NoDa: Gnome man’s land

Posted on 1 May 2008 by Kelli Franklin

If you happen to be in NoDa this Friday for the gallery crawl, you just might be surrounded by gnomes. Each gnome is displayed in various shops and galleries on North Davidson Street. So what’s the hype about these creatures? And where do they come from?

NoDaRioty is hosting their first neighborhood art project: Pimp My Gnome. Twenty-six artists were invited to pimp out clay garden gnomes. After everyone has had the opportunity to see all the gnomes this weekend, these will be put up for live auction on May 14^th at the Neighborhood Theatre. Below is a map displaying the gnome depots; more information can be found at NoDarioty’s website.

Rob Niccolai of Canvas monkey said:

“Gnomes have been said to be the guardian of the earth’s treasures. it just seemed to fit the eclectic style of NoDa.”

Canvas Monkey and Mercury Noda are sponsoring the NoDarioty Art Project.

I’ve overheard people saying that Charlotte is slowly losing bits of its original character. I disagree that Charlotte has lost anything; it’s actually growing like wildfire. Most people just don’t know where to find stuff or haven’t heard by word of mouth. Groups that integrate their projects with the community not only draw more attention but have more long-term potential. The best thing any of these groups can do is keep us excited about living in the Queen City, as well as just having fun!