These portraits were auctioned off at Ella West Gallery, which closed last month.

DURHAM – Outgrowing its physical space in downtown Durham, Ella West Gallery’s mission to champion meaningful contemporary art, elevate underrepresented voices and create platforms where artists can thrive will expand.

In its new form, the Gallery will further its reach across geography, medium and form through installations unique to each location. Ella West’s flagship event, the first Black Wall Street Art Festival, will be staged Sept. 10-12, 2027, in downtown Durham’s vibrant Black Wall Street where the gallery spent two years at 104 W. Parrish Street. In the vein of Afropunk Festival in Brooklyn, New York, and Charleston, South Carolina’s Spoleto Festival USA, Black Wall Street Art Festival will be an art experience rooted in history and community, celebrating the resilience and contemporary creativity of Durham. Artists, vendors, sponsors and volunteers are invited to inquire about partnership opportunities at blackwallstreetartfestival.com.

“This exciting path forward is cutting-edge, agile and mobile, allowing Ella West to disrupt the art ecosystem without the heavy overhead of a physical gallery, manifesting our goal to increase access to art, no matter where you are,” said founder Linda Shropshire, who has been a firsthand witness to the recent shift from traditional gallery models to a new personalized, experiential approach.

“It is fitting that one of our flagship projects will be the Black Wall Street Art Festival, where we will both recognize legacy and work toward a new shared future. Staged just steps from where we first witnessed the power of cultivating community through the powerful lens of art, I am thrilled to continue this work with the collectors, partners, and artists who have been part of our story.”

This new format is an example of a growing nomadic gallery movement, which allows curators to be nimbler and more creative with the places, spaces, and partnerships that bring artists and collectors together, staging exhibitions and experiences in surprising locations like private homes and empty warehouses, as well as public outdoors spaces like Black Wall Street Art Festival. This transition also marks a shift from “blue chip” art galleries, which focus on established artists rooted in traditional museum and exhibition backgrounds, to “red chip” galleries driven by new, emerging artists outside the historical art canon presented to collectors through creative, tailored experiences.

In its physical space, the gallery showcased Ernie Barnes, Jeremy Biggers, Kennedi Carter, Maya Freelon, Stephen Hayes, Clarence Heyward, Justin Ellis, Isabel Lou, Joel Mamboka, Rigoberto Mena, Renzo, Julia Rivera, Lamar Whidbee, and more. With a focus on celebrating cultural heritage, empowering emerging artists, and providing transformative community programming that connects history, creativity and education, the nonprofit will help stage exhibitions, residencies, and educational initiatives that propel youth engagement, community art activations, school partnerships and artist professional development.

For more information, visit www.ellawestgallery.com.

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