Durham County Library Announces “Wings of a Migrant Butterfly” Display

Durham, NC — Durham County Library is pleased to announce the display of artist Cornelio Campos’ mural “Wings of a Migrant Butterfly” in the North Carolina Collection at Main Library. Participating students in the community outreach project “Two-Way Bridges: Connecting Duke, Durham, and the Americas” assisted with painting this mural, designed by Campos. With funding from the Mellon Foundation through the Office of the Provost at Duke University, “Two-Way Bridges” connected three Duke undergraduate classes with undocumented Latino public school students in a class called “Building Creative Communities.”

“The North Carolina Collection is proud to preserve this unique work of art for the future,” says Lauren Menges, archivist and Head of the North Carolina Collection. “This project began a number of years ago and we are excited to see it through to completion and finally have the mural on display for the public to enjoy.”

“Wings of a Migrant Butterfly” represents the artist’s creative work on the theme of borders and migration. The work centers the intermingling of influences that happens when we construct new bridges and cross old divides. Building bridges in two directions emphasizes the interconnected sides of the border and the exchange between the Durham community and the Duke University campus. In addition to Cornelio Campos, leaders of the “Two-Way Bridges” project included Bethzaida Fernández, Miguel Rojas-Sotelo, Charlie D. Thompson, and Jenny Snead-Williams. Mauricio Andrada provided artistic support.

The North Carolina Collection offers a wealth of materials related to the history of Durham. Featuring extensive archival collections in a variety of media, the North Carolina Collection also produces digital exhibits. The North Carolina Collection is open to the public and is located on the third floor of Main Library.

Durham County Library encourages discovery, connects the community, and leads in literacy. As a department of Durham County Government, the library furthers Goal 1 of the county’s Strategic Plan by enhancing cultural, educational, and creative opportunities. For more information about the library, visit DurhamCountyLibrary.org.