Beth Palmer is a contemporary mixed media visual artist, educator, and concept designer who lives and works in Durham, NC. 

She is artist in residence, where her studio and gallery are located, at the Truist Bank office building, 1530 N. Gregson in Durham.   Studio visits are by appointment.   Described as “beautiful and provocative”, “lyrical” and “life affirming landscapes of the spirit”, her art combines a balance of whimsy and imagination with the gravitas of life’s highs and lows. 

Her art, in a team effort with community initiatives, has been exhibited on both coasts and is in public and private collections across the US and internationally.  It is equally at home in many settings: living spaces, boardrooms, pre-schools, universities, medical offices, restaurants, and mental health providers’ offices,   

 Healing, connecting, and creating have become her mantra as a professional member of the National Organization for Arts and Health and the National Art Education Association and North Carolina Art Education Association where she is creating new spaces in reimagining where these areas intersect.    

Her current efforts include creative reuse for a purpose, using lovingly collected vintage textiles and ephemera applied on canvas with acrylic paint as museum quality fine art.     In the past decade, she has designed and implemented the Fifty Six Hearts Project and the International Joy of Creativity Project, both of which are still vibrant parts of her body of work.

Her 2022-23 series “The Forty Three Trees Project” continues as a community outreach and engagement program using her tree paintings in many styles, sizes, and materials as the subject matter.   It is designed to be a platform to connect communities through arts, public health (especially nursing), intergenerational collaboration, and sustainability in economic workforce development, especially in North Carolina rural counties.  Using the power of serendipities and fun surprises whenever possible, keeps a sense of lightness and compassion and creativity in difficult times.    

Duke University Master of Arts in Teaching Program, and later Duke TeachHouse, installed a special exhibit of a selection of her Fifty Six Hearts Project to inspire teaching through the arts,  She has made keynote addresses on the value of arts and mindfulness in recovering one’s vitality in the midst of illness.   Creating the concept design and facilitating the partnerships  for “A Concerted Effort”, a 2014 music and medicine symposium hosted by the Durham Medical Orchestra, Duke Health, Durham Arts Council, and Durham Public Schools has led to many new opportunities which she hopes can inspire others.     

Advising and partnering with healthcare research scientists, program leaders and educators, and especially supporting them in their challenging work, with her gratitude and childlike wonder, is a constant strong commitment and value.  

Program directors and community leaders share that they appreciate having her art in their homes as inspiration and encouragement.   

Currently, Beth is an Arts snd Health advisor for for Bull City Summit.   www.bullcitysummit.com