About me
Zaire McPhearson is a multimedia artist, curator, and educator from Charlotte, NC, whose work spans sculpture, graphic design, textile quilts, photography, and oil painting. She considers her practice a love letter to Black womanhood, centering themes of spirituality, Black resistance, family heritage, and Black culture. Through an interdisciplinary approach, McPhearson’s work reclaims narratives, honors ancestral histories, and reimagines the ways Black identity is represented in contemporary art.
In addition to her artistic practice, McPhearson is a college professor with extensive experience teaching courses in graphic design and visual storytelling. She has also worked as a curator, organizing exhibitions that highlight artists and narratives that are often overlooked in mainstream art spaces.
McPhearson has participated in artist residencies, where she has further developed her research-driven approach to artmaking, exploring new techniques and expanding the dialogue around Black identity in visual culture. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, with a growing presence in galleries and cultural institutions that celebrate the depth and diversity of Black experiences.
Whether through textile-based storytelling, experimental photography, or bold graphic compositions, McPhearson’s work serves as a powerful exploration of identity, history, and the sacred resilience of Black communities.
CV
EDUCATION
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
Master of Fine Art in Documentary and Experimental Arts
May 2020
South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, South Carolina
Bachelor of Arts, Digital Media
May 2018
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022 For Colored Girl – BLACK BRIGHT, Durham, NC
2022 A Fall From Grace – Hampton Friends of the Arts, Hampton, SC
2022 A Fall From Grace – Central Piedmont Community College, Charlotte, NC
2021 A Fall From Grace – Rubenstein Arts Center, Durham, NC
2021 Hood Disciples – Broadhead Center Gallery, Durham, NC
2019 Mary did you know? – Brown Gallery, Durham NC
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024. Homeland – The N.C Zeitgeist Foundation, Transatlantic Exhibition of the South, McColl Center, Charlotte, NC
Goodyear Arts Spring Residency Showcase – Goodyear Arts, Charlotte, NC
P.S. 610:With Highest Honors, – York County Arts, Rock Hill, SC
2023 Encounters– The N.C Zeitgeist Foundation, Transatlantic Exhibition of the South, Schloss Plüschow, Plüschow, Germany
2023 Encounters –The N.C Zeitgeist Foundation, Transatlantic Exhibition of the SouthNovilla, Int. Center for Arts, Creativity and Exchange, Berlin, Germany
2023 A Specific Sheen, Charlotte Art League, Charlotte, NC February 2023
2022 Wake Forest University Faculty Show – Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, NC
2022 Homeland – The N.C Zeitgeist Foundation, Transatlantic Exhibition of the South, Charlotte NC
2022 Homeland, The N.C Zeitgeist Foundation, Transatlantic Exhibition of the South, Charleston, SC
2022 Alumni Exhibition– FAB Gallery, Orangeburg, SC
2022 Prototype –Popbox Art Gallery, Raleigh, NC
2022 Honey Coated – Melanin Bloom, VAE Self Portraiture, Raleigh, NC
2022 Portrait Mode – Hood Disciples, Popbox Art Gallery, Raleigh, NC
2021 Pass Me Not – Click! Photography Festival, Durham, NC
2020 Big Backyard – Supergraphic Warehouse, Durham NC
2020 Here & Now Work from the MFA|EDA Class of 2020 – PowerPlant Gallery, Durham, NC
2019 Telling Realism – Power Plant Gallery, Durham, NC
2018 Fieldwork –Duke University Sculpture Studio, Durham, NC
2018 B.A Senior Thesis Exhibition – An Identity Enslaved: Past and Present, FAB Gallery, Orangeburg, SC
2017 Let Freedom Ring – Solar Eclipse, I.P Stanback Museum and Planetarium, Orangeburg, SC
JURIED EXHIBITIONS
2021 Ebony – Durham Arts Guild SunTrust Art Gallery, Durham, NC
2021 Hood Disciples – SouthEnd ARTS, Charlotte NC
2021 Essence & Diamond – MOJA Arts Festival 2021, City Gallery at Waterfront Park, Charleston, SC
2021 Church Mothers – ArtFields, Lake City, SC
2020 A Seat at the Table – 311 Gallery, Durham NC
2019 Eclipse – ArtFields, Lake City, SC
2018 The Innocent Pieta – ArtsField, Lake City, SC
2017 Iya Iseda – MOJA Arts Festival 2017, City Gallery at Waterfront Park, Charleston, SC
2017 Let Freedom Ring – Solar Eclipse, I.P Stanback Museum and Planetarium, Orangeburg, SC
CURATED EXHIBITIONS
2022 Unveil – SouthEnd ARTS/West Charlotte High School, Charlotte NC
2022 No Boundaries – SouthEnd ARTS/ Central Community College, Charlotte NC
2022 Botched – SouthEnd ARTS/ Central Community College, Charlotte NC
2022 Outer Limits – SouthEnd ARTS/ Central Community College, Charlotte NC
2022 Defined Identity – Duke University, Durham NC
2022 Limitations – Duke University, Durham NC
PERFORMANCES
2023 Visual Support for Caritas’ Acapella’s Performance of the Last Seven Words of the Unarmed
AWARDS/RESIDENCIES
2025 ArtPop Street Gallery Artist
2024 Goodyear Arts Residency
2023 The N.C Zeitgeist Foundation, Transatlantic Exhibition of the South
Traveling ExhibitionPlaces traveled to in Germany: Schloss Plüschow and Berlin
2021 Immersive Van Goh Residency
2020 Working Towards Racial Justice
ARTIST TALKS & LECUTRES
2022 Artist Talk —Sacraments of Baptism, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, NC
2022 Artist Talk —A Fall From Grace, Hampton Friends of the Arts, Hampton, SC
2022 Invited Talk—Contemporary Portraiture, Popbox Gallery and Durham Arts Guild Durham, NC
2022 Artist Talk —A Fall From Grace, Central Piedmont Community College, Charlotte, NC
2022 Artist Talk —A Fall From Grace, Liberal Studies Program, Duke University, Durham, NC
2023 Artist Talk —Family Ties, Liberal Studies Program, Duke University, Durham, NC
2023 Artist Talk —Family Tree, Liberal Studies Program, Duke University, Durham, NC
2021 Artist Talk — A Fall From Grace, Liberal Studies Program, Duke University, Durham, NC
2021 Guest Respondent— MFA|EDA Critique, Duke University,Durham, NC
2021 Lecture— National Women’s Museums: Summer Educators Institute: Exploring History Past, Present, and Future through Art
2021 Invited Talk—duARTS Arts Fest: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Panel Discussion,Durham, NC
2021 Guest Respondent—The I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium: On Being a Citizen Museum and Public Education, Orangrburg,SC
2021 Just Space Week—Black Art as Resistance: Downtown Durham’s Public Art Following the Murder of George Floyd in the Summer of 2020, hosted by Duke’s Division of Student Affairs
2020 Guest Respondent—Advanced Visual Practice Critique, Duke University, Durham NC
2020 Featured Article—The Hundred- Seven: Featured in 20 Top HBCU Art Programs
2020 Artist Talk—A Fall From Grace, Duke Arts
2020 Guest Respondent—MFA|EDA Critique, Duke University
2020 Artist Talk—Cultural Metamorphosis, DOCST 101
2019 Artist Talk— Cultural Metamorphosis Reimagined, Studio Duke
PUBLICATION HISTORY
2021 Featured Article—Queen City Nerve: “On the Gogh Local Artist Build off each other in Van Gogh residency program”, August 2021
2021 Featured Article—New Art Examiner: Telling Their Stories “Artfields”. June 2021
2021 Interview—Working@Duke; Working Towards Racial Justice. January 2021
2020 Interview—“Stunning work of Racial Justice Art Submitted for Duke University Contest”. December 2020
2020 Featured Article—“Desire for Change Drive Professor Zaire McPhearson’s Work in Racial Justice Art Contest”. November 2020
2020 Interview—"Desire for Change Drives Racial Justice Art Contest Winner”. November 2020
2020 Featured Article—"The Hundred- Seven: Featured in 20 Top HBCU Art Programs” October 2020
2020 Interview— A Fall From Grace MFA|EDA ’20 A Fall From Grace. April 2020
2020 Guest Respondent—MFA|EDA Critique, Duke University. September 2020
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated
Kappa Pi International Art Honor Society
Sigma Alpha Pi - National Society of Leadership and Success