Name: Durham Arts Council, Inc.
Telephone: (919) 560-2787

Visit Website

Phone: (919) 560-2787

Directions 4.7

Overview

The Durham Arts Council, Inc. is a catalyst in the cultural development of Durham – it leads, inspires and promotes excellence in and access to the creation, experience and active support of the arts for all people of our community. A can’t-miss spot for art lovers includes the Durham Arts Council, a local hub for arts and culture. Stroll through award-winning exhibition galleries and their sculpture garden with seasonal floral plantings. Steps away, you’ll find the two-story Durham Civil Rights Mural painted by more than 30 community members.

The building that houses The Durham Arts Council was formerly city hall, and before that it was 1906 Central High School.

Adaron Hall

Area: 1,344

Configuration	Occupancy
Reception	80
Banquet	80

Allenton Gallery

Area: 1,026

Configuration	Occupancy
Reception	100
Banquet	80

Duke Power Rehearsal Studio

Area: 1,376

Configuration	Occupancy
Reception	80
Banquet	60

Graphic Arts Studio

Area: 1,696

Configuration	Occupancy
Reception	40
Banquet	20

GTE Fiber Arts Studio

Area: 1,050

Configuration	Occupancy
Reception	35
Banquet	16

Holmes Conference Room

Area: 196

Configuration	Occupancy
Reception	15
Banquet	8

IBM Rehearsal Hall

Area: 2,475

Configuration	Occupancy
Reception	150
Banquet	150

Kane Learning Center

Area: 1,050

Configuration	Occupancy
Reception	45
Banquet	30

Pavilion Gallery

Area: 1,470

Configuration	Occupancy
Reception	125
Banquet	100

People's Security Insurance Theater (PSI)

Area: 2,475

Configuration	Occupancy
Reception	185
Banquet	144

Qualex Photography Center

Area: 1,050

Configuration	Occupancy
Reception	35
Banquet	20

Rand Boardroom

Area: 450

Configuration	Occupancy
Reception	20
Banquet	15

Semans Gallery

Area: 1,026

Configuration	Occupancy
Reception	130
Banquet	100

SunTrust Gallery (not available)

Area: 3,024

Configuration	Occupancy
Reception	350
Banquet	280

WTVD Theater (not available)

Area: 1,050

Configuration	Occupancy
Reception	68
Banquet	50

Google Rating

4.7

Cynthia Williams 4 months ago

The Durham Arts Council is a very nice venue for events. A variety of meeting spaces are contained in the building. The spaces are of different aiEs and orientations however each one is ideal for business, community, and private events. Both free and paid parking is located around and near the building. There are also nice small art galleries throughout the facility. Art classes can also be taken here. The Durham Arts Council is a great place to visit!
Lucy Barber a year ago

The Durham Arts Council is truly a gem, and I’m so grateful that our city has such a wonderful facility! My husband and I hosted our rehearsal dinner here for ~120 guests, and we can’t say enough good things about the staff and the venue itself.

The location is fantastic—centrally located and easily walkable from where our guests were staying. One of the things we loved most was that DAC offers in-house rentals for tables, chairs, bar setups, and more, so we didn’t have to worry about coordinating with a third-party vendor for those (we did work with American Party Rentals for table cloths and plates).

I worked with McKayla, who was an absolute pleasure to communicate with. She was always positive and super helpful throughout the whole process. DAC also offers various options for which combination of rooms you want to rent depending on your guest size. Their pricing and rental information is clearly laid out on their website, which made planning that much easier.

The venue features a catering kitchen and allows you to bring in any caterer you want, which gave us great flexibility. Coordinating pick-ups and drop-offs for the items we brought in was seamless, and they were kind enough to let us store everything overnight, so we didn’t have to spend the end of our night shuttling things home.

We hosted our cocktail hour and toasts in the big atrium with the balcony—it was such a beautiful space, and the large glass windows provided a stunning backdrop. We also brought in a jazz band, and the acoustics in that space were fantastic.

One of the highlights for the kids was an art scavenger hunt we put together. DAC kindly allowed the kids to explore the art in the Truist Gallery, even though that wasn’t part of the space we had rented—such a generous touch!

On top of all that, DAC offers so much to the community, supporting local arts and providing spaces for events and activities. We’ve even rented out their dance rooms on multiple occasions to practice dance routines, which has always been easy and reasonably priced—definitely a great option if you’re looking for a dance floor!

Overall, I’m just so proud that this venue exists in our city, and I highly recommend it for anyone planning an event or looking for a space to support local arts.
Jackie Boykin 6 years ago

never knew they had an auditorium. the security was very helpful and friendly helping us find our was to the elevator. the drag show was kid friendly and we all enjoyed ourselves
Thomas And Vanessa Mitchell 4 years ago

It was great
The Emunah stage play that we attended yesterday was absolutely amazing.
Nila Hargreaves 2 months ago

Really lovely venue, my dance school has rented this place for a couple of years and the stage and seating is really great. The art they display is so ugly, but I guess that's not their fault 😂