MEDIA CONTACT: Andrea Cash, andrea@andreacashcreative.com, 336-471-6939
Hillsborough, NC, Feb. 13, 2025 – Together with its community partners, the Orange County Arts Commission (OCAC) announces that the second Uproar Festival of Public Art is scheduled for the summer of 2025. From Aug. 1-23, Uproar will showcase 60 large-scale, bold works of art outdoors in the downtown areas of Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough. $21,000 in cash prizes, Purchase Awards, and more will be awarded to Southeastern artists chosen by both the public and a jury panel of experts including Stephen Hayes, Thomas Sayre, and Elizabeth Brim.
“The 60 inaugural Uproar artists exceeded our expectations in 2023 – their works activated our communities and brought a vibrancy to our beloved downtowns,” says Katie Murray, OCAC director. “We can’t wait to find out what’s in store for 2025.”
Inspired by ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and ArtFields in Lake Park, South Carolina, Uproar successfully debuted in the summer of 2023 and was the first festival of its kind in the state. Accessibility is central to Uproar’s mission. The outdoor locations are easy to navigate, and audio descriptions are offered for individuals with low vision. Uproar’s Google Map of art locations in 2023 garnered more than 50,000 visits during the festival.
“Everyone should be able to participate in the arts,” Murray says. “Uproar provides a completely free and inclusive experience for people of all abilities, and festival goers play a key role by selecting the People’s Choice Winner.”
Since summer can be a slow time for local business owners, Uproar will also boost the small business community.
“We learned during Uproar’s first year that the festival has a unique ability to transform our downtowns and inspire many related activities for locals and travelers,” says Jamezetta Bedford, chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners. “This inclusive, accessible, and energizing festival will again give us the chance to celebrate art and all who love it – the people who make it, the people who consume it, and our wonderful communities that uplift it.”
The OCAC, an agency of Orange County government, is the primary coordinator of the festival. Key Uproar partners include the towns of Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough; the Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro; the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership; UNC-Chapel Hill; Visit Chapel Hill-Orange County, the Hillsborough Arts Council, and the Orange County Arts Alliance.
Artists living in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, or West Virginia can apply to have their work included in Uproar 2025 between now and March 17. Artists will be notified of their acceptance in April and assigned a location in May. Murray expects Uproar to include two-dimensional pieces, sculptures, and installations.
Uproar will launch with a kick-off party at the Eno Arts Mill in Hillsborough on Aug. 1. An awards celebration in Chapel Hill will close the festival on Aug. 23. The People’s Choice Winner will receive $10,000, and the runner-up will win $500. More than 6,000 votes were submitted to determine the People’s Choice Winner in 2023. Festival goers scored Uproar works on a scale of 1 to 10.
The jury’s first-place winner will receive $10,000, with a runner-up receiving $500. Works will be evaluated based on artistic excellence, visual impact, creativity, and feasibility (including public safety, durability, and space required). Jurors include Thomas Sayre, a Raleigh sculptor and painter known for earthcastings – monumental sculptures made in and of the earth; Elizabeth Brim, a western North Carolina blacksmith known for feminine imagery in her ironwork; and Stephen L. Hayes Jr., a Durham artist who makes woodcuts, sculptures, and installations small and large from found materials that draw on social and economic themes ingrained in the history of America and African-Americans.
Uproar will provide a $1,000 honorarium for each selected applicant (artist or team). Artists are encouraged to sell their work during Uproar; however, the work must remain on-site for the duration of the festival.
Look for updates about Uproar on Instagram and Facebook. Find more information at uproarfestnc.com.
See photos from the 2023 festival.
The Uproar logo was designed by Charlie Dupee, a Chapel Hill-based visual artist and designer.
Based out of Hillsborough, the OCAC is an agency of Orange County government with a mission of promoting and strengthening the artistic and cultural development of Orange County, North Carolina. The commission awards state-funded and county-funded grants, sponsors programs, serves as an arts information clearinghouse and, together with its nonprofit partner, the Orange County Arts Alliance, operates the Eno Arts Mill Gallery and Studios in the historic Eno River Mill in Hillsborough. Learn more at artsorange.org.
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