World-Class Art Brought to Life by Local Hands

New sculpture unveiled at NC Museum of Art.

NCMA is inviting you to take a seat. Unveiling June 2 in the Museum Park, Please Be Seated – North Carolina isn’t just meant to be admired—it invites visitors to lounge atop, wander beneath and gather around a wave-like structure curving through an ellipse of sidewalks and green space.

The exhibition—made up primarily of stainless-steel tubing and wood-like recycled material, and built to be a permanent part of the park—is the vision of internationally renowned public artist Paul Cocksedge. But while it was Cocksedge’s original design, the piece itself was brought to fruition by a team of local talent—because, he says, anything else would feel “a bit weird.”

“I felt like it would be good to work with someone close by instead of speaking to someone thousands of kilometers away from the site and then flying them in,” the London-based artist tells RM in a sit-down interview. Upon discovering local firm REdesign.build as general contractor, “the stars aligned,” he says. 

It was the REdesign.build founder, designer and general contractor’s wide range of expertise that appealed to the artist. “I have a philosophy of saying yes to these things,” muses Will Alphin. “So I did.” 

Though he works worldwide, Cocksedge “designed Please Be Seated specifically for our state [art] museum—and relied entirely on a local team,” Alphin tells RM. “Luckily we have a lot of talent here in the Triangle.”

REdesign.build teamed up with McConnell Studios and Fred Construction Company to help with artwork fabrication, construction and other heavy lifting. 

Building Please Be Seated – North Carolina meant far more than simply dropping in a sculpture. “The form of the piece lent itself as a way of guiding people down the hill, over the bridge and into the museum,” says Cocksedge. “It’s all about motion, in a way.”

The sloping installation required landscaping, grading, sidewalks and concrete pedestals for the artwork to rest on, all while translating Cocksedge’s conceptual design into something structurally buildable—and interactive.

“A lot of the outdoor exhibits are very much about visitor interaction and social connection between people and public spaces,” maintains NCMA Chief Curator & Senior Curator of Contemporary Art Linda Dougherty, noting the park is constantly rethinking how people interact with both the art and each other.

The interior and exterior museum spaces have very different audiences, and art that encourages engagement caters to both. “I would say easily half of the park visitors are not necessarily coming to look at art,” Dougherty mentions. “They’re there to walk their dog, ride their bike or bring their kids to play. When we think about outdoor art, we think about that change.”  

The striking exhibition caters exactly to that: interactive and accessible, it’s art as a part of everyday life. “The final ingredient was that people needed to be there in and around it, and then it really makes sense,” notes Cocksedge. And although it’s toting international prestige, Please Be Seated – North Carolina was brought to life by the hands of Raleigh.