ArtsNews

October 2021 Arts InFocus

OCTOBER 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.

Artist In Focus

TRENIDA MAPP-GOLDSTON, SPECIAL ED TEACHING ARTIST
BY: ALEXIS BOONE, ARTSGREENSBORO STUDENT INTERN

Trenida Mapp-Goldston went to school for Commercial Art and Graphic Design with a minor in Photography. She wanted to find a way to combine education and art. She has been teaching special education students for sixteen years. When she started her teaching career, she was a substitute teacher in her husband’s classroom at McIver Education Center. On her first day at McIver, she was offered a job opportunity as a teacher’s assistant. The principal saw something in Trenida that was needed at the school – empathy, patience, and organization. Twelve years later, Trenida took a major step toward following her dreams. She began to teach art to her special needs students. She now teaches art at four schools, Haynes-Inman, Herbin-Metz, Gateway, and Christine Joyner Greene.

Collage of photos Trenida Mapp-Goldston.

Trenida worked with a student for ten years as an AFL (Alternative Family Living) provider. She feels honored to have this opportunity as she strongly believes that “we live in their world.” Teaching art to special needs students gives her a chance to express her personality, dressing in costumes, and getting into character to make art an experience for her students. Trenida turns every classroom she teaches into a sensory classroom, using music, lighting, bubbles, texture items, etc. Her goal is to work with all the senses. Teaching art over the past year could have been very difficult due to the challenges that come with virtual classrooms, but not for her. She was very interactive online and gave the same exuberant personality that she gives in person. Being a teaching artist for special education students has been a dream come true. Visit Guilford County Schools’ Exceptional Children’s Department

Arts Happening

CREATIVE GREENSBORO OFFICE OF ARTS AND CULTURE
BY HARRY TURFLE, RESIDENCY PARTNER AT CREATIVE GREENSBORO

This year, Creative Greensboro, the City’s Office of Arts and Culture, launched a new initiative called the Neighborhood Arts: Residency Program. This is an innovative program that seeks to transform the creative landscape of specific neighborhoods in Greensboro by artist-led community-informed programming, culminating in a large mural installation. Creative Greensboro selected three neighborhoods for artistic revitalization this year: Dudley Heights, Kings Forest, and Glenwood. Each neighborhood has its own resident artist or artists. One artist, Harry Turfle, wanted to share some of the work he has been doing in his own neighborhood of Glenwood. “It has been really great talking to all kinds of people who live in my neighborhood. Glenwood is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Greensboro, and it has been so rewarding to hear what forms of creativity residents want to engage with and to bring these opportunities directly to them.”

Some of the programming Harry has brought includes weekly “Drawing Jams” every Saturday in September at the Glenwood Recreation Center, an event where neighbors of all ages come together to create art of all mediums, along with food and music for families to enjoy together! He has also worked regularly at the People’s Market, a community market where the neighborhood gathers every Thursday. Harry is currently leading the neighborhood towards a large-scale neighborhood mural at the basketball court at Steelman Park. He hopes to bring attention to the creative energy that makes Glenwood a great place to live. “Art changes lives–and it can change communities, too,” he says.

To learn more about the Neighborhood Arts: Residency Program, visit the city of Greensboro’s website

AG Making it Work

2022 ARTSFUND CAMPAIGN
BY: CATENA BERGEVIN, ARTSGREENSBORO DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

I want to start with a warm and heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported the arts this past year. All of us at ArtsGreensboro are truly humbled by your generosity, commitment, and compassion. It has been a difficult year for so many.

You may not know, but ArtsGreensboro is a community-supported organization. It is through your contributions that we can continue serving our local artists and arts organizations. As the Director of Development, I know that it takes a team of dedicated staff, board members, and volunteers to raise funds needed to do our work. And every year, we are grateful to you for giving what you can because you believe in the power of the arts.

Your donations impact every corner of our community, from summer art camps, community theater, symphony orchestras, music and dance classes, art exhibitions, and artists’ talks. From street art to music and literary festivals, poetry cafes, children’s programs, and maker spaces, you make it possible.

As we kick off our 2022 ArtsFund Campaign, we ask you to think about what the arts mean to you? Take this three-minute survey and tell us your thoughts.

Please consider making a fully tax-deductible online contribution or a sustaining monthly gift to ArtsGreensboro’s 2022 ArtsFund.

Donate now and imagine the possibilities!

Thank you.

If you want to discuss other ways to support ArtsGreensboro, including making a provision in your estate planning, please email me or 336-279-7082.

P.S. Attention NC State Employees, ArtsGreensboro (United Arts Council of Greater Greensboro) is an approved State Employee Combined Charity. Please find us at code #2580!

My Art Story

UNCG SCHOOL OF MUSIC
BY: LUKE STIKELEATHER, VIOLINIST

My name is Luke Stikeleather, a violinist and now an intern at ArtsGreensboro! This year, I am currently a senior at UNCG, finishing up a B.A. in arts administration and a B.M. in violin performance. I wear many hats in Greensboro and around the region. Sometimes I am playing violin in an orchestra, sometimes teaching violin lessons, or sometimes you can find me working in ArtsGreensboro’s offices! Despite being kept so occupied, I love being immersed in what I love: the arts.

Before my move to Greensboro three years ago to study at UNCG, art of all varieties was an important part of my life. I was a member of the Winston-Salem Youth Orchestra in high school and performed in various other ensembles at summer camps and school productions. I have been involved in music from a young age, but the exposure to other art forms such as theater and dance was new to me, and it allowed me to have a new appreciation for all types of art. I especially enjoy musicals and operas because they combine many forms of art: Music, theater, visual art, and choreography.

Since moving to Greensboro, I have enjoyed playing with the university orchestra and opera productions, as well as the Western Piedmont Symphony! Most recently, I have started this intern position at ArtsGreensboro, and I am thrilled to once again participate in a medium of art that encompasses virtually all genres of art!

Click Here for more information about UNCG School of Music.