Durham, NC - The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University will install works of art in downtown Durham for the first time with "From the Root," a public art project that alludes to social activism in North Carolina and the world.

The art will be installed Friday, April 13; visitors can meet the artist at a party Friday, April 20. The installation will be on view through July 29.

The projects will be included in the Durham Art Walk, a free, self-guided tour of artists' studios taking place 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 14, and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 15. The walk begins at the Durham Arts Council, 120 Morris St.

"From the Root" was created by artists William Cordova and Leslie Hewitt using public spaces, such as billboards or walls, and transforming them from a traditional commercial purpose into a message about the importance of history. This work presents a straightforward list of names of people who have contributed to positive social change in the world and in North Carolina.

The list includes jazz composer and musician Thelonius Monk, who was born in Rocky Mount, N.C., and Robert F. Williams, the late president of the Monroe, N.C., branch of the NAACP. The artists created "From the Root" in 2006 as an evolving public art project with installations in Atlanta, Miami, New York and now Durham.

"This project is about engaging and challenging the audience," said Trevor Schoonmaker, curator of contemporary art at the Nasher Museum. "It is not presented conventionally as artwork, so the artists want us to ask what it is and why it is here. They seek to generate discussion -- and for people to look up names they don't recognize in the work."

One installation of "From the Root" will be on the green wall at Corcoran and West Main streets; the other will be on the outside wall of Branch Gallery, 401-C Foster St.

The Nasher Museum presents "From the Root" in conjunction with the exhibition "Street Level: Mark Bradford, William Cordova and Robin Rhode." Both the installations and the exhibition at the Nasher Museum will be on view through July 29.

Visitors can meet artist William Cordova on Friday, April 20, from 5:30 to 11 p.m. at a party at Rigsbee Hall, 208 Rigsbee St., Durham. The event, co-sponsored by Alliance Architecture, will include entertainment by DJ Low Rise, a cash bar and refreshments provided by Rue Cler Restaurant and Bakery.

The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University

The Nasher Museum of Art, 2001 Campus Drive, Durham, is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday; and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. The museum is closed Mondays. Suggested admission is $5 adults, $4 for seniors and members of the Duke Alumni Association, $3 for non-Duke students with I.D. and free for children 16 and younger. Admission is free to Duke students, faculty and staff with Duke I.D. Admission is also free to Durham city residents who present a valid I.D. with proof of residency, courtesy of the Herald-Sun.
This exhibition and its related programs were sponsored in part by a grant from the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation and Duke's Office of the President. Additional support for artist residency activities, including related site-specific projects, was provided by the Skylark Foundation. Greenfire Development and Scientific Properties provided space for the installations.

Nasher Museum exhibitions and programs are supported by the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, Mary D.B.T. Semans and the late James H. Semans, The Duke Endowment, the Nancy Hanks Endowment, the K. Brantley and Maxine E. Watson Endowment Fund, the James Hustead Semans Memorial Fund, the Marilyn M. Arthur Fund, the Victor and Lenore Behar Endowment Fund, the Sarah Schroth Fund, the North Carolina Arts Council, the Office of the President and the Office of the Provost, Duke University and the Friends of the Nasher Museum of Art.