Chapel Hill's queeramid stands at the center of town's Pride Month celebrations

Pride Month celebrations continue throughout the month of June.

In Chapel Hill, that includes a rainbow pyramid, which Durham native and artist Julia Gartrell created.

“We’re here, we’re queer,” Gartrell said. “That’s sort of the cheesy way to put it.”

The #queeramid is a 13-foot-tall wooden pyramid at 140 W. Franklin St. commissioned with a $4,500 stipend by the Chapel Hill Community Arts and Culture. The structure will be up through the end of June.

“Our group’s core values are experience, inclusion and understanding, and this speaks to all of those,” said Chapel Hill Community Arts and Culture Director Susan Brown.

Gartrell shared what she’s seen and heard since the pyramid went up.

“Dozens of people were driving by and just shouting, ‘gay!’” Gartrell said. “Even in my lifetime, ‘gay’ has been used as a slur, but just hearing people joyfully shouting it out was really cool.”

“Public art is something that should evoke feeling, and this is some of the most impactful public art in Chapel Hill in some time, so I’m really proud,” Brown said.

Gartrell said her hope is to spark conversations with the art, bringing light to the different problems and concerns the LGBTQ+ community faces.

“Making this kind of work is, unfortunately, still really important,” Gartrell said. “So, I'm just really glad that we can still be really loud about queer rights and identities.”