Ackland Events

A Closer Look at “Color Concentrated” – Featuring Weixin Zhou
2026-03-27 15:30 - 16:30 (America/New_York) | Ackland Art Museum, 101 S. Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Join us at a special time for a conversational tour led by Weixin Zhou, UNC-Chapel Hill doctoral candidate in art history, specialist in European modernism, and researcher and co-author of exhibition texts for both Color Concentrated: A Salon-Style Show from the Robertson Collection and last fall’s Color Triumphant.
Please register for a free ticket below as space is limited.
This event is part of UNC–Chapel Hill’s Campus Life Experience (CLE) program. Students who attend can scan the QR code provided at the event to receive CLE credit.

Tour: A Closer Look at "Bill Bamberger: Boys Will Be Men"
2026-04-03 13:00 - 13:30, 2026-04-10 13:00 - 13:30, 2026-04-11 13:00 - 13:30, 2026-04-12 13:00 - 13:30
Join Ackland educators for a lively half-hour look at a small handful of artworks. These engaging conversational tours offer a closer look at and new perspectives on works on view at the Museum. Today’s tour looks at Bill Bamberger: Boys Will Be Men.
This is a free, walk-in event – no RSVP required.
This event is part of UNC–Chapel Hill’s Campus Life Experience (CLE) program. Students who attend can scan the QR code provided at the event to receive CLE credit.

Tour: A Closer Look at the Collection
2026-04-04 13:00 - 13:30, 2026-04-05 13:00 - 13:30, 2026-04-18 13:00 - 13:30, 2026-04-19 13:00 - 13:30, 2026-04-25 13:00 - 13:30, 2026-04-26 13:00 - 13:30, 2026-05-02 13:00 - 13:30, 2026-05-03 13:00 - 13:30 and 2 more dates
Join Ackland educators for a lively half-hour look at a small handful of artworks. These engaging conversational tours offer a closer look at and new perspectives on works on view at the Museum.
This is a free, walk-in event – no RSVP required.
This event is part of UNC–Chapel Hill’s Campus Life Experience (CLE) program. Students who attend can scan the QR code provided at the event to receive CLE credit.

2nd Friday ArtWalk: Documentary Photography
2026-04-10 17:00 - 21:00
Some tour sessions are now FULL. To be added to the tour’s WAITLIST, please email acklandRSVP@unc.edu.

Spend a spring evening learning more about documentary photography during this month’s 2nd Friday ArtWalk inspired by Bill Bamberger: Boys Will Be Men.
In partnership with the Duke Center for Documentary Studies, where Bamberger is a longtime photography instructor, the artist will offer three intimate, thirty-minute tours of his exhibition in conversation with a painter, writer, or photographer whose works explore the extraordinary stories of everyday life: William Paul Thomas, 5:30-6:00 p.m.; Carter Sickels, 6:15-6:45 p.m.; and Alex Harris, 7:00-7:30 p.m. Space is limited for the gallery tours. Please register below for your free ticket.
Additionally, deputy director for curatorial affairs Peter Nisbet presents documentary photographs from the Ackland’s collection in special study room sessions. Space is limited for the study room sessions. There are two opportunities to join: Session 1 from 6:00–6:45 p.m. and Session 2 from 7:00–7:45 p.m. Please register below for your free ticket.
This all-ages event is free. All materials will be provided. The Museum will be open until 9 p.m. to see the exhibition and more.

Drawing in the Galleries
2026-04-11 10:00 - 12:00, 2026-05-02 10:00 - 12:00
Join us for our popular Drawing in the Galleries program this month during Studio Saturday! Amanda Hughes leads participants in a creative exploration of a particular object in the Ackland’s collection.
Participants all draw from one object using their own gallery-safe materials (paper/notebooks and dry media like crayons and pencils), then discuss what they’ve noticed through the process of drawing.
This is a free public program. No registration required; all skill levels are welcome.

Art Adventures (Morning Session)
2026-04-11 10:30 - 12:00
In this art-inspired, hands-on art-making class for six- to nine-year-olds, participants will create a portrait based on the themes in the works on view in Bill Bamberger: Boys Will Be Men.

Space is limited; registration required. Free for Ackland Members at the Household Level and above; $5 per child for all others.

Art Adventures (Afternoon Session)
2026-04-11 13:00 - 14:30

Last Look Tour by Curator Lauren Turner
2026-04-12 15:30 - 16:30
A final guided look at Bill Bamberger: Boys Will Be Men, led by exhibition curator Lauren Turner, associate curator for contemporary art.
Free, but space is limited; registration required below.
This event is part of UNC–Chapel Hill’s Campus Life Experience (CLE) program. Students who attend can scan the QR code provided at the event to receive CLE credit.

A Closer Look at One Work of Art
2026-04-15 13:00 - 13:30
Look closely and carefully at a single work of art in the Ackland collection with Andrea Bolland, Associate Professor Emerita of Art History, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Please register for a free ticket below, as space is limited.
This event is part of UNC–Chapel Hill’s Campus Life Experience (CLE) program. Students who attend can scan the QR code provided at the event to receive CLE credit.

Tour: A Closer Look at "Color Concentrated"
2026-04-17 13:00 - 13:30, 2026-04-24 13:00 - 13:30
Join Ackland educators for a lively half-hour look at a small handful of artworks. These engaging conversational tours offer a closer look at and new perspectives on works on view at the Museum. Today’s tour looks at Color Concentrated: A Salon-Style Show from the Robertson Collection.
This is a free, walk-in event – no RSVP required.
This event is part of UNC–Chapel Hill’s Campus Life Experience (CLE) program. Students who attend can scan the QR code provided at the event to receive CLE credit.

Public Opening of "Ancestral Frequencies: Selected Works by the MFA Class of 2026"
2026-04-30 17:30 - 19:30
Join the Ackland in celebrating the opening of Ancestral Frequencies: Selected Works by the MFA Class of 2026!
Each year the Ackland invites a local arts professional to curate a group exhibition of works by UNC-Chapel Hill’s Master of Fine Arts in Studio Arts candidates. For 2026, Annah Lee, cultural center manager for the Town of Holly Springs, will select works by participating artists Rojano Mohammadzadeh, CJ Murphy, Michelle Lisa Polissaint, Iris Moyan Wang, and Wendy Yamilett.
We will be celebrating the opening with small bites and themed mocktails. Brief remarks will be made at 6:15 p.m., and the MFA students will be on-site to meet and greet throughout the event.
Join us for a fun and vibrant evening honoring the MFA students’ work and welcoming the exhibition to our community.

Tour: A Closer Look at "Ancestral Frequencies"
2026-05-01 13:00 - 13:30, 2026-05-08 13:00 - 13:30
Join Ackland educators for a lively half-hour look at a small handful of artworks. These engaging conversational tours offer a closer look at and new perspectives on works on view at the Museum. Today’s tour looks at Ancestral Frequencies: Selected Works by the MFA Class of 2026. This is a free, walk-in event – no RSVP required.

Semester Revue: Student Research & Responses to the Collection
2026-05-01 14:00 - 16:00
Each semester, the Ackland Art Museum works with thousands of UNC-Chapel Hill students through courses and internships. The Semester Revue offers a glimpse into the quality and variety of the students’ research, projects, and performances. Come learn about the collection and see it anew through their short, dynamic presentations.
Free for all audiences; no registration required.
The Ackland Semester Revue is part of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Campus Life Experience program. Scan the QR code at the event for CLE credit.

Art Adventures (Morning Session)
2026-05-02 10:30 - 12:00
In this art-inspired, hands-on art-making class for six- to nine-year-olds, participants will create their own artwork inspired by the art on view in the Ackland galleries.
Space is limited; registration required below. Free for Ackland Members at the Household Level and above; $5 per child for all others.

Art Adventures (Afternoon Session)
2026-05-02 13:00 - 14:30
