NOVEMBER 2021
Each month, ArtsGreensboro brings you stories about artists, arts organizations, and individuals whose lives are infused with creativity. Join us in celebrating our vibrant city.
On the Cover
Casa Azul is celebrating its 10th anniversary Day of the Dead Ofrenda Exhibition. Visit their website to learn more!
Artist In Focus
BEATRICE SCHALL, LOCAL ARTIST
I was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and as a young woman, moved to San Francisco, California, where I eventually met my husband, Stewart. We moved to Chapel Hill, NC, where I attended UNC-Chapel Hill and received a BA in Studio Art, followed by a Master’s at College Teaching in Studio Art degree, and practiced as a mixed-media artist. I was a founding member of Center/Gallery, a women’s gallery which also served as a support group for women artists in the Chapel Hill area. The gallery was recognized for its cutting-edge exhibitions. We moved to Greensboro in 1985.
My work explores the relationship between the cycles of life and nature, the beauty and fragility of both in relation to the passage of time and memory. I use a wide range of techniques and materials, including painting, drawing, constructions, assemblage, and sculpture. The materials I use in my work include paint, rope, dirt, blood, butterflies, tea and coffee stains, stones, found objects, and more. I want my work, with its eclectic use of materials, to elicit a range of feelings and emotions.
I curated the exhibition, “WORD/FORMS,” a collaboration between artists and poets, for GreenHill Center for NC Art. The exhibition was supported by the NC Arts Council, NC Humanities Council, ArtsGreensboro, and private gifts. I have been involved with many arts organizations since I moved here because I feel it’s important as an artist to contribute to our vibrant art community. Currently, I am most involved with the Weatherspoon Art Museum and Elsewhere because I feel like they add to the vibrancy of our arts community. After my husband’s death in 2007, I developed the workshop, “Imagine: A Workshop for People in Transition,” where participants could use art as a means of expression and healing.
For more information about Beatrice Schall, please visit www.beatriceschall.com
Arts Happening
GREENSBORO PROJECT SPACE
BY: ADAM CARLIN, DIRECTOR
Greensboro Project Space is a contemporary art center created by UNCG that seeks to bring students of the school of art and artists from the community together. We have various projects every month from artists of all backgrounds.
Here is just one program we are hosting November 2 to 13: Parallels, by Reneesha McCoy:
“Parallels” presents a selection of imagery that focuses on the alignment of the mental and physical state specifically in relation to the female body. Reneesha also known as rnwulf is a self-taught North Carolina-based artist. In 2019, after the birth of her son, Reneesha started creating art full-time. A principal theme in Reneesha’s work is her celebration of the consequence of life and nature in relation to the female body. She uses her personal experience to highlight the internal and external effects of childbirth particularly the physical changes that occur from breastfeeding. Reneesha often explores and showcases her own perception of life based on personal experience.
Within her work there’s repetition of chaotic lines and strayed brush strokes surrounding female forms that exude confidence paralleled with weakness and fear. You’ll also notice mixed mediums aligned with various colors, gestural lines, conceptual poses, and deformities that play with the idea of inclusion and what is real versus imaginary. New works closely relate to her journey of self-discovery against motherhood. This collection loosely explores the experience of battle, disconnection, and insecurity. These works also employ the use of contrasting mediums and substrates to enhance the chaotic nature of the mind as well as present a conceptual aspect to the female form.
To learn more about Greensboro Project Space, visit their website at www.GreensboroProjectSpace.com
AG Making it Work
WEEKLY ARTS CHECK-IN MEETINGS
No one could have predicted what March 2020 had in store for us. Experiencing the shelter-in-place mandate left us in a new state of isolation and uncertainty. But the outpouring of compassion, empathy, and generosity was undeniable. For arts organizations, the pandemic was an opportunity to do things differently – to communicate, collaborate, and innovate.
In its role as a catalyst and connector, ArtsGreensboro offers platforms for communication and partnerships through weekly check-in meetings. Art leaders and board members are invited each Monday morning to join ArtsGreensboro President and CEO Laura Way and Director of Development Catena Bergevin in an informal virtual meeting. The atmosphere is one of support, encouragement, and inclusivity.
Each person is given an opportunity to provide updates, celebrate successes, ask advice, reflect on challenges, and invite participation. The partnerships that have occurred because of these meetings is nothing less than inspiring, not to mention the general air of appreciation and creativity.
Participants have included Piedmont Blues Society, Music for a Great Space, TAB Arts Center, Community Theatre of Greensboro, CVA, GreenHill, African American Atelier, Reconsidered Goods, EMF, Carolina Theatre, Forge Greensboro, Preservation Greensboro, Choral Arts Collective, Art Alliance of Greensboro, Public Art Endowment, Uptown Greensboro, and Creative Greensboro to name a few. Folks check in when they can, and we are always happy to visit with old friends and make new ones.
Weekly Check-in Meetings are just one way that ArtsGreensboro supports our art community. Building relationships, breaking silos, opening lines of communication and new ways to collaborate, are what we do every day. Thanks to the support of our community we will continue to advocate for the arts and help our arts organizations build capacity and inspiration.
My Art Story
ART ALLIANCE OF GREENSBORO
BY: LIZ BUSCH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTORHi Folks! My name is Liz Busch and I work for Art Alliance of Greensboro. We are not the arts council (please don’t send us complaints concerning public art or funding for the arts). Art Alliance provides education opportunities in the way of classes, workshops, and community events for children and adults in ceramics, painting, and drawing.
I have been following my passion – the arts – since the early 2000’s when I began taking post-graduate art courses at NC State School of Design and Meredith College. What privilege I had – the opportunity to pursue something I liked. Honestly, I loved it! What’s not to love? – working hard while getting dirty and constantly justifying your path to the endless inquiries…Why art?
Art because it pulls you in, focuses you, centers your thoughts and actions and sometimes it’s just plain pretty…uh…inspiring. Those were my reasons for pursuing art, but I stayed in this industry because it can do that for everyone. And that is powerful. Whether you consider yourself an artist or not, everyone can experience this – where the world fades away albeit momentarily – and who hasn’t needed that recently? But as the real-world fades, a new world evolves…a simpler world where you have control – unless you’re a potter, then you have no control after you put it in the kiln.
I told you it was temporary.
Aligned with ArtsGreensboro’s Cultural Equity Statement, our policy is to pay artists a fair and equitable wage, stipend, fee, or honorarium. We encourage FAIR PAY practices across the community to ensure artists and creatives can make a living wage to live and work in Guilford County.
To support a full, creative life for all, ArtsGreensboro commits to championing policies and practices of cultural equity that empower a just, inclusive, and equitable community.
For additional resources, click here.
