Each month, ArtsGreensboro brings you stories about artists, arts
organizations, and individuals whose lives are infused with creativity.
Joinus in celebrating our vibrant city.
I’ve worked within the community through an artist collective, which I co-founded, The 512 Collective in High Point, with artists from a variety of disciplines from across the Triad, as well as having participated in a various gallery shows at the CVA in Greensboro, TAG in High Point, and many more. I also sell handmade and wood burned jewelry at Hudson Hill, a locally curated shop in downtown Greensboro.
Over all, I strive to be an active and vibrant member of my local art community. I look forward to the ever evolving landscape that is local art in in Greensboro and hope to continue to help push it further in this new decade.
ARTIST IN FOCUS
BY BEKA BUTTS, ARTIST
As of late, I describe myself as an illustrator, artist, and maker, because I do a little of everything as a working artist in the Triad. I studied Illustration at the Savannah College of Art and Design, receiving my Bachelors of Fine Art in Illustration with a minor in Painting and a concentration in Portraiture, before returning to my second hometown of Greensboro, NC. I was born on the border, in El Paso, TX, and that cultural influence has carried through my work until now. My work is a mix of Chicano and Southern inspiration that explores social issues through a lens of Hispanic folk art as well as nature inspired pieces focused on pattern and detail. Working as large as possible in the public art sphere, as well as working in the smallest details of wood burned jewelry, I have explored as many mediums as possible throughout my short (as of now) 10 year career.
You can see more of Beka’s work on social media or email for commissions and pricing.
Instagram: @Bbutts_illustration
Facebook: BekaButtsIllustrator
Email: BekaButts@gmail.com
ARTS HAPPENING
BY NANCY DOLL, DIRECTOR OF WEATHERSPOON ART MUSEUM
The story of the Cone Family’s involvement with the Weatherspoon Art Museum began in 1950, when Etta Cone bequeathed 242 works from her and her sister Dr. Claribel Cone’s art collections to the fledgling museum. Their brothers, Moses and Ceasar Cone, established the first textile mills in Greensboro, and their fortune essentially financed the sisters’ passion for collecting the avant-garde. Claribel died in 1929, leaving all her artworks to Etta with the instruction to donate them to the city of Baltimore—where the sisters lived—if the city grew in its appreciation for modern art. It did, and the Baltimore Museum of Art received the majority of the sisters’ famous collection.
The Weatherspoon Art Gallery was the beneficiary of the second Cone Collection. Laura Weill (Mrs. Julius) Cone, a Woman’s College alumna and early advocate for the Weatherspoon, approached her sister-in-law Etta, who agreed to donate some objects from the sisters’ combined holdings. In many cases, each sister separately had purchased a new print or sculpture by their favored artist, Henri Matisse; the bequest included seventy-six prints and six bronze sculptures by him
The Cone Family has continued to provide crucial support over many years to the Weatherspoon Art Museum, the most important being the lead gift from Anne and Benjamin Cone, Sr. to construct the building the museum has inhabited since 1989. At the building’s dedication, then Chancellor William Moran stated, “Ann and Ben’s gift to the University was a transforming event. It unlocked a collection well known in the art world but relatively inaccessible to the public and University alike.”
This extraordinary family also has helped to build our permanent collection of art through outright gifts and funds to acquire works. The Cone Family continues to provide generous support for the Weatherspoon today.
We are pleased to announce The Cone Family Legacy Exhibition on view at the Weatherspoon March 12 – July 12, 2020. Artists in the exhibition include Nancy Grossman, David Smith, Jo Baer, John Graham, Paul Wonner, Willem de Kooning, and Cindy Sherman, among dozens of other important works.
The Museum is honored to present this exhibition and thereby extends its deepest gratitude to the generosity and loyalty of the extended Cone Family. For more information about the Weatherspoon Art Museum please visit weatherspoonart.org/
AG MAKING IT WORK
By: CATENA BERGEVIN, DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT AT ARTSGREENSBORO
In 2015, Greensboro City Council passed a resolution declaring April as I Heart Arts Month. Each year ArtsGreensboro dedicates the month of April to raising awareness of the importance of the arts in our city. From the Greensboro Cultural Arts Master Plan, to the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts, from festivals to public art – the arts are Greensboro.
During April, show your support for Greensboro’s vibrant local arts scene. Attend a concert, visit an exhibition, take a dance class, tour public art, or invite someone you care about to a performance. You can also visit participating businesses that are donating a portion of their sales to the ArtsFund, which provides much-needed resources to over 50 local arts organizations, projects, teachers, and regional artists every year. In addition, ArtsGreensboro will be hosting a Public Art Scavenger Hunt on April 4th including food and special giveaways. Last year we had a blast and this year will be even better. Tickets for the Public Art Scavenger Hunt can be purchased at http://bit.ly/2HIy1kS. Stay tuned for more information on how you can help keep the arts alive and thriving in Greensboro. A special thank you to Downtown Resident’s Association for sponsoring I Heart Arts Month!
For more information about I Heart Arts Month visit artsgreensboro.org/elevate/i-heart-arts-month.
We want to hear where art lives for you. Share your experience on social media and tag it #artsgso #artliveshere.
MY ART STORY
BY ZIZI BARHOUMA, MARKETING + EXTERNAL RELATIONS MANAGER AT ARTSGREENSBORO
It had been a long time since I thought of painting. I remember being a college student at Cal State University in Long Beach wearing paint covered cargo pants on most days and feeling unapologetically carefree in my disheveled attire; after all, I was an artist.
Although I never considered myself a great artist, I whole-heartedly enjoyed the nature of the practice. I loved late nights at arts studios, the mixing of colors on a palette and ultimately the transformation of a clean white canvas to a colorful expression of what I was experiencing at the time. I was especially fond of painting live at events. It was a fun mystery to see what the end result would be using my environment for inspiration. But as many do after college, I dove into a career that pulled me away from passion of creating art. As an Events Producer I had many opportunities to work with creatives from all disciplines especially while living in Miami and running in the Art Basel circles. However, the nostalgia for painting never really seemed to fade.
Ten years later and now working at an arts council, I encounter artists often and some of the change makers of Greensboro’s arts scene. I recently received an invitation to a private dinner from Marty Kotis at his new artist loft where muralists from around the world stay while producing commissioned pieces for the Kotis Street Art concept. During dinner, I sat at a long table with about twenty other creatives and it brought me back to my college days when I was surrounded by artistic energy. I have to admit, for the first time, I felt like I belonged to this community. The welcoming energy was apparent and it was refreshing to see a diverse group of people of various ethnicities and walks of life come together to collaborate and share each other’s passion for changing the landscape of Greensboro.
After dinner, Marty hosted a “Barn Bombers” competition where two artists had 15 minutes to spray paint on a canvas. I instinctively jumped on the opportunity. As soon as the bright red color hit my bare canvas, I was instantly invigorated and knew this was the return of painting in my life. And with Marty’s open invitation to paint at the artist loft, I’m overwhelmed with inspiration to finally create again. To learn more about Kotis Street Art projects, visit kotisstreetart.com
ArtsGreensboro is dedicated to elevating the arts by creating awareness and promoting the vibrancy of our city; amplifying the impact the arts have in building strong and thriving communities for all citizens; and supporting arts organizations, artists, and teachers through grants, shared services, and technical assistance. For more information visit artsgreensboro.org
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