WILSON, N.C. — Downtown Wilson has some new color on its streets and empty storefront windows, and the sides of buildings are now decked out with expressions of creativity from student artists at Sallie B. Howard School.

What You Need To Know

  • "Walls of Wilson" exhibit features 50 different pieces of art

  • Students created drawings, paintings, sketches and sculptures

  • The public display will be up until the middle of April 

When Carrie Nobles, a visual arts teacher at Sallie B. Howard School, first started dreaming of walls covered in art a year ago, she wasn’t even sure it was possible to take 8-by-11 works and blow them up to 8-feet tall. Not only is it possible, but she’s now watched it become an incredibly popular reality. 

Carrie Nobles helps to install the 8-foot panels of artwork in downtown Wilson. (Spectrum News 1/Rachel Boyd)

“Bringing art to the public space definitely brings life to the community,” Nobles said. “It was really important for us to put the work in this location right next to the train tracks because we want people from all around from other states coming in through Wilson to be able to see some of our artwork.”

The "Walls of Wilson" exhibit features 50 different pieces of art by students ranging from 8 to 18, including self-portraits, expressions of emotion and how they see the world. The art can be seen on panels that Nobles and her team installed throughout downtown. 

“The look on their face kind of does it for me. You know, they just see, ‘Wow, my artwork's being seen by the whole town!’ It's awesome,” said Neil Peede, a visual arts teacher at the school.

The theme of this year’s exhibit is “I Am, We Are,” encouraging students to look within themselves and reflect what they see into drawings, paintings, sketches and sculptures.

Aerial view of some of the art installations in downtown Wilson. (Spectrum News 1/Rachel Boyd)

“You'll see a lot of self-portraits, and then you'll see a lot of abstract work as well, and a lot of work that includes symbolism, that reflects community unity and togetherness,” Nobles said. 

This has been a huge undertaking for the visual arts team, and they’ve put in countless hours in preparation and installation, but Nobles said it was all worth it, considering it’s the first opportunity for many of these students to have their art displayed in a public space. 

“It’s really important for me to give my students the same opportunities that were given to me and even more,” Nobles said. 

The inaugural exhibit will run until the middle of April, and they hope to expand this program in the future.