The Outdoor Art Explorer.

A mural honoring jazz great Billy Strayhorn has been completed in downtown Hillsborough, North Carolina. Max Dowdle, the artist behind the mural, worked with Volume Records co-owner Tony Lopez on the design for the mural, which they named “Take the A Train”, one of Strayhorn’s most well-known compositions.

The mural was sponsored by the Hillsborough Tourism Development Authority and the Hillsborough Arts Council. According to Stevens, since the mural adorns a building located inside Hillsborough’s Historic District, it had to be approved by the Historic District Commission. “What the Historic District Commission does is review any changes to the exterior of buildings, nothing about the interior, so this falls right under what they do.”

Billy Strayhorn, a renown composer and pianist, burst onto the jazz scene in the late 1930s when he joined Duke Ellington’s band. Although he was born in Ohio and lived in New York City for most of his adult life, he spent much of his childhood visiting his grandparents in Hillsborough.

Quoted from Billystrayhorn.com

Love Hillsborough community art project was created by the Orange County Arts Commission with mosaic artist Carlos González García to celebrate community and love during the COVID-19 pandemic. Community members created more than 150 heart mosaics from home which were then installed together in Downtown Hillsborough. You can go see the mural yourself, located behind Weaver St. Market in the Eno Parking Deck just off the Hillsborough River Walk.

More than just a frame shop, Studio 71 often will have an outdoor display of art and collections.

Drop by the Hillsborough Visitor Center to take a photo with the beloved HEARTy the Pig. A work of art created by Steven Ray Miller, the pig finds a home near the gardens of the historic Alexander Dickson House.

In 2016, Hillsborough became the 35^th city to be named a Bee City USA. With that title comes a commitment to building healthy habitats for pollinators and raising awareness of the benefits of pollinators in the community. Dedicated in November 2017, the bee hotel provides a home for the 90 species of bees native to the area, many of which live solitary lives and seek a safe, tunnel-like dwelling to lay eggs and care for their young.

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Coming Soon!