The Arts Council Of Wilmington/NHC

“Desire Path” Featuring Hannah Fridholm & Lisa J. Mullikin
2026-04-24 08:00 - 2026-06-07 17:00 (America/New_York) | 970 Inspiration Drive, Wilmington, NC 28405, 970 Inspiration Drive, Wilmington, NC, 28405, United States
Art in Bloom Gallery is eager to introduce you to the ceramic sculptures and paintings of guest artists Hannah Fridholm & Lisa J. Mullikin – two recent arrivals to our area with fresh perspectives to share! Ceramicist Hannah Fridholm explores the fragility of memory and the fleeting moments that shape our lives, using clay as a medium to embody transformation and impermanence. Through hand-built sculptures and textured forms, she captures the delicate nature of human experiences. Painter & architect Lisa J. Mullikin focuses on the relationships we have with regional landscapes, and the cultural connections we have to place. Since moving to Wilmington, Lisa’s oils have reflected the area’s unique relationships between the placid land, dynamic sky and the formidable ocean.
In the landscape of human experience, a “desire path” is the unplanned route carved by choices, losses, and transformations. Through incorporating mixed media into their creations, Hannah & Lisa explore the intersections between nature, history, and imagination – the transitory moments when we move from one space to the next. This is not unlike our lives in transition, when we are heading down a certain path but suddenly feel compelled to walk through the untrodden meadow searching and hoping for something wild and unexpected. Altogether, “Desire Path” honors memories and the trail we carve into the earth when we stray from the path.
Join us in the gallery on Sunday, April 26th, 2-5pm for our Artist Reception. Enjoy special refreshments, meet our artists, and enjoy live music by jazz guitarist Roger Davis! This exhibit will run through June 7th, alongside a new selection of featured works by our 30+ Gallery Artists.
About the Artists
Clay, for Hannah Fridholm, is not just a material but a vessel of memory. It has a life of its own, requiring attention and care throughout its journey. Like us, it is vulnerable — subject to cracking, breaking, and sometimes even exploding. The process of working with clay becomes a sanctuary, a space where emotions can be expressed and explored. The fragile results of this process mirror the fragility of our own lives. In creating these precarious objects, Hannah’s aim is to make a statement about the precious, fleeting nature of existence.
Hannah’s newest works are a testament to the precious, fleeting nature of life and the resilience found in nature’s lifecycles. Hannah works with clay because it is a material that embodies memory, mirroring the fragility of life. These sculptures act as shrines to moments lost, realized, or imagined. By turning the scars of life into decorative regalia, these figures wear their histories as adornments.
Lisa J. Mullikin’s painting career has been a continuation of her architecture career. She continues to be intrigued by nature, light, and space, and what decisions we make when we are passing through “in-between spaces” – those moments when we move from one space to the next, when the light opens up or closes down and we become hyper aware of our surroundings.
Many of Lisa’s pieces explore these dreamlike experiences where will and acceptance collide. Her recent series add a layer of exploration into the interconnectedness of life. To Lisa, the women in these paintings quietly hold up the world and protect us. They are a part of nature, as are the animals, who are always messengers, storytellers, and deep thinkers. They free us to trust our intuition. They compel us to be our wild selves. Through making, Lisa investigates a world where she can be the animal.

A Year of Fiber Art by Quilters by the Sea
2026-05-04 10:00 - 2026-07-26 16:00 | The Bellamy Mansion Museum, 503 Market Street, Wilmington, NC, 28401, United States
Bellamy Mansion Museum is hosting an art exhibition, “A Year of Fiber Art,” featuring 40 quilts made by members of the Quilters by the Sea Guild. The exhibit includes pieces created for three quilting challenges, which showcase a mix of patriotic, whimsical, and abstract designs. An artists’ reception will be held on May 22nd from 6-8 PM. Visitors can view the exhibit free of charge any time the museum is open (Mon-Sun, 10 am-4 pm). Please stop by the Carriage House Visitor Center to gain admission.

WWII History Presentation
2026-05-11 12:00 - 13:00 | Hannah Block Historic USO/Community Arts Center, 120 South 2nd Street, Wilmington, NC, 28401, United States
“History Forum on World War II Wilmington, America’s First WWI Heritage City”
Monday May 11th | 12:00 -1:00 pm | Free to the Public!
This presentation will include a book signing
Midday WWII History Forum with Wilbur Jones and Rory Laverty, Dept. of History UNCW
– Rory Laverty Enemy-Alien: “The Japanese-American Soldiers Who Fought for the U. S. in WWII”
– Wilbur Jones “The Afrika Korps at Home in Wilmington, 1944-46”
Midday WWII History Forum with Wilbur Jones
Monday May 18th | 12-1pm | Free to the Public!
This presentation will include a book signing!
– “The Wilmington Shipyard: From the SS Zebulon B. Vance, December 6, 1941, to the Ghost Fleet”
– “Growing Up on the Wilmington Home Front in America’s First World War II Heritage City”
Rory Laverty is the author of two books of nonfiction: ALUMINUM ALLEY: The American Pilots Who Flew Over the Himalayas and Helped Win World War II (Stackpole, 2023) and DELIVERY MAN: The Enemy-Alien Nisei Translator Who Saved His Battalion (Skyhorse, coming July 22, 2025). Laverty is an investigative reporter who since 1998 has covered law enforcement, the military, major crimes and the justice system for publications such as the Washington Post, the Daily Beast, Newsweek, and the Oakland Tribune. His investigative reporting has exposed criminal and sexual misconduct in local police departments, the Marine Corps and the United Nations. His stories have resulted in criminal charges, major policy changes, and in one case, the firing of the senior advisor to the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, for a pattern of sexual misconduct against the men he worked with, including a British MP, or member of Parliament. A graduate of UNC Wilmington’s MFA program in creative nonfiction, Laverty is now a senior lecturer in the English Department, where he teaches journalism, interviewing, research, and writing.
Wilbur D. Jones Jr. Wilbur D. Jones, Jr., is a nationally known, award-winning author and military historian in Wilmington, N. C. A Wilmington native, he grew up there during World War II, which shaped his life, careers, and attitudes.
He is a University of North Carolina history graduate, retired Navy captain, and former assistant and advance representative to President Gerald Ford. He served the Department of Defense for 41 years, including 12 as a Defense Acquisition University professor and associate dean.
He conceived, organized, and led the successful 12 -1/2-year project seeking national recognition for Wilmington as America’s first World War II Heritage City, working with the state’s congressional delegation, local and state elected officials, and organizations – as a volunteer. In March 2019 President Trump signed into law a bill sponsored by Sen. Thom Tillis and Rep. David Rouzer establishing that national preservation program. On September 2, 2020, at the Battleship North Carolina, Trump announced the designation by the Secretary of the Interior of Wilmington as the first, calling out Jones’s role in prepared remarks.
As founder (2000) and still chairman of the WWII Wilmington Home Front Heritage Coalition, an all-volunteer, 501c3 preservation organization, he is leading planning for area America 250 activities recognizing and promoting Wilmington’s WWII Heritage City designation.
