First Black-Owned Art Gallery Opens Downtown Durham

Ed Bullock devotes life to building and encouraging the art community of Durham at Ed’s Art Gallery

DURHAM, NC – Willie Edward Bullock (Ed) is the CEO of the first black-owned art museum in downtown Durham, located at 400 West Main Street (formerly South Bank Building).  Ed’s Art Gallery consists of his own original art along with the collection of art pieces from other artists throughout the Triangle. Ed is one of North Carolina’s leading pen and ink artists with a new medium in watercolor and photography. He has been collecting artwork for over 20 years and has always had a passion for helping others.

“Through my art work I try to encourage people to be who they are and not anyone else” says Ed. Ed firmly believes that art is a form of expression and through ones artwork you can have a positive impact on many lives and convey positive life lessons through his artwork.

unnamed-4Ed was born and raised in the heart of Durham where he attended Durham public schools and went on to take classes at Durham Technical College, majoring in computer technology. Ed was working for IBM while he ran his own art gallery in the Snow Building located downtown Durham. He eventually left IBM to dedicate more time to helping his family cleaning business get back on their feet.

Over time, Ed developed a strong and healthy relationship with the contractors. The family business began to grow and eventually gained over 100 personal clients and 45 contracts.  One of those contractors were instrumental in helping him obtain his new art gallery location. Once again, Ed was able to start back up his longtime dream of having an art museum.

Ed uses his talents and gifts to help the lives of others. He has sold his art work for profit to donate to the Ronald McDonald House, which is a nonprofit that helps families and children in need. Ed also plans on selling his artwork to donate to CET (Center for Employment Training), which is also located in Durham.

This Center provides necessary basic and technical skills in securing employment and provides study courses to help individuals to obtain their GED. Ed has heard rumors that this school may be endangered of getting shut down and wants to help in any kind of way to prevent that from happening.

Ed has regular clients for which he does paintings and even remembers a time when he gave a piece of his artwork to Stedman Graham. His clients really enjoy his style of painting.  “It makes me happy to see the looks on their faces when I give them my artwork, when they are happy, I am happy” said Ed.

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His artwork has been displayed at various locations throughout The triangle, such as the Durham County Library, Hayti Heritage Center, and in other areas around downtown Durham as well as in Raleigh.  Ed has a lot of interest in the arts, from the love of Jazz music, painting, photography, and especially nature which is reflected in his work.

“If you go to my artwork you’ll see the beach. I take trips to the beach and the mountains because it’s a solitude place for me. See an artist goes to where they are inspired. That’s what keeps me going, things that relate to nature and so forth” said Ed.

Ed also does motivational speaking and has even traveled to Mexico to talk to youths on various subjects such as getting along with others, compassion for others, and dream chasing.  With his current art gallery, Ed plans on giving high school and college students a place to display their artwork and showcase their talent.

“I feel like the students talent for art goes unnoticed and I want to provide them a space free of charge where they can display their art work and feel good about themselves” stated Ed. “One of my goals is to expose people who are in NC, you don’t have to go all across the country to Washington DC because it’s a large amount of talent right here in Durham.”

On Thursday Oct. 27th, Ed in collaboration with Spectacular Magazine will host Ed’s Art Gallery’s Grand Opening from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm at the Spectacular Magazine Business After Hours.

eds-art-gallery-october-27-2016Spectacular Magazine Business After Hours

Enjoy, Learn, Experience…the Grand Opening of Ed’s Art Gallery, a private viewing of artist Ed Bullock’s original mixed media artwork and personal collection…(FREE & OPEN TO PUBLIC)

Please join Spectacular Magazine for our monthly social gathering that provides business professionals, leaders, and executives the occasion to network & interact in a relaxed, informal atmosphere with music, food, wine/beer, & door prizes. In addition, this event offers a great opportunity for making new contacts & meeting prospective clients.

Ed’s Art Gallery is the only African American owned/operated Art Gallery in Downtown Durham.

CLICK HERE TO RSVP