Central Piedmont Community College is home to five gallery spaces, sprinkled across its myriad campuses throughout the Charlotte area. Each plays a different role, both in terms of the growth, stimulation, and education of CPCC’s students and in furthering the college’s relationship with the broader community.
About the Galleries
The Dove Gallery is not only the most well known of CPCC’s exhibition spaces, but also the newest. This traditional gallery space hosts the college’s annual juried art show, as well as exhibitions of work by professional artists and community-related shows. The gallery kicked off the year with a showcase of Kenny Nguyen’s work, in a collection titled “Land/mark” that explores cultural identity and displacement.
In 2024, CPCC renovated the Ross and Overcash galleries to transform them from traditional gallery spaces into a new student activity area called The Art Hub. Mural and chalkboard walls provide canvases on which students can creatively collaborate, adding components as the months pass until a finished piece emerges at year’s end. The Art Hub also includes a photography studio, work spaces, and a year-round student exhibition space. “The goal was to make it fun and engaging and so far it’s been a raging success,“ says Amelia Zytka, Senior Art Gallery Coordinator at CPCC and former CPCC student.
Lastly, each of CPCC’s six campuses houses a Gorelick Gallery. The intention of each Gorelick Gallery is to enhance the accessibility of art. These galleries are never locked, ensuring that the pieces they showcase live in truly public spaces. “The objective is to bring the artwork to students who may not ever set foot in a fine arts gallery, increase the accessibility of fine arts to the public, and introduce students to a wide array of local and regional artists,” says Zytka.
Artists At CPCC
Artists are selected for inclusion at CPCC galleries through an art committee that assess applicants based on the professionalism of their exhibition proposals. All kinds of media are welcome. The committee also at times elects to facilitate art shows that fold in the surrounding community. For example, this fall, the committee will collaborate with the Catawba Cultural Center in Rock Hill to exhibit their artwork in the Dove Gallery.
What sets the CPCC galleries apart from most other galleries in the Charlotte area is that they operate because of and on behalf of CPCC students. The students give these spaces life and color, and in return the galleries give the students opportunities to belong, spark creativity, expand their horizons, and jump-start their post-college careers.
As Amelia Zytka plans for the future of CPCC’s galleries, she sees more of this ahead. “My hope is that the galleries will continue to become more engaging for students in ways that start conversations or gently challenge perspectives,” says Zytka. “I would like students to view art (in all media) as not just something pretty to look at, but as an active form of expression and communication.”
