Fried Fruit: A Window into Wilmington's Experimental Art Scene

Located in Wilmington’s Cargo District, nestled among small but growing businesses on Queen Street, is a retired cargo container that houses one of the city’s most distinctive creative venues. The Fried Fruit Art Space, founded in 2021 by Assistant Professor Madison Creech of UNC Wilmington’s Department of Art and Art History, serves as a bridge between the university and the local arts community while offering students hands-on experience in curating, exhibiting and promoting contemporary work. 

Occupying a mere 150 square feet, the space is accessible 24/7 to all who walk past thanks to its all-glass wall that allows for constant viewing. The work showcased inside is unpredictable, conceptual, experimental and immersive. It differs from traditional venues elsewhere in Wilmington, which Creech says is intentional. 

“I think what was missing was contemporary experimental art. We saw this missing space for art that is installation based, a space for artists who are emerging or wanting to try something different and stretch themselves. I feel like it’s an accessible space for experimental art in the Carolinas,” said Creech.

Fried Fruit focuses on principles of conceptual art, or art driven by ideas, process and meaning rather than traditional materials or aesthetics.  

“It’s less about the art being tangible and beautiful to hang in your house and more about what the artwork makes you think about,” said Creech. 

The gallery’s distinctive name traces back to Creech’s earlier collaborative project in DeLand, Fla., where she transformed the window of a working mechanic shop into an outdoor exhibit during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing one of the few active exhibitions for the public to view at the time. The term “fruit” was inspired by the citrus orchard on the Florida property Creech rented, while “fried” is a nod to Will Fryar, the first person in Wilmington to allow Creech to use his studio for an art exhibition. 

Unlike the traditional white walls of a museum gallery, the cargo container’s metal shell can be changed to fit each artist’s vision. The space has seen installations that invite interaction, even encouraging visitors to move or reconfigure elements within the space in some cases.  

With the glass window, people can also sit and watch artists work. There is no entry fee, and the space is technically never closed. 

“This space allows more of an intimate understanding of interaction and an understanding of what the work is,” said Creech. “When people are viewing the work and they're allowed to go inside when the doors are open, it becomes sort of that fishbowl experience. You're seeing the scale of the work because the artist is standing right there. It triggers a different experience.” 

The sense of transparency extends to the creative process as well. 

“Those windows are still there when artists are installing, so sometimes people just stop and watch,” said Creech. “I remember the first exhibition was by an artist [Meris Drew] who did a charcoal drawing over a couple days, directly on the wall, and people just sat there and watched her draw. That was cool.”  

Fried Fruit doubles as a teaching tool for Creech’s students, who participate in every step of the process, from artist research and gallery curation to promotion and poster design. Internships with the space provide students a truly applied learning experience. 

One recent addition is the senior exhibition, which gives one select graduating senior the opportunity to curate their own show at the space. Last January, Art and Art History student Mahal Gutierrez ’25 presented a large-scale painting installation in the container. 

Fried Fruit regularly features artists from across the country, but its next exhibition will be by Art and Art History Department Chair Andi Steele, who will collaborate with Louise Radochonski. The project will tie in Radochonski’s large drawings with Steele’s sculpture work. Steele said preparing for the show has offered a fresh challenge. 

“Collaborating is a new experience for me,” said Steele. “If I were to do it on my own it would be totally different, and that has been really exciting. It is pushing me, which is exactly what the space is supposed to do. It is pushing me to do something that I haven’t done before.” 

Steele and Radochonski’s show opens Saturday, Oct. 25 and runs through Nov. 21. There is also an artist panel scheduled for 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23 at the UNCW Cultural Arts Building. Another Fried Fruit Art Space staple, the artist panels are open to the community and provide yet another opportunity for students to learn while immersing themselves in the Wilmington art scene.