Charles Wright, chairman of the Department of Visual Arts and associate professor of art at Coastal Carolina University, received the Broyhill Family Foundation Purchase Award at the 18th Annual Indoor/Outdoor Sculpture Celebration in Lenoir, N.C., on Sept. 6.

Wright's large metal sculpture, "Red Strings Two," will be permanently installed in front of the Caldwell Arts Council Art Center in Lenoir. The sculpture was chosen from among 165 entries from 91 artists in an annual event that attracts sculptors from all over the Southeast.

Wright earned a master of fine arts degree in sculpture from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., in 1983. While studying at Washington University, he worked on a major commission for the city of New Orleans with Gyuri Hollosy, and was later commissioned to create a piece of steel sculpture for art collections in the city of St. Louis. His work has appeared in a number of exhibitions from the East Coast to the Midwest. He earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts from Kent State University in 1978.

Wright joined the Coastal faculty in 1985, where he teaches sculpture and professional practices for artists. He is a member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, the College Art Association, Tri-State Sculptors and the American Association of Museums, and he's on the board of directors of the National Council of Arts Administrators (NCAA).