NC Blues, Gospel and R&B Musicians

Photographs by Titus Brooks Heagins

The North Carolina Folklife Institute is proud to announce its newest photography exhibit, NC Blues, Gospel and R&B Musicians: Photographs by Titus Brooks Heagins. This exuberant collection of images, shot throughout Eastern North Carolina, celebrates music making, and music’s community roots running deep into NC soil. NC Blues, Gospel and R&B Musicians captures the passion and pride that imbue the work of contemporary North Carolina musicians, and these images record the ways in which folk practices, deeply rooted in tradition, have been adapted to modern life.

Mr. Heagins’ work for the African American Music Trails of Eastern North Carolina project, sponsored by the North Carolina Arts Council, celebrates the places and musicians that have defined communities in Eastern North Carolina for generations. From the Shad Festival in Grifton to the Gospel Festival in Rocky Mount, Mr. Heagins’ photographs capture the power of music in our state. The ten photographs are available for installation with support from the North Carolina Folklife Institute.

Mr. Heagins holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Duke University and a master’s degree in photography from the University of Michigan. He has exhibited his work nationally and internationally. He has been the recipient of several fellowships and awards, and his work appears in many institutions, including the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum of African American Art and the North Carolina Museum of Art. Mr. Heagins is represented by the Arnika Dawkins Gallery in Atlanta.

The North Carolina Folklife Institute is a statewide organization that promotes the preservation, appreciation and understanding of traditional arts and cultures in NC. Folklife is the knowledge that creates and sustains community. More information about the exhibit, and the Institute’s other work across the state, is available at www.ncfolk.org. NC Folk will bring this traveling exhibit to interested communities, as well as work with local groups to create programming that connects the content to local issues of music and environment. Please contact staff@ncfolk.org or call Evan Hatch at NC Folk, 919.383.6040 if you would like to bring this exhibit to your community!