The Chatham Arts Council is investing in artists through our Meet This Artist series, introducing you to 12 Chatham County artists each year in a big way. The fine folks at Hobbs Architects in downtown Pittsboro are powering our Meet This Artist series this year. Architecture is art, and the Hobbs crew values art in our community. So, take a look. Meet your very inspiring neighbors.For Chatham artist and storyteller Nina Scott, creativity is both a calling and a lifeline.
For Chatham artist and storyteller Nina Scott, creativity is both a calling and a lifeline. From early childhood classes at the Carrboro ArtsCenter to oil painting and digital design at UNC-Chapel Hill, Nina has spent a lifetime weaving art into every corner of her world. With a B.A. in Journalism and Media and a self-taught sensibility rooted in community care, her work blends visual art, storytelling, and research into a rich exploration of identity, ecology, and connection. Nina was recently awarded with a grant from our Arts + Equity initiative. Her project aims to uplift rural Black queer voices in the South—merging oral history, portraiture, and ancestral plant knowledge into an expansive, healing creative practice.
At what point growing up did you realize you were an artist?
As soon as I could hold crayons!
I started going to the Carrboro ArtsCenter when I was around five years old. As soon as I was introduced to the arts, I was immersed in it because of the artist community. I would go to the library on my own time, read art books, and watch YouTube videos on how to draw. From the beginning, I understood that being an artist was a part of my identity, and I’ve never questioned it since.
Only more recently has it become something that I need to incorporate into my daily life. It is like eating, sleeping, and breathing to me. Creativity is something I need to stay healthy—to stay connected with other people.
I don’t view being creative as a career or as a type of person, but as a way of living.
Did you go on to study art as an adult?
I took enough classes at UNC to be a studio art minor, but by the time I got there, I had advanced enough to the point where it was more an opportunity for practice. I’ve thought about pursuing an MFA in the future.
What is your favorite medium to work with?
Yeah, my favorite medium for traditional artwork is definitely oil painting. I love the way oils blend together—their transparencies and the way you can layer them. Unfortunately, I’m kind of an acrylic paint hater. I just can’t stand to use it. It dries way too fast.
Oils allow me to sit and think about the work. I can build it up as the idea is forming. I can also look back three days later, smear it, and start all over again.
I took an oil painting class at UNC under local artist Renzo Ortega. I was so grateful because it is a pretty big learning curve, but once I got it, I could never go back.
I also draw digitally because it’s more accessible. The thing about painting is that you can’t really do it everywhere. You have to have a studio. Growing up, the most accessible thing was my computer and an iPad. So for that reason, I often draw using the Procreate app.
Let’s talk about subjects. What lights you up? What do you like to capture with your art?
I’ve been really drawn to eco-feminism as a concept. I’ve been fascinated with all the ways the Earth can heal us and teach us. I’ve been researching African American folklore and history regarding herbs and plants of the South.
My latest piece was about indigo, a cash crop that was deeply tied to Black history in North and South Carolina. I’ve been learning about different herbs and roots that have a story to tell about what it means to be a Black American.
Does this knowledge come from books or from people in your community?
It’s been a mixture of both. For instance, learning stories like Frederick Douglass’ account of meeting a spiritual leader who gave him a root that helped him fight back against his oppressors.
So there’s that historical lens that I’m really interested in, but also local stories—people telling me something as simple as their favorite flower. I ask, “Why do you like that flower? Why does it speak to you?”
On a personal level, I also have a mood disorder that has been kind of difficult to pin down. I’ve tried traditional medication, but there are no cures for many mental and physical conditions. I’ve become a little disillusioned with the way modern medicine treats the body and mind.
I started asking, “Well, what did my ancestors use? What did Indigenous folks use to treat these sorts of things?” They knew a lot about the Earth and its remedies. I sometimes dive deep into scientific research papers on herbs and plants.
I think more people are starting to open up their minds to herbs. Herbalism has often been written off as woo-woo or spiritual, but even that carries some anti-Black, anti-Indigenous, and anti-woman sentiments.
There’s a balance. I’m definitely not anti-science.
No, no, I don’t get that vibe from you.
I think there’s a way to co-create—with wisdom, with history, with intuition—and also with reason, with what’s peer-reviewed and scientific. There’s a way to use both. It can be “and,” not just “or.” It doesn’t have to be binary like that.
That idea also shapes how I think about my artwork and how I think about life. It doesn’t have to be binary.
This concept ties into your Arts + Equity project as well.
Yes. Along with the Chatham Arts Council, I’ve partnered with the Embodied podcast for WUNC Radio. I’ve been conducting interviews with Black lesbians in the South. That episode will drop sometime during Pride Month this year. I’m so excited for that to come out.
It’s been amazing to focus on more rural stories—talking about gender, sexuality, and race in an environment that’s not metropolitan. I feel like a lot of times these stories are left out.
I think it’s just really delectable. I love learning how different queer people came of age—especially if they were, say, working on a farm or something like that—instead of the typical story.
As opposed to going to college or moving to a city and finding yourself?
Yeah, that’s typically the story. And even for rural folks, that’s often what it is. But then you hear the stories of people returning to their hometowns, choosing to stay in solidarity with their country roots instead of abandoning everything they were raised in.
Honestly, it’s very full circle.
The person who accepted me into the arts program in Carrboro back then and provided the scholarship was a Black Southern lesbian. She was raised in a rural environment and was dedicated to providing arts education to Black folks in small towns—and to Black children in particular.
Now I’m interviewing her almost 20 years later—getting her story of being queer and of her Southern heritage. She didn’t move to a big, fancy city to be in a typical queer environment. She stayed in North Carolina and gave back to the community.
I’m really hoping that this project can lead me to more stories like that—the kind that strengthen the bond of Black folks in the South.
It’s so important, especially for young people, to know they’re not alone out here.
I think growing up Black and then realizing I was a lesbian as well was really difficult, because it felt like no one had ever been Black and lesbian before. I felt like I was one out of a bazillion.
Eventually, you meet people and realize you’re not alone—and that is really powerful.
I think the stories being left out of the queer canon are doing a disservice to the complexity that is queerness and Blackness. There’s no one way to be queer. There’s no one way to be Black. And there’s no one way to be Southern either.
I’m interested in the intersection of those identities and in putting us on the map. “We exist. We are here.” And there’s so much beauty in that.
So, there are aspirations of an MFA in your future. There’s a podcast coming out to look forward to. Is there anything else we should know about?
Yes. Right now I’m working with “Sistories”, a North Carolina–based Black feminist magazine. I’m writing a piece for them that will be coming out in August. People can order the issue and read it online, and I believe there will be a magazine drop event, too.
I’m also painting the cover of that magazine, which is really, really exciting. It’s all Black women and gender nonconforming identities contributing to the work. I think it’s just amazing. People should definitely check it out.
And yes, I’m thinking of grad school in my future. I graduated from UNC last year, so I’m quite fresh out of college.
My goal is to make the arts accessible in the South. That’s my North Star—and why I want to go to grad school. I want to make Black art history and gender-diverse narratives really accessible to the South, especially for youth.
I know what I didn’t get growing up. I also know what I did get—and I know how deeply that impacted me. I’d like to continue that tradition by giving back.
To keep up with Nina’s creative and design work, check out her website.
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