ABOVE The newly opened Eno Mill Gallery, located within the 10,000-square-foot Eno Arts Mill. RIGHT Book artist Audrey Pinto relocated her studio to the Eno Arts Mill from the Golden Belt studios in Durham.
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examp l e The new Eno Arts Mill is the crown jewel of the arts in Orange County By C h r is Vi t i e l lo | P h o to g rap hy by Jo h n M ich ae l Si m pson
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chapelhillmagazine.com
January/February 2022
W
hen Renee Price, chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners, arrived at the Eno Arts Mill’s grand opening on Oct. 1, she had to circle around for a long while just to find a parking space – and that’s a good thing. “We got there, and we couldn’t find a place to park. I mean, it was just that popular,” Renee laughs. “Already, it’s become a venue.” Hillsborough came out in droves to see the new 7,000-square-foot arts center, featuring five artist studios, a classroom, a satellite office for the Carrborobased Art Therapy Institute and a spacious gallery, all housed in the historic Eno River Mill building. The center shares walls with the 3,000-square-foot Eno Mill Studios, which houses 11 artists and opened in February 2020. The Eno Arts Mill represents a remarkable turnaround during the pandemic and speaks to the cultural vision of the county government and especially to the community-oriented will of Orange County Arts Commission (OCAC) Director Katie Murray. When Katie took the commission directorship five years ago, after running an arts center in Elizabeth City,