MARCH 2022
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
Hoyte Phifer
Abstract ArtistAbstract art has saved me from daily mental stress that created negative energy in my life. I say this because, for over 40 years, I was in senior management. That time was incredibly stressful for me. I was always in the position where I knew management goals and objectives were not aligned with the employees’ needs as far as opportunities and personal well-being were concerned. My goal always was to seek a happy medium.
After retirement, I found creating abstract art as a mental escape from restrictions into a world of no boundaries. As an emerging self-taught abstract artist, I have expressed myself through painting and written poetry. I consider myself a fearless artist willing to take creative risks and push conceptual boundaries.
Art has been an essential part of my spiritual expression, recalling some of my deepest human passions and emotions channeled through me from my higher power (God). Most of my work is expressionism (early twentieth century). Note: Expressionist artworks involve highly intense color and non-naturalist brushwork, often based on feelings.
My medium is acrylic which I like because it allows me to move swiftly, and it dries quickly for more layers and depth when needed. It is indeed freeing as I see abstract art in the landscape, the clouds, and all life forms. It creates positive energy in me that I use in my work. Abstraction indicates a going away from reality in representing images in art. My work does not depict anything from the real world (figures, landscapes, animals, etc.) It is non-representational abstract, expressing things that are not visible but expressing my feelings and emotions. I have enjoyed music, color, and design as far as I can remember. My work is indeed an expression of these. In all my work, you will see a heart. This is representative of my love for art. Arts Happening
gREENSBORO BALLET presents cinderella
Greensboro Ballet’s mission is to inspire, invigorate, and excite audiences and their artists through the exciting, ever-evolving art of Classical and Contemporary Ballet. Their goal is to offer the finest dance education to children of all ages and adults. Greensboro Ballet is a company of professional dancers who share the love of expressing human thought and emotion through the international language of ballet and dance performances.
The history of Greensboro Ballet begins with the regional dance movement of the 1960s. The movement represented a sea of change in dance education. Regional dance organizations focused on decentralizing ballet education to establish an expectation of finding legitimate training anywhere in the country.
A trio of Directors are now moving the Ballet into a new and modern era while holding on to the valued tenets of the classical ballet tradition – Jessica McAlister, Artistic Director; Jennifer Savage Gentry, Executive Director; and Nina Munda, School Director of the School of Greensboro Ballet.
Due to the pandemic, Greensboro Ballet’s 2019 production of Cinderella had to be rescheduled and is now finally presented in a full-length classical ballet on March 26 & 27. A Cinderella Ball and Princess Tea with Cinderella are also scheduled. The full-length classical ballet version of Cinderella, set to the music of Sergei Prokofiev, is dramatic, humorous, and full of romance.
For more information about Greensboro Ballet and their production of Cinderella, Cinderella’s Ball Gala Event, and the Princess Tea with Cinderella, visit greensboroballet.org.
AG Making it Work
Workplace Giving
Workplace Giving Campaigns offer employees a meaningful and convenient way to invest in their community. At ArtsGreensboro, we are grateful to those who recognize that supporting the arts helps build a more vibrant community for all of us to live, work, and play.
Each year, contributions to the ArtsFund are leveraged with corporate, foundation, and public support to provide grant awards to artists and arts organizations across our community. ArtsGreensboro invests in over sixty arts organizations and hundreds of local artists.
We partner with local schools by supporting arts integration in every subject matter K – 12, helping students to think and problem-solve creatively.
ArtsGreensboro provides networking, professional development, and promotional opportunities for arts organizations and maintains partnerships with the Guilford Nonprofit Consortium, Guilford County Schools, High Point Arts Council, Creative Greensboro, and Downtown Greensboro, Inc.
Through Shared Services, ArtsGreensboro has taken the lead in identifying pathways for organizations to find new, cost-effective structures using a shared services model. The platform offers a long-term solution by allocating much-needed resources to multiple organizations for an affordable fee. Currently, ArtsGreensboro provides accounting services to small and emerging arts organizations at a fee of $40/hour. These services currently include accounts payable/accounts receivable, monthly bank reconciliations, cash flow analysis, budget development and tracking, and audit + 990 preparation. This is intended to provide essential services that enhance financial sustainability to partner organizations.
If you or your company are interested in learning more about employee giving and would like to schedule a presentation, contact Catena Bergevin, ArtsGreensboro Director of Development, at cbergevin@artsgreensboro.org or 336.279.7082.
Our Art Stories
By Jinna Sakkijha and Tiana Adegboyega
UNCG Students and ArtsGreensboro Interns
I’ve been participating in art since I was around four years old – my mother participated in theatre in high school and college, but when she became pregnant, she quit her job and began her new career as a full-time mom! She realized that in order to raise me as a well-rounded child I should be involved in some creative outlet, thus my not-so-extensive-yet-long-winded career in the performing arts began. The first “show” I was in was The Little Mermaid, as Ariel – this isn’t anything to be necessarily proud of as I was the only “redhead” in the entire elementary school. Woe… To be doomed to a life of type-casting.
Despite that, these experiences became routine, and my mom developed love for the vicariousness of it, as she enjoyed witnessing my growth. I saw the culture and community behind the curtain, and I curated some life-long relationships because of it!
My first introduction to art was when I was eight years old and joined the dance team and choir at church. My grandmother loved to hear me sing around the house and thought it would be great to join the choir at the church we attended every Sunday. Having that platform later inspired me to participate in dance organizations in high school and continue my legacy of singing by acting in plays. I have always loved how art has made me feel. Being able to express myself through art is what makes me happy in life. Art allows me to be creative and tune in with my inner being.
Although I aspire to become a woman in the political and law field, I will always have a place for art in my heart because, through all else, art is what brings us together. I would like to thank ArtsGreensboro for giving me the opportunity to be an intern in the development department and allowing me to share my art insight. Being introduced to new art forms and ways I can help my community are things I enjoy doing and wish to carry on for my own career and legacy.
Grantee Highlight
African American Atelier
The African American Atelier has evolved into a creative venue for Guilford County and North Carolina showcasing artistic works, sponsoring forums, gallery talks, educational seminars, and highlighting contributions and culture of African Americans and other ethnic groups. The Atelier’s programs serve thousands of youth, adults, and seniors of all socio-economic backgrounds.
The Atelier has exhibited an extensive number of local, regional and national emerging and professional master African American artists and other artists through a series of year-round, annual rotational, group, and solo exhibitions. John Biggers, Varnette P. Honeywood, Gilbert Young, Samella Lewis, Margaret Burroughs, Synthia Saint James, Kadir Nelson, Olivia Gatewood, Juan Logan, and Eric McRay were among some of the most recent exhibiting artists. To learn more, visit africanamericanatelier.org/
"For over 31 years, the African American Atelier, Inc. has nurtured, educated, exhibited, and advocated for artists of color. The funding received from ArtsGreensboro's Multicultural Grassroots Grant will allow us to continue our mission with our community's next generation of artists by expanding and enhancing programming and exhibitions."
Jocelyn Brown, African American Atelier, Inc. Gallery Coordinator
