New Bern artist Stan Harmon collaborated with Wilmington sculptor Paul Hill to make public art that combines glass and metal with local themes. A piece with giant Venus Flytraps, “Southern Hospitality,” is steel with colored fused glass, and sits on the waterfront in Wilmington.
Venus Flytraps are native to North and South Carolina only and are found within a 60 mile radius of Wilmington.
Harmon and Hill also collaborated on a sculpture in Fayetteville. Both towns have 2nd Saturdays sites – the Battleship North Carolina in Wilmington and the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex in Fayetteville. The popular 2nd Saturdays program mixes heritage, history, arts and culture on the 2nd Saturday of the summer months at all 37 State Historic Sites and museums within the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.
From 1982 through 2000, the North Carolina Arts Council administered the Artworks in State Buildings (AWSB) program which set aside one-half of one percent of the building costs of all new state buildings for art. This program resulted in 58 original artist-commissioned pieces and three acquisitions, in addition to numerous donated artworks.