Meet Liz Gage & Dara Baldwin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Liz Gage & Dara Baldwin. They and their team shared their story with us below:

The Durham Art Guild (DAG) is a non-profit arts organization that has been in existence for 75 years providing support to visual artists throughout the Triangle. 

Dara Baldwin first got involved in 2016 as a volunteer assisting with installations in the two DAG galleries. She was then offered the position of Gallery Assistant in 2019 and now serves at the Gallery Coordinator leading all curatorial efforts for the organization. “I’ve always been involved in art, mostly making it, and went to art school middle school through college. I thought that curation was a logical step from there.” 

Liz Gage joined the Guild in late 2022 as their new Executive Director after serving as the Operations Director for an arts organization in Akron, Ohio. “It’s been exciting to be in a new town filled with incredible art and artists and being part of a community that is helping shape such a culturally rich area.” 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Funding for the arts is increasingly more difficult to secure and with an influx in businesses and residents to the area, there’s been a struggle to keep art and culture at the forefront of all the growth. This area is known for being artistically vibrant, which is attracting and helping to retain talent to this area. With that much potential to shape the way residents, students, and businesses are interacting in the Triangle, there needs to be a switch in the amount of support to the organizations keeping the area interesting and exciting. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Dara: “We are a 501c3 non-profit that promotes local arts and artists by providing opportunities through exhibitions in our galleries, partnerships with local businesses, youth educational programming, and community engagement. The Guild is community driven and is dedicated to the needs of our artist members.” 

Liz: “I think the Guild is set up to really adapt and expand to the needs of the community – and we’re listening. We have the traditional gallery model, but we also will go into places throughout NC that need a pop of regional artwork to bridge the corporate and creative community. We see artwork as an opportunity to spark conversation and provide creative placemaking. We’re nimble enough to pivot to always stay ahead of where the arts community needs us to be. Recently an artist said they were having trouble getting shows outside of Durham, so we made a few new partnerships and will be showing some of our member artists in Charlotte and Wilmington later this year!” 

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up.
Dara: “In elementary school, I had a very nice art teacher that would roll out the tv card and show us videos. She had a tape that documented Claude Monet’s watercolor series, and watching it, I was in awe that someone made that with their hands. I’ve been interested in arts ever since.” 

Liz: “My mom wouldn’t classify herself as an artist, but growing up, once in a while, she would draw something that looked so realistic and beautiful. It was a glimpse into a world so far from what seemed normal in the rural area I grew up in. She always pushed myself and my siblings to be involved in the arts and stressed the importance in a school system where there was very little of that. I’m not an artist myself, but I have so much respect and appreciation for artists and the joy they bring to others.” 

Pricing:

• $50 DAG Membership Fee

Contact Info:

• Website: https://durhamartguild.org/
• Instagram: @durhamartguild
• Facebook: @durhamartguild
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/durham-art-guild