ACKLAND ART MUSEUM: UNC campus. South Columbia and East Franklin streets. Through March 18: "The Spectacular of Vernacular." Opening March 9, "Chords of Memory: Lithographs by Thomas Hart Benton." Opening March 30, "Thornton Dial: Thoughts on Paper," and "Piece by Piece: Quilts, Collages, and Constructions." 966-5736, ackland.org

ARTSCENTER: 300-G E. Main St., Carrboro. Opening March 9, East End Gallery, "Gypsy Witch" Craft Shop," Buffy Maske, Goeff Henshall, Andrea lacobucci and River Takada-Capel. Center Gallery, "Dream Acts: The Abbey Court Community Project." 929-2787. artscenterlive.org

CAFFE DRIADE: 1215 E. Franklin St., Chapel Hill. Through March: "Visual Activist," Franco. 942-2333. caffedriade.com

CARRBORO BRANCH LIBRARY: 900 Old Fayetteville Road. Through March 27: "In the Spirit," Sheldon Becker and David Otto. 969-3006.

ENO GALLERY: 100 S. Churton St., Hillsborough. Through April 22: "Totems and Talismans." 919-883-1415, enogallery.net

FOCAL POINT GALLERY: 1215 E. Franklin St. Through March 31: "Meaningful Intentions," paintings by Olga Wagner. Reception 6-9 p.m. March 9. Virginia Meldahl will hold events for children including a puppet show and craft project at 2 p.m. March 10 and 24. 919-636-4557, ChapelHillFocalPoint.com

FRAMER'S CORNER: 210 W. Main St., Carrboro. Through April 28: "Museum Moments," photographs by John Rosenthal. 929-3166. www.theframerscorner.com.

FRAMER'S MARKET AND GALLERY: 1728 Fordham Blvd. Through March 15: "The Art Zone Group Collage Exhibit," Duke University Continuing Education program. Reception March 8, 4-7 p.m. 929-7137.

FRANK: 109 E. Franklin St. Through April 6: "Community Building: Stories Through Murals." Gallery talk, 6:30 p.m. March 8. Opening reception 6-9 p.m. March 9, for "2^nd annual member spotlight exhibit," 22 Frank artists. Through May 6. 919-636-4135, frankisart.com

HILLSBOROUGH ARTS COUNCIL GALLERY: 220--B S. Churton St. Through March 10, "Personally Yours: Portraits and Cottagescapes," by Dorothy Whitmore. Opening March 14, "Downtown Arts and Crafts Show Preview." 643-2500. www.hillsboroughartscouncil.org

HORACE WILLIAMS HOUSE: 610 E. Rosemary St. Through March 25: "UNC and Other Paintings," Vieni Pawloski. 919-942-7818, www.chapelhillpreservation.com

JOE ROWAND ART GALLERY: 1713 Legion Road. Through March 24: "Two Weeks in Italy, 2011," Elizabeth Matheson. 360-7975. joerowandart.com

JOHN AND JUNE ALCOTT GALLERY: Hanes Art Center, UNC campus. March 13 through April 6: "to seek out, to explore, to doze, to snooze," Shana Moulton. Lecture by visiting artist followed by reception, 6 p.m. March 13. art.unc.edu

N.C. BOTANICAL GARDEN: Off Old Mason Farm Road. Through May: "Plant This, Not That-Alternatives to Invasives," Irena Brubaker, Betsy Lowry, Donovan, Glenda Parker Jones, Joanne Phillips Lott, Julia Shields, M.P. Wilson. Through April 1: Botanical art and illustration by Lee Delegard and Chris Musina. ncbg.unc.edu

NORTH CAROLINA CRAFTS GALLERY: 212 W. Main St., Carrboro. Through March 31: Watercolor landscapes and paper collage works by Anne Adams and handmade baskets by Peg Rees. Reception 6-9 p.m. March 9. 942-4048. nccraftsgallery.com

OPEN EYE CAFÉ: 101 S. Greensboro St., Carrboro. Through March: "Mixed Media," Wendy Spitzer. 968-9410. openeyecafe.com

A REMIX ART GALLERY: 105 E. Main St., Carrboro. Through March: "Paintings by Beth Palmer." Reception 6-9 p.m. March 9 with live music by Butcher and the Tin Man. 441-0972. aremixartgallery.com

SONJA HAYNES STONE CENTER: 150 South Road. Through April 30: "Dry Run: Defining Determination, Testing Reconstruction," Lynn Marshall-Linnemeier. sonjahaynesstonectr.unc.edu

STUDIO 16: Ongoing: "Fabulous Females," Vincent Daddiego, Gloria Roberts. By appointment. 919-490-6098.

WOMANCRAFT: Eastgate Shopping Center. Through March 21: Fabric, sculpture fairies by Ann Dansby and watercolors by Dale Morgan, inspired by Ireland. 919-929-8362, Womancraftgifts.com