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Serving Carolina and Kure Beaches Come Be Part of the Arts!
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Public Sculpture Project!
Horizon Sponsor Intracoastal Realty Corporation
Horizon Sponsor Intracoastal Realty Corporation
Island Arts Council is thrilled to introduce a new public sculpture project that brings more colorful art across the island. The Pleasure Island Mosaic Totems Project is a public sculpture initiative that will install multiple hand-crafted mosaic totems throughout Pleasure Island.
These sculptures will reflect the spirit, values, and ide
Island Arts Council is thrilled to introduce a new public sculpture project that brings more colorful art across the island. The Pleasure Island Mosaic Totems Project is a public sculpture initiative that will install multiple hand-crafted mosaic totems throughout Pleasure Island.
These sculptures will reflect the spirit, values, and identity of our community, including:
- Ocean stewardship
- Environmental conservation
- Historical preservation
- Civic pride
- A supportive and connected community
The Pleasure Island Totems Project will consist of clusters of artist-made and community-made mosaic totems installed in highly visible public locations. This year’s project plans to install 6 sites. Totems will vary in size and height, with designs reflecting the character and history of each site.
The first site to be installed is at Kure Beach’s premier Ocean Front Park at 105 Atlantic Ave. In collaboration with Friends of Kure Beach, the Island Arts Council has select two colorful designs from local artists to be featured in the installation.
A community-made totem will be a focal-point in this cluster of 3 mosaic totems.
Sign-up for the workshops to be Part of the Arts!
The project received a $5000 grant from the annual Arts & Culture Grants Program, powered by the New Hanover Community Endowment and managed by The Arts Council of Wilmington.
Horizon Sponsor Intracoastal Realty Corporation
Horizon Sponsor Intracoastal Realty Corporation
Horizon Sponsor Intracoastal Realty Corporation
A heartfelt thank you to Trey Wallace, President of Intracoastal Realty Corporation, for their 2026 Horizon Sponsorship!
This generous support allows the Island Arts Council to enrich our island with exceptional art events.
Thanks to community-minded partners like Trey, we can continue offering free and low-cost programs, including public workshops and engaging sculpture projects.
Crush & Grind Exhibition Bryan Palumbo
Horizon Sponsor Intracoastal Realty Corporation
Bella Vita "Island Vibe Gallery" May 1st to Sept. 8th
Bryan Palumbo's beautiful artwork is on display for May 28th to July 1st, 2026.
Join us on June 5th from 3 to 5:30 pm to meet Bryan and discuss his creative process.
Come Be Part of the Arts!!
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Bella Vita "Island Vibe Gallery" May 1st to Sept. 8th
Bella Vita "Island Vibe Gallery" May 1st to Sept. 8th
Bella Vita "Island Vibe Gallery" May 1st to Sept. 8th
7 amazing local artists are displaying their work though the summer.
Come meet the artists on June 2nd from 5pm to 7pm at Bella Vita (formally Uncle Vinney's) and enjoy some appetizers while browsing.
Click the button below to peek at some of the artwork!
Rhonda Lee, Cathy Spiegel, Renee Whitley, Nance Donaton, Beverly Andrews, Rick Welch, Tracy Lucas, Carla Cardwell
WECT Interview Randy Aldridge and Carol Geary
Bella Vita "Island Vibe Gallery" May 1st to Sept. 8th
WECT Interview Randy Aldridge and Carol Geary
Watch this interview with Carol Geary about Echoes of Place, Gallery Exhibition.
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IAC June Social!
Bella Vita "Island Vibe Gallery" May 1st to Sept. 8th
WECT Interview Randy Aldridge and Carol Geary
Featured Artist of the month
Barbara Buckley
Barbara Buckley is a versatile artist who work captures the essence of the subject with expressive color and loose brushwork; mostly in watercolor but also the use of charcoal, pastels, ink, acrylic, and clay.
She has attended workshops for over 35 years to challenge her creativity and experiment with different techniques; currently enrolled in classes at Cameron Art Museum and UNCW’s OLLI program.
Barbara recently retired from an administrative career and excitedly joined the Wilmington chapter of Urban Sketchers, a global community of sketchers dedicated to the practice of “on-location” drawing.
Her watercolor of Wilmington’s historic Latimer House was selected to be the ticket cover design of the 2024 Old Wilmington By Candlelight Tour.
In 2025 she joined the Island Arts Council and became the Board of Directors’ Chairperson in 2026 (back to that administrative career!).
She enjoys sharing her art via commissioning work that has reached many clients across the USA and as far as Belgium and Japan.
Lamar Advertising
Thank You Lamar Advertising
We appreciate Lamar Advertising for their support of the Featured Artist of the Month and Island Arts Council's events.
Please look up at the digital billboards as you cross the bridge.
2026 Sponsors
