By Jamie Strickland
For Mandy McNulty, art has never been something separate from life. While she was raising four children, providing childcare for others, working in community service roles or volunteering, she always found ways to weave it into everything she did.
Through Artmosphere Community Arts Center, McNulty has now created a gathering place where art, music, nature and connection come together to create community.
Her ability to use the arts as a vehicle for building community is what makes McNulty JNOW Magazine’s 2026 Excellence in Arts honoree.
A Virginia native, McNulty earned her bachelor of fine arts degree from Virginia Commonwealth University before spending years working in community-focused roles and participating in local arts organizations.
When her husband’s job relocated the family to North Carolina in 2013, McNulty began searching for a local arts center where she could plug in. She never found quite what she was looking for, so she decided to build one herself.
“It took me about four years of searching to find something that worked…but as soon as I saw the house, and I’d been stalking it because it’s about a mile and a half from my house, I was just like, oh, this is so cool,” she said.
The owner of the property was having a yard sale, which gave McNulty a chance to scope it out up close.
“I overheard her during the yard sale. She said she was going to sell it, so I went up to her. I was doing face painting as a side business, so I gave her my face painting card, and I said, ‘I’ve been looking for a place, please call me.”’
“Well she didn’t call me, but I saw the real estate sign go up in the yard shortly after that, like a month or so after,” she said. “I couldn’t get there fast enough. I went and saw it, and I was like, this is perfect.”
The property checked every box. It offered indoor space for classes and galleries, outdoor areas for gardens and events and the character of a historic home.
“It was just everything I was looking for. It was just perfect, so I just went for it. By the end of the week, we were under contract,” she said.
Artmosphere Community Arts Center officially opened in November 2018 on Raleigh Road outside of Clayton in the Cleveland community.
The center operates out of the Walter R. and Eliza Smith Moore House, one of the oldest homes in Johnston County, dating back to 1835. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its architecture and elaborate craftsmanship. The home was renovated in 1989 but retains some of its original woodwork and floors.
Today, visitors can find art classes for all ages, summer camps, gallery exhibitions, studio spaces, pottery and clay programs, music instruction, artisan vendors and community events throughout the year.
The center’s clay studio, added several years after opening, has become one of its growing areas of focus. Artmosphere also provides space for working artists and creative businesses such as a tattoo studio upstairs, creating an environment where artists can collaborate.
Twice each year, Artmosphere hosts large outdoor arts and music festivals. The spring event featured jazz, while the fall Bluegrass & Arts Festival is scheduled for Sept. 19.
The center recently launched its first Clay Fest and continues to explore new ways to bring people together through creative experiences.
But while art serves as the foundation, McNulty says community has always been at the heart of the mission.
“The name is pretty long — Artmosphere Community Arts Center — but the community had to be in there,” she said. “That was an absolute requirement.”
McNulty said one of the most rewarding aspects of the center’s growth has been hearing visitors describe it as a welcoming place where they feel comfortable and connected.
Over the years, Artmosphere has become exactly what she hoped it would be — a place where people from different backgrounds can gather around shared interests and creativity.
“We are open to everyone,” she said. “As long as people are here in a positive way…the only thing we don’t do is negative.”
That commitment to inclusion guides everything from gallery selections to public programming. McNulty wants every visitor to feel welcomed and valued.
She believes that environment is a major reason the center has grown.
“It’s like a beacon,” she said. “People are pulled into it, and then they feel comfortable and welcome, and then they want to grow it more. I wanted to facilitate the space, put my own touches on it and then let it grow on its own.”
One of McNulty’s newest passions is Plantmosphere, a nonprofit organization connected to Artmosphere’s grounds. The organization’s mission is to “provide a place for the community to experience, learn and interact in nature by beautifying the grounds of Artmosphere Community Arts Center.”
Plantmosphere hosts monthly Sunday Funday events where families can learn about gardening and nature free of charge. Current projects include a new greenhouse, accessible raised garden beds designed for people of all abilities and a planned labyrinth.
Looking ahead, McNulty hopes to continue improving the historic property while expanding opportunities for community engagement. Plans include fundraising for building preservation projects and a permanent outdoor performance stage that could support concerts, plays, dance performances and other events.
One major fundraiser is already on the calendar. Artmosphere’s Gala event is scheduled for Oct. 17 and will help support future improvements to the property.
Nearly eight years after opening its doors, Artmosphere continues to evolve, but the mission remains unchanged — to bring the community together through a shared love of the arts.
What began as one artist’s search for a place to belong has become a destination where many throughout Johnston County have found connection, inspiration and community.
