The Beaufort County Arts Council got a new look with its purchase of, and move to, the historic Turnage Theater. Now its gift shop has gotten a makeover with new work by artists from the broader eastern North Carolina region.

BCAC Executive Director Joey Toler said the decision to show different artists was a matter of practicality.

“Well, now we’re right in the middle of downtown, right across the street from River Walk (Gallery), and Inner Banks (Artisans’ Center) is really right next door, so it didn’t make sense to have the same artists displayed. It didn’t matter so much when we were at the Depot,” Toler said.

From a room crowded with local artists’ work to a sophisticated, airy space with gallery lighting — the physical move from the Washington Civic Center Depot at Main and Gladden streets to the Main Street Turnage represents a shift from local art to a more regional framework, as well. The Lane Gift Shop embodies the difference.

Painter Virginia Wright-Frierson, outsider artist Michelle Connolly and sculptor Michael Van Hout all hail from the Cape Fear region. Watercolorist Janet Dixon and sculptor Gary Gresko live in New Bern and Oriental, respectively. A little closer to home, Susan Owens, who paints colorful acrylics and makes hand-dyed scarves, is from Roper, while Row Selman, an oil painter, recently moved from Ocracoke to Bath. Photographer Liz Partrick splits her time between Raleigh and Washington.

At Lane Gift Shop, their work represents a broader field of artists, but in no way makes a statement against local talent, according to Toler.

“We love our local artists and we’ve done everything we can do to support them through the years. And we’re still support them,” Toler explained. “Our gift shop was formed back in the day to give local artists a place to sell and show their work. Now they have local places to show and sell their work. … But going forward, we’re looking at this facility as a regional arts facility, so it only makes sense that we carry artists that are more regional.”

Despite the regional makeover, there are some old favorites that can still be found at the gift shop: the arts council’s Plate and Palette cookbook, which features all-local recipes and artwork, Turnage Theater Christmas ornaments, Beaufort County Traditional Music Association CDs.

“We’re constantly changing stuff,” Toler said. “If there are local artists that are not showing at any galleries or downtown, we’re still here to give them a place to show. But we’re fortunate that there are many places to show work now.”

The Lane Gift shop is located in the Turnage Theater, 150 W. Main St., Washington, and is open Tuesdays through Fridays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.