• Gallery Artists


• Tarrah Goforth
• Adrien Montoya
• Galina Stockstill
• Mary Ruth Dana
• Virginia Owen
• Lizzie Bailey
• Mary Beth Owen Zdanski
• Shawnda Rossi
• Margaret Griffin
• E. Marie Robertson
• Maureen C. Wartski
• Olga Wagner

Local Color Gallery in downtown Raleigh, NC began as a loose organization of four women needing a place to sell their art.  The gallery has now grown into a women’s artist cooperative located in the Carter Building in Glenwood South, the up and coming Raleigh hub of downtown galleries, restaurants and nightlife.  It all began with Adrien Montoya and Wanda Oates, who took an art class together in 2002. One day Adrien posed the question to several of the artists, "What do you do with all your completed work?" The discussion led to the conclusion that a place was needed to showcase and sell their work. The original location for Local Color was in Magnolia Marketplace in Cary, NC. While this location produced steady sales, the artists were seeking for the long term a gallery space that could be used as a gathering place to foster community among artists.  In a conversation with a fellow artist who had a studio in The Carter Building, Adrien found out that there was space available for rent and she was able to secure an upstairs space for the group.  As luck would have it, within a month of moving into the Carter Building, one of the street front first floor rooms became available.  The artists seized the opportunity, refurbished the room and moved in.  For the next couple of years the group had from 4 to 6 members, potters, painters and sculptors at various times.  A second adjoining room then became available and the group moved into this space also, which would now allow the group to grow with the larger space.  First Fridays began with up to 50 visitors visiting the gallery on a peak night to now attracting in excess of 150 art lovers each First Friday. 

In the past two years, Local Color has broadened its scope by sponsoring the Plein Air Paint Out, partnering with Jerry’s Artarama to organize a day-long gathering of artists painting outdoors on the city streets around the gallery.  There is then a juried show with prizes awarded and a First Friday opening.  The paintings are exhibited for a month in the gallery.  In the second year of the Paint Out, participants more than doubled and the gallery organizers received raves about the event.  Local Color Gallery showcases the works of its members, but also invites area artists to exhibit their work as well.  Local Color will continue to add new events that bring artists together and promote artistic expression in the vibrant Glenwood South community in Raleigh, NC that has now become home for the artists' cooperative