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120 Morris St. Downtown Durham

Explore  DAC

The Durham Arts Council building features 4 galleries, 2 theatres with support spaces, outdoor terraces and gardens, meeting rooms, rehearsal spaces and studios for digital arts, dance, photography, clay, fiber arts, visual arts and children’s art, and the offices of 9 arts organizations.

Young children dressed in cultural costumes raise arms during stage performance
Explore DAC

The DAC building is a City-owned facility that has been managed and programmed by the Durham Arts Council since 1978. This is the oldest building in continuous public service in Durham; built in 1906 as the original high school for Durham, it then served as City Hall from 1926 – 1977. Durham Arts Council enlivened the building with the arts in 1978 and launched a major capital campaign in partnership with the City, County, State and private donors to renovate the building, creating a professional, first-class arts center which was completed in 1988. The Durham Arts Council building is the home for the arts in downtown Durham, serving nearly 400,000 visitors and hosting over 5,000 arts and community events, classes, meetings and celebrations each year. Open seven days a week, the DAC provides a venue and support for the entire community and Durham arts organizations to explore, experience, create and celebrate the arts. The Durham Arts Council is a 501(c)3 not for profit organization and manages and programs the DAC Building through a management contract with the City of Durham. DAC is grateful for the strong support of the City of Durham and carefully stewards this important facility.

This 52,000 square foot building is a pivotal structure in the Downtown Durham Historic District as designated by the National Register of Historic Places and has served Durham well, from education, to public service, to the arts. This is the only arts facility of its kind today in the Triangle region and it is a treasure for Durham, serving as a premier multi-arts venue for artists, arts organizations and community groups, and as a creative home where the artistic expressions of a diverse community are shared and showcased.

Outside view of DAC building taken from Morris Street

Facility + Rentals

DAC supports artists by providing space to create and to exhibit their work, rehearse and perform their pieces, and develop their infrastructure with office space. DAC also supports our community by renting spaces within the building for meetings, events, weddings, and more.

Latest Arts News

Find an Artist or Organization

A project of the Durham Arts Council, the Durham Arts Network is a one-stop directory to find Artists, Creatives, Arts Organizations, Arts Businesses and Arts Services.

Woman laughs while holding cello outside in sunshine