Lump

Lump began in 1996 when founders, Bill Thelen and Med Byrd transformed a lackluster cinderblock building into a vibrant exhibition space that offered a small bundle affordable studios for artists. Over the past twenty years, Team Lump has served the North Carolina community by providing this space for the presentation of thought-provoking art, while acting as a pipeline between North Carolina and the world of contemporary art.

At the beginning of this year, LUMP restructured into a 501(c)3 non profit organization called Art Now, doing business as Lump. This was a measure to bolster resources, so that Lump may continue to serve artists in the collaborative spirit under which it was created and conduct its program without compromise.

Lump has tasked itself with challenging the public’s notion of art by continuing to embrace its mystique through work by artists whose unconventional visions of contemporary art and life, all too often, go unseen. Lump’s core mission is twofold, and it’s program should be viewed as one that radiates outward while simultaneously drawing energies inward. First, it seeks to expand the possibilities for artists and curators through the support of ambitious projects in exhibition, performance, and research that may garner them attention on a national level. Second, it works to broaden the community’s exposure to contemporary art by inviting them inside the individual or collaborative practices from which that art manifests. The essential element to this inclusion is a broad dialogue that integrates artists into the general community through public exhibitions, film, performance and lecture series, while simultaneously offering the community an intimate look into the creative rhythms of artists.