GALLERIES

Born and raised in the industrial hub of Dongguan, China, huiyin zhou 徽音 (they/ta/她) is a transnational queer feminist organizer and community-based photographer, writer, multimedia artist and cultural producer. A diasporic bird constantly up- and re-rooting themselves, they are currently based in Durham, NC. They work with digital and analog photography, text, installation, and performance with a relational, reciprocal praxis. Creating with intimate and tender sensibilities, huiyin explores themes related to queer feminism, intimacy, memory, diaspora, and community building. They are currently working from Queen Street Magic Boat, a surrealist artist-led space.

huiyin co-founded and co-directs Chinese Artists and Organizers (CAO) Collective离离草. They have been awarded fellowships and residencies at Pedantic Arts, Culture Push, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE), Durham Art Guild, The Seventh Wave, and BRIClab: Contemporary Art.

headshot (photo credit: Danny Peña @pen_yah)

Mikel Frank is a multi-level creative individual who has devoted his life to  making, looking at, curating, and teaching art.

His deep commitment to art was further strengthened during his 29-year tenure at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. He has curated and co-curated numerous exhibitions in the New York  Metropolitan area and Charlotte, NC, and has exhibited internationally as a member of Global Art Project. 

Most recently, Frank served as co-curator, facilitator, and exhibitor for Crossing Borders: We Are All Immigrants at West Beth Gallery, NYC, and Nine Eighteen Nine Studio Gallery, Charlotte.  His studio is at VAPA (Visual and Performing Arts Center) and he moderates VAPA's monthly Artist Talks.

Throughout his career, Frank has participated in collaborative projects such as Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s The Gates Project in Central Park: 1979-2005. And an ekphrasis project, which has been published thanks to a grant from the Arts and Science Council, of his paintings and Judith Christian's poems. He received two Artist Support Grants from Charlotte's Arts and Science Council (ASC). His residencies include ArtPop Street Gallery, Wild Acres Artist Residency, Goodyear Arts and two terms (2013 & 2025) at South Porch Artist Residency. Frank's teaching experience includes serving as Adjunct Instructor at Rowan-Cabarrus Community and College and Gaston College.

He currently serves as President of the board of the Guild of Charlotte Artists.

Mikel holds a BFA in Fine Art from MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art) and an MFA in Painting from Pratt Institute.

William Paul Thomas is a visual artist and independent curator based in Durham, North Carolina.  His work is centered on making images to record his life experiences and observations. For over 15 years he has created intimate painted portraits of everyday people, giving special attention to other Black male subjects that he chooses as a way of recognizing their significance in his life’s path.  Thomas presented a talk on “The Invisible Notoriety of Strangers” at the 2022 TedX Duke Conference.  In addition to oil and acrylic painting, he also experiments with video and photography to capture idiosyncratic, abstracted depictions of love, joy, and adversity.   He earned a Bachelor of Fine Art degree in Studio Art from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and a Master of Fine Art Degree in Studio Art from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.  He is currently the Visiting Assistant Professor of Painting Foundations at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina.