Campus. All these efforts aim to build a more inclusive and creative community at NC State and welcome all visitors.

The Gregg Museum plans to activate art across the campus through Arts NC State, various colleges and STEM programs. The goal is to strengthen connections, build a framework for campus-wide collaboration, and increase opportunities for community-engaged art while boosting student engagement and internships. 

From 2025 to 2029, the museum will focus on broadening student involvement and engagement across all facets of museum innovation, curation, and community-driven arts, along with hosting artist residencies highlighting social impact and community storytelling, and most importantly being a collaborative hub for artists, scientists, students, staff and faculty, promoting social innovation and community engagement.

Segerlin notes that these priorities build upon the museum’s rich history of over 60 years, which the roots of the Gregg Museum began as NC State’s visual art collection showcasing in multiple spaces and classrooms across campus. The Gregg Museum’s collection features multimedia artworks, paintings, textiles, sculptures, works by outsider artists, and rare objects. In 2017, the museum moved to its current location at the historic Chancellor’s House that included a capital campaign to create a new modern contemporary wing as well as outdoor art, such as the Whirligig sculpture by Vollis Simpson. 

In spring 2025, the museum will showcase an immersive art installation by Carl Joe Williams in the Black-Sanderson Gallery and display case at the African American Cultural Center. 

There will also be temporary outdoor art installations, including “Sun Boxes,” a sound artwork by Craig Colorusso, and a textile installation by Danielle Hatch on the front of the Gregg Museum. These projects involve collaboration with various colleges, student interns and student groups like Art2Wear, who will work alongside the artist and the museum team to create the art.
If you want to learn more about supporting the Gregg Museum or NC State’s public art program, please contact Segerlin at gregg@ncsu.edu. You may also contribute to the Museum’s enhancement fund here.