Take The UHills Mural Tour: Socially Distanced, Family-Friendly Day-Trip Idea

DURHAM, NC – What started as an abandoned strip shopping center has become a canvas for local artists. When you arrive at University Hills (UHills), a mixed-use redevelopment off University Drive in Durham, you automatically notice the colorful murals that stare right back at you. UHill Walls is a 40,000 square feet dense, walkable art district consisting of 40 murals that sit on 15 contiguous acres. Artists from as far away as Brooklyn and Denver or as close as Chapel Hill came to Durham for the opportunity to put their massive art installations on the many empty walls in the four buildings that make up the complex.

Each Saturday there is a free walking tour of the UHills Walls. At the beginning of the tour, Nekia, one of the apartment managers showed us around the district. Buildings A, B, and C features award-winning food, drink, and wellness. Building D is residential only. Every wall in each of the four buildings had its own unique style of art. It was amazing to see the size of the actual pieces. Just about every wall you turned to had artwork covering it entirely. (Be sure to scroll down to see my photos of some of the murals; the rest, you’ll have to go see for yourself.)

The artists displaying their murals were selected by the UHill Mural Advisory Committee. Members of the Committee are:

Adria Gunter is from Durham and is the Curatorial Assistant at Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University.
Antonio Alanís is from Durham and is the Education Manager at El Centro Hispano, Inc.
Greg Mike is a mural artist from Atlanta, GA, and the founder and creative director of ABV Agency / Gallery, a multi-platform studio specializing in branding, apparel design, and visual production.
Laura Ritchie is from Durham and is the co-founder and former director of The Carrack, a zero-commission community art space in Durham.
Monét Noelle Marshall is an artist, director, playwright, curator & producer based in Durham.
Scott Nurkin is from Chapel Hill, a mural artist and the founder of The Mural Shop.

These murals are definitely a must-see! For information on the UHill Walls Mural Walk, click here.

(Gallery) Check out some of the murals (photos: Malcolm Beamon):