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Public Sculpture Dedication
An event celebrating Rhythms and Whispers, a new public artwork by Nature Preserves Artist-in-Residence, Scott Hazard, will be held Sept. 14 from 4-5:40pm at Annie Louise Wilkerson, MD Nature Preserve. Learn more about the event
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Artist-in-Residence Program
Hidden Rock #1 is a site-specific sculpture installation by Scott Hazard located at the Visitor’s Center in Annie Louise Wilkerson, MD Nature Preserve Park.
From 2024 through 2026, Scott Hazard has served as the City of Raleigh Artist-in-Residence for Nature Preserves. During the residency, Hazard explored ecologically focused art practices including environmental and land art, environmental stewardship, working with natural materials, and sustainable processes and has created artwork. He led a series of public programs in 2024 and 2025 as part of this work. Working closely with Nature Preserve staff, he integrated art elements across Raleigh’s nature preserves—Annie Louise Wilkerson, MD Nature Preserve Park, Durant Nature Preserve, and Horseshoe Farm Nature Preserve—to enhance the parks’ natural beauty and advance the City’s mission of preserving wild flora and fauna.
Learn more about the Nature Parks, Preserves, and Programs
Rhythm and Whispers Sculpture
Rhythm and Whispers Sculpture Installation at Annie Louise Wilkerson Park
Installed in January 2026, Rhythms and Whispers is nestled into the edge of the meadow at Annie Louise Wilkerson Nature Preserve. Resembling a large scope-like device, the sculpture frames a view of the landscape beyond. Inspired by the bellows of a vintage camera from the 1800s, it consists of 15 weathered steel panels, which have been laser-cut and assembled to form topography that references the meadow where it resides. Panels include text in both Skarù·rę and English, written by local poets, writers, and the artist to reflect what is happening nearby. The front and rear panels include silhouettes of Tridens flavus (Purpletop Grass), an important grass found in prairies and grasslands in the Piedmont. The sculpture touches on themes including human connections to the land and nature, Piedmont prairies and the plants, animals, insects, and organisms that live in them, and the near and distant histories of the North Carolina landscape.
Rhythm and Whispers Sculpture (Up-Close)
Rhythm and Whispers Sculpture by Scott Hazard
Residency Events and Activities
Rendering by Katherine Gottsegen, courtesy of Scott Hazard Studio
As part of the residency, Hazard led several public events.
In November 2024, he hosted a Piedmont grassland and environmental art event. At this free, public event at Durant Nature Preserve, participants learned about the Triangle’s historic grasslands and helped install a mini Piedmont Prairie surrounding one of Hazard's sculptures, designed to create habitat for chimney swifts.
From October to December 2024, the Horseshoe Nature Fame Preserve Farmhouse hosted plants, and birds, and rocks (and things), an exhibition curated by Hazard. It featured works by NC artists Claire Alexandre, Annie Blazejack and Geddes Levenson, Chieko Murasugi, Julia Einstein, Janet Link, Marcus Dunn, Patrizia Ferreira, Pete Sack, and Hazard. The exhibition also included new poetry inspired by Raleigh’s Nature Preserves by Lauren Hunter and Chris Tonelli and was previously presented at Block Gallery.
In September 2026, a sculpture dedication will be held for Rhythms and Whispers, a new sculpture by Hazard, at Annie Louise Wilkerson, MD Nature Preserve Park.
