Downtown Waxhaw Call for Artists

Downtown Waxhaw is the epicenter of arts and creativity in our community and the premier destination to experience genuine craftsmanship. Here at the Downtown Waxhaw Association, we are excited to be partnering with the Town of Waxhaw to add even more public art in 2025!

Check out several opportunities below to have your art featured in our historic downtown.

DOWNTOWN CROSSWALK MURALS

The Downtown Waxhaw Association (DWA) is partnering with the Town of Waxhaw’s Public Art Committee to add new crosswalk murals in downtown. These murals will be located at North Church Street and West North Main Street and will include four crosswalks.

These crosswalks will serve both as art and a safety tool. Painted crosswalks provide increased visibility to pedestrians, improve drivers’ attention, and reduce vehicle speed, serving as an effective way to make downtown more accessible.

The call for artists is now open! Interested artists can review the project online here and submit their qualifications to anowell@waxhaw.com by January 15.

This project is supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

WAXHAW SCULPTURE WALK

In 2024, the DWA partnered with the Public Art Committee on downtown’s first sculpture walk program. This art exhibition offered established and emerging artists the chance to display their works in the heart of Downtown Waxhaw. The rotating sculptures are showcased in Downtown Waxhaw for one year, before returning to the artist. Our three current sculptures are located on W N Main Street along the serpentine walk and will remain in place until April.

The program is returning in 2025 with four more sculpture locations! To participate, artists must submit images and specifications to dsabinske@waxhaw.com. For more information, read about the project online here. The deadline has been extended to February 11.

WAXHAW BUTTERFLY ART

Annually, the DWA and Public Art Committee seek artists to repaint a metal butterfly statue located in downtown. The statue, originally created by local sculpture artist Tom Risser, has showcased some great local artists and creative designs. We think this is the perfect opportunity for a school group or local club to design and paint this art piece and share it with our local community!

This call for artists is still open and can be found online here. The call will remain open until an artist is selected. Submissions can be emailed to dsabinske@waxhaw.com.

TINY ART GALLERIES

Under our iconic water tank, we have a tiny art gallery with rotating works from local artists. The DWA and Public Art Committee are looking for artists to display their work in the art box. The box is 2 ft by 2 ft by 1 ft and art can be of any medium, as long as it fits! We’ve seen creative artists make tiny prints, little sculptures, and even showcase their writing and poetry.

To apply, check out the call for artists here. This is a rolling program, so we’re always looking for artists to send us ideas! Submissions can be sent to dsabiske@waxhaw.com.

Public art is an important part of what makes Downtown Waxhaw a welcoming, fun, and creative destination. Public art reinforces community character, showing that our community has heart, soul, and an individual identity. It improves quality of life and builds strong community bonds. Simply put – art makes our downtowns better! This is why adding art and creative touches in Downtown Waxhaw is one of our organization’s priorities!

Are you interested in planning and supporting projects like this? Our organization is always looking for volunteers to join our Action Teams and donors to support creative projects. These groups actively make tangible and visible impacts in Downtown Waxhaw.

Contact us to learn more!