NC State’s Gregg Museum of Art & Design, at 1903 Hillsborough Street in Raleigh, is open to the public and free to visit. Free parking is available adjacent to the building.
Currently open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed on Sundays and Mondays.
Read on to learn about Gregg Museum’s current exhibits and upcoming events. Or jump right to the events!
Current and Upcoming Exhibits
the halls of a changing sea
August 12, 2025 to February 28, 2026
‘the halls of a changing sea’ | Presented by artist Claire Alexandre, this intimate exhibition is on view from August 12 to February 28, 2026 in the Woodson Gallery. Highlighting the artist’s process and practice of painting with natural plant pigments, the exhibition deals with portraiture, ancestral storytelling, land sovereignty and street art.
Your Brain on Art: Reimagining the Gregg Museum’s Collection Through Neuroarts
March 20 to September 27, 2025
Your Brain on Art reimagines the Gregg Museum’s diverse collection to illuminate the profound insights of Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross’s best-selling book, Your Brain on Art, a groundbreaking work reshaping the realms of neuroscience and the arts. Visitors will embark on an enriching journey through the Gregg Museum’s collection, inspired by the transformative findings of the book. As the healthcare industry shifts towards whole health, medical professionals are now prescribing museum visits to combat feelings of loneliness and dementia. We invite you to experience Your Brain on Art and immerse yourself in meditation, drawing and sound activities curated by the Gregg Museum’s education team while discovering artworks in the gallery that punctuate the impact of art on sensory experiences, personal curation and holistic well-being. This exhibition has been co-created by a collaborative NC State faculty group, including Neurosciences, the College of Design and the College of Social Sciences and Humanities.
The House of Ideas: Plants in Art
August 5, 2025 to August 1, 2026
The House of Ideas: Plants in Art | Located in the Cabaniss Gallery in the Historic Chancellor’s Residence, this exhibition is a participatory learning lab that uncovers the artistic representation of plants in our lives and in the natural world.
House of Ideas is on view August 5, 2025 to August 1, 2026. It features objects from the Gregg Museum Collection that depict the roles of plants from nourishment and communal living to the scientific study of human health. The House offers a relaxing room for botanical sketching and a self-guided tour of the museum’s garden.
In Search of Thoreau’s Flowers
September 10, 2025 to January 31, 2026
In Search of Thoreau’s Flowers | On view from September 10, 2025 to January 31, 2026 in the Black-Sanderson Gallery, this exhibition immerses viewers in Henry Thoreau’s study of plant life and extinction. It is co-curated by a creative team including Marsha Gordon, Emily Meineke, Robin Vuchnich and Leah Sobsey, in collaboration with NC State’s Science Engagement Director, Jory Weintraub, and the Office of Interdisciplinary Programs. The project features a creative exchange with artist-in-residence Leah Sobsey and the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative.
Words = Power
October 30, 2025 to February 28, 2026
WORDS = POWER | This exhibition is on view October 30, 2025 to February 28, 2026 in the Adams Gallery. WORDS = POWER brings words visually to life highlighting emotional stories of beauty, destruction, and community resilience.
WORDS = POWER is a group show bringing together NC State’s Crafts Center, graduate students in the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the African American Cultural Center, and regional North Carolina artists Carol Fountain Nix, Meg Day, Anne Storie Willson, Katy Walls, and Jaki Shelton Green.
Upcoming Events
Exhibition Kick-off Conversation: In Search of Thoreau’s Flowers
Wednesday, September 10, 2025
5:30 to 8 p.m.
Free (registration required)
The Gregg Museum kicks off the exhibition In Search of Thoreau’s Flowers by hosting a moderated conversation. Sara Segerlin, museum director of the Gregg Museum of Art & Design, will lead a discussion about each panelist’s background and the themes surrounding the exhibition. Panelists will include Leah Sobsey, Robin Vuchnich, Emily Meineke, Marsha Gordon, and Jory Weintraub who have each contributed to the exhibit in their own way. A special thanks to our campus partners N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative and the Office of University Interdisciplinary Programs for their support. This event is sponsored by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.
The panel discussion will take place in the Gregg Museum main lobby from 5:30-7 p.m. and the galleries will be open until 8 p.m.
Opening Reception of In Search of Thoreau’s Flowers and ‘the halls of a changing sea.’
Thursday, September 25, 2025
5:30 to 8 p.m.
Free (registration required)
Come to the Gregg Museum to view the works on display, and enjoy live music by Counterclockwise String Band in the garden, and meet the creators of the exhibitions. Light refreshments will be provided.
In Search of Thoreau’s Flowers is an immersive multidisciplinary exhibition that combines art, science, and the humanities to explore the impact of climate change on plant life around Walden Pond over the past 120 years. The exhibition invites visitors to connect emotionally with the loss of biodiversity and encourages reflection on the need to protect the natural world through the writings of Henry Thoreau. This exhibit features the work of NC State alumni and faculty and is supported by campus partners, including the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative, Office of University Interdisciplinary Programs, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.
‘the halls of a changing sea’ features a collection of artworks by Claire Alexandre that reflect her experiences as a child of the Diaspora living on unceded Indigenous and Afro-Carolina land. The vibrant representations of her ancestors, friends, and mentors are interwoven with the broader landscape of North Carolina. Her artworks utilize natural plant pigments transformed into paints and dyes, as well as chlorophyll painting and found objects from nature.
Concert on the Gregg Museum Lawn: Shirlette Ammons
Friday, October 3, 2025
6 to 8:30 p.m.
Free (registration required)
Bring a picnic blanket and friends, and experience music and community this fall on the Gregg Museum’s front lawn. Don’t miss the chance to hear Shirlette Ammons!
Artist Talk at the Gregg Museum with Claire Alexandre
Thursday, October 16, 2025
6 to 7 p.m.
Free (registration required)
Claire Alexandre is a Diaspora child, a storyteller, and a student of ecologies who weaves autobiographical reflections with ancestral wisdom. She elaborates on detailed portraits that reflect personal narratives existing at the intersection of environmental, gender, and racial justice. From the studio to the street, canvas to concrete, Alexandre uses a wide variety of surfaces to reclaim space for the voices of her people— particularly Black, queer, womxn identifying folks—to be witnessed and celebrated in all their complexities and colors.
The Gregg Museum is hosting an artist talk with Claire Alexandre on Thursday, October 16 in the Museum’s main lobby. Claire will be discussing her process and practice of painting with natural plant pigments, portraiture, ancestral storytelling, land sovereignty and street art. This event is supported by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.
Come to Alexandre’s talk to learn from the artist and view her exhibition The Halls of a Changing Sea on display from August 12, 2025 – February 8, 2026.
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More Events
Check out our list of free and cheap events in Raleigh and the rest of the Triangle this weekend, or our full event calendar in the Triangle, or just look at few upcoming events here:
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