DON & CATHARINE BRYAN
CULTURAL SERIES
Inspire, Educate and Challenge
Not Even Past: An Exhibition
Exhibition Details
Dates: October 1–31, 2025
Location: College of the Albemarle’s Professional Arts Gallery, 205 Highway 64 South, Manteo, NC
Opening Reception: October 1, 2025, from 4–6 p.m.
Includes a live spoken word performance during the first hour.
Overview
“Not Even Past” is a collaborative multimedia, interactive performance installation and art exhibition created by North Carolina artists Lynne Scott Constantine and Suzanne Scott Constantine. The project is an artistic reckoning with history’s persistence in the present. The work explores how fragmented and suppressed stories assert their presence and vitality, turning the past into a contested space that holds the potential for greater understanding. The artists aim to engage the discomfort many feel when they recognize that American history is far more complex than what is presented in textbooks.
The exhibition was supported in part by a 2023 Artists’ Support Grant from the North Carolina Arts Council.
About the Artists
-
Lynne Scott Constantine uses art to unravel hidden histories and mysteries of the imagination. With a background in theater, photography, and writing, her work incorporates digital media, mixed media, text, and performance. She previously served as an Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Arts at George Mason University.
-
Suzanne Scott Constantine creates art as a practice of “radical hope”. A mixed media, installation, and performance artist, her work explores the concerns of those on the margins of society and addresses the threads that bind us to each other. She was previously a Professor of Integrative Studies and Director of Women and Gender Studies at George Mason University.
Components of the Exhibition
-
Wall Art: The exhibition features 16 wall works—eight by each artist—accompanied by narrative text. Lynne’s work uses photomontage to explore how seemingly unconnected historical experiences are in fact deeply connected. Suzanne’s mixed-media works focus on her lived experiences, including interactions with the Black women in her life and the myths of the “genteel South”.
-
Interactive Installation: The “Communities of Memory” installation invites visitors to write responses to questions on decorated manila tags. These tags are then hung on an artwork, and when the show concludes, they will be compiled into a digital record.
-
Performance Poetry: A 12-minute performance poem called “Palimpsest” will be presented live during the opening reception. It can also be presented as a video artwork during the exhibition’s duration.
Live in Concert: Joseph Decosimo, Luke Richardson, and Cleek Schrey
Free Event
October 10th, 2025 - 7PM
Outer Banks Brewing Station, Kill Devil Hills
Joseph Decosimo, Luke Richardson, and Cleek Schrey, three of the most compelling musicians in the American traditional music scene, explore traditional repertoires from Appalachia and the broader South, gleaned from visits with older players, field recordings, vintage 78s, and archival tune collections.
The members of the trio are veteran performers in the Old-time scene, where they’ve worked with renowned string bands The Bucking Mules and Bigfoot. Beehive Cathedral draws on the group’s experiences making music together at Southern fiddlers’ conventions, in the back of NYC pubs, on stages, and in their homes. It also sources energy from their broader musical lives, including Schrey’s participation in NYC’s experimental sound community and Decosimo’s collaborations with Durham, NC projects Wye Oak, Hiss Golden Messenger, and Jake Xerxes Fussell.
ABOUT THE SERIES
The Don & Catharine Bryan Cultural Series brings important cultural events to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Our events often involve bringing our performers, our artists together with local students to expand arts education in our area. Other things you should know about the Series:
YOUR SUPPORT
We rely on public support to keep our events coming to the area, to keep our ticket prices low and to maintain our deep engagement with local students. You can donate to the series online.
OUR PARTNERS
We partner with many local nonprofits including the Dare County Arts Council, the Outer Banks forum for the Lively Arts and the Dare County Youth Orchestra among others
OUR BOARD
We are an all volunteer organization, formed in 2012. You can meet our board, read about our finances and other boring stuff here.
