Give the Gift of Opportunity

This holiday season you can honor someone special in your life with a gift that directly supports children in Orange County.

Heather Pike with one of the dancers in her residency focused on bringing movement and dance to unlock new ways of embodying storytelling and creative expression.

Our Artist in Residence Program -- made possible through collaboration with Orange County Schools and donors like yourself -- currently provides more than 2,100 under-resourced students in local Title 1 schools with a five-day arts residency and a live theater performance at no cost to their families. Like many nonprofits, we have been significantly impacted by funding cuts and this program with the greatest impact in our community is also the most at risk.

The Artist in Residence Program seeks to increase access to arts in public schools, collaborate with district community to offer responsive programming, and integrate arts programming into district and state learning goals.

We need individual donor support now more than ever to continue making an impact on our young folks. 



Will you help ensure we can continue offering offering a transformative experience to students who might otherwise never have access to arts opportunities of this caliber? Your gift will sustain the Artist in Residence Program and directly impact the well-being and future of thousands of young people.

Hands raised in participation during a performance by Luke Vandergriff about fighting "brain rot" by staying off screens and exercising your creativity instead!

Select "Dedicate my donation in honor or in memory of someone" to make a donation in someone's name!

Give the Gift of Creativity

Come pick up a brochure on site or view online! Featuring cover art by Natalia Adamson.

We're offering over 130 classes during the Winter session - January-March 2026 - and they're all available to register now!

Classes include painting, drawing, ceramics, fiber arts, digital arts, photography, dance, theatre, and more!

AfterSchool students in Alyssa's Puppetry Class this past November were able to create their own puppets with sticks and paper and then perform their own skit to the whole class.

Our popular AfterSchool program combines quality care with exceptional art education, creating an empowering sanctuary for children's creativity. Catering to students from grades K-5, AfterSchool invites children into the world of diverse art forms.

Have someone on your list that is into ceramics and has taken a ceramics class at The ArtsCenter? We've got Open Studio passes!

Open studio members must have previously taken a class at the ArtsCenter.

By purchasing an ArtsCenter membership - either for yourself or a loved one - you're supporting the ArtsCenter while getting awesome perks! Get discounts on classes, early registration, and more.

Introducing Our New Maker Services

Want to create using the laser cutter or 3D printer but don't know where to start or are not able to swing by the Makerspace? Let us help you bring your ideas to life with our new Maker Services! Submit one of the forms below to receive a free quote on The ArtsCenter's Makerspace laser cutting, engraving or 3D printing something for you.

You can create your own laser cut thunder of dragons in wood or acrylic!

Laser cut bunnies, a puzzle you can paint!

Our laser can personalize almost anything, transforming simple materials into cherished keepsakes. Etch a name onto leather, a date into wood, a design onto glass, or a photo onto slate. Bring us your ideas, and we'll help you create something uniquely yours.

Click HERE to fill out the laser request form and receive a free quote!

Our laser can engrave on a variety of materials, including wood, glass, leather and slate!

3D-Printing on demand! Whether it’s something cool you saw online and want printed, or a custom twist on something personal, tell us your 3D-printing idea to get started on a unique gift!

Click HERE to fill out the 3D-print for and receive a free quote!

You can print a menagerie of critters using our 3D printers!

OR signup for our Makerspace trainings and learn to operate the laser cutter and 3D printers yourself. It's the ultimate gift for the curious mind and hands-on learner. 

Give the Gift of Entertainment

We're offering lots of performances this month and in the New Year! You can click each title to learn more and purchase tickets.

• Black Sheep Comedy Holiday Sketch Show & Improv: December 19
• A Solstice Assembly with Bob Valise, Jane Peppler, and Friends: December 21
• Feckers Theatre Collective: 1x1=5: January 9 & 10
• The Ballad of Johnny Whitmore: January 15th - 25th
• Pop Up Chorus Broadway!: January 31st

An Exciting New Performance Series Coming in January 2026

Sundays with Omar and Friends: Fiddles, Strings and Stories

Fiddler and studio multi-instrumentalist Omar Ruiz-Lopez (Violet Bell) is launching a month-long residency and series of shows in The ArtsCenter Sweet Bay Gallery in Carrboro, NC, starting 1/4/26. 

Joined by a different backing band, each show will have its own theme and sound. 

Give the Gift of Local Art

"First Flutter" by Diane Cashion

Shop on site and online the art currently on display in our galleries!

Shop on site for Pay What You Can Pottery!

Shop The Capstone Exhibition

Xuerui (Sherry) He’s t-shirt artwork is inspired by “old-timey cartoons and the kitschy, colorful animated commercials of the 80s.” 

Sofia Sande Fernandez’ t-shirt artwork is inspired by her use of oil paints and colorful multimedia works.

Nate Diers’ t-shirt artwork is inspired by “cybersigilism and various digital textures and patterns of the 2000s” 

The exhibition, which is a capstone project of our recent marketing intern, Rachel Kripner, celebrates a creative collaboration between student artists from UNC Chapel Hill and Duke University and The ArtsCenter. Artists were invited to create an original t-shirt design inspired by the organization's mission to support accessibility in the arts. The result is a collection of limited-edition shirts, printed by local women-owned garment printing business, Treehouse Creations!

By purchasing these shirts or totes visitors directly support both these emerging artists and The ArtsCenter's ongoing work to make the arts possible in our community!

Give the Gift of Choice

Select a gift certificate that your loved one can use towards any class or Maker services! You can get a gift certificate at the link below if you're ready to give the gift right away, or contact us if you want a physical certificate to gift at a later date.