The Arts Council is directly reinvesting the monies made during the sale of the RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company Collection in Forsyth County through our grant programs that provide arts education experiences to school children, promote economic development and improve the quality of life in our community.  With your help, we are working to ensure that the pillars of our economic future; education, jobs and community vitality; are supported by a vibrant, contributing creative community.

The Arts Council’s programs reach over 75,000 school children each year, enriching their education and equipping them with 21^st Century skills that are essential in today’s competitive workforce. Non-profit arts in Forsyth County generate over 3,700 full-time equivalent jobs and, consequently, rank among the top ten job creators in the county.  Moreover, businesses throughout the community cite vibrancy and quality of life as one of the top factors in their ability to recruit and retain the types of employees needed for their success.

For more information about the remaining works available in The RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company Collection contact Amy Garland at 336-655-9785 or amy@asgarland.com.

“We are looking for opportunities to make modest grants that in turn can have significant impact on the careers and professional lives of artists.  These grants always are diverse because the needs of individual artists at particular points in their lives vary dramatically,” said Dara Silver, Manager of Funded Partner and Grant Programs for The Arts Council.

Click the following links to download the Regional Artist Project Grant guidelines, application and recommendation form.  In addition, Arts Council staff will hold information sessions.

Information Sessions:

Saturday, May 5

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Associated Artists of Winston-Salem

301 West 4th Street, Winston Salem, NC 27101

Tuesday, May 15

4:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Delta Arts Center

2611 New Walkertown Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27101

Monday, June 11

4:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Conference Room, Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts

251 N. Spruce St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101

Regional Artist Project Grants are funded jointly by The Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County; the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Cultural Resources; and the National Endowment for the Arts. In the last funding cycle, The Arts Council made a total of $50,000 in awards in this grant category.

The Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County was established in 1949 and was the first locally established arts council in the United States. The Arts Council enriches the quality of life for people in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County by raising funds for the arts, advocating for the arts, sponsoring events in conjunction with other arts organizations, providing educational opportunities strengthening cultural resources, developing social capital, and aiding economic development.  Its continued effectiveness can be attributed to the thousands of dedicated volunteers and contributors who are firmly committed to the idea that Winston-Salem is the “City of Arts and Innovation.”

For additional information, please contact Dara Silver, Director of Funded Partner and Grant Programs, at  dsilver@intothearts.org or call 747-1426.

They will unveil their projects at a reception from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., Friday, April 27, in the Womble Carlyle Gallery at The Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts.  The public is invited.

Brian Kubecki, an architect with the Winston-Salem firm of Walter Robbs Callahan & Pierce, and a graduate of the Virginia Tech School of Architecture + Design, has worked with his alma mata on this academic exercise. “This project has challenged graduate students to take a look at downtown Winston-Salem and come up with proposals they think would most enhance and expand a theater district. It is exciting to see the creative architectural concepts that this group of students has developed. Their fresh look at our community will hopefully prompt vigorous discussion about the possibilities of our built environment,” Kubecki said.

In a design studio project, proposals are developed in the abstract without collaboration with property owners in the area – here the city’s new arts center and the West Fourth Street corridor. “I am sure there will be ideas here to stimulate discussion and get us thinking about how we can further capitalize on what we have done already in our revitalized downtown and what some next steps could be,” said Milton Rhodes, President and CEO of The Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. The Arts Council, along with Kubecki and the Winston-Salem Section of the American Institute of Architects (AIAWS), helped coordinate the project. AIA Winston-Salem will present an Architecture Award for the project with the best concept for architectural design in a theater district. The Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership will present a District Award for the project that best responds to the urban condition unique to downtown Winston-Salem.

For more information contact dsilver@intothearts.org or call 747-1426.

To watch a brief video of the opening night, click here. 

The Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County has “Unclaimed Treasures” from the RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company Collection.  Visit the Womble Carlyle Gallery at the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts to view and purchase more than 650 works of art which including framed and unframed originals and prints, 3-dimensional objects including quilts, bronze figures, porcelain, and books.  See quilts on display upstairs at the Sawtooth Center for Visual Art.  Wide variety of price ranges.  Many very affordable pieces.

Join us for an opening reception Thursday, April 5 from 5:30 until 7:30 p.m.

As always, receptions are FREE and open to the public.

Womble Carlyle Gallery at the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts
251 N. Spruce Street, Winston-Salem, NC

Opening Reception              Thursday, April 5                  5:30-7:30 p.m.

After Work Social                  Wednesday, April 11          5:30-7:30 p.m.

Closing Reception                 Wednesday, April 18           5:30-7:30 p.m.

For more information call 336.722.2585.

The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School System finished its annual drive to collect donations from among the teachers and staff of almost 80 elementary, middle and high schools. Other campaigns now finished include the City of Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, Wake Forest University and Kilpatrick Townsend Law Firm.

Winston-Salem State Univ. recently held its kickoff at the Diggs Fine Arts Gallery featuring music and art by students. Others underway now include Salem Academy and College, Prudential Carolinas Oakwood and Kernersville offices and Womble Carlyle law firm, among others. Slated for May are workplace campaigns sponsored by Novant/Forsyth Medical Center, AON Insurance, Butler & Burke accounting, Hanesbrands and Wake Forest Baptist Health.

Any companies interested in conducting a workplace campaign should contact Ellen Fort at The Arts Council, 336-747-1418 or efort@intothearts.org.

The Arts Council receives 85 percent of its annual funding from individuals and businesses, many giving through workplace-sponsored campaigns.

Reece joined The Arts Council staff a year ago.  Previously, she worked in the Office of University Advancement at Wake Forest University.

Reece is a graduate of St. Mary’s School in Raleigh and received the BA degree from Wake Forest University in 2007.

The Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County has established a memorial fund for the benefit of the family of Kenneth Mabe of Hawkcrest Lane in Winston-Salem who was killed in a motorcycle accident Sunday on Highway 52.

Kenneth Mabe was the husband of Hope Mabe, Events Coordinator at The Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts in Downtown Wilson-Salem. The couple have two pre-school age children, Mack and Kyla. Mabe’s brother Andy is a musician who has long been active in the Triad arts community.

Richard Emmett, Chief Operating Officer of the Arts Council, said, “Hope and Ken were valued and loved members of our Arts Council family, and we want to do what we can to be of assistance during a tragic time in the life of this young family. We know there will be extraordinary expenses now and going forward.”

The Kenneth Mabe Family Fund has been established at Piedmont Federal Savings Bank. Contributions may be made at any Piedmont Federal branch or by mailing a check made to the Kenneth Mabe Family Fund to the Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, 305 West Fourth Street, Winston-Salem, NC  27101.  Contributions will be received also at The Arts Council offices or at the reception desk at the Milton Rhodes Center for The Arts on Spruce Street.

For additional information, please contact

Carroll Leggett

336.725.3487

cleggett@Triad.rr.com

Winston-Salem’s Paper Lantern Theatre Company will present Next Fall written by Greoffrey Nauffts and directed by Jonathan Bohun Brady, through March 25 at the Ring Theatre at Wake Forest University.  This is the Winston-Salem premiere of Next Fall, a 2010 Tony Award nominee for Best Play and the Drama Desk Award Outer Critics Circle Award winners.  Next Fall is a witty and provocative look at faith, commitment and unconditional love.  While the play’s central story focuses on the five-year relationship between Adam and Luke, it goes beyond a typical love story.  This timely and compelling new American play forces us all to examine what it means to “believe” and what it might cost us not to.

The play first debuted in Greensboro in January, where it was reviewed by Lynn Jessup who said, “…you will realize you have had a truly authentic theatre experience, and you will be grateful.”  Read the full review here.

Showtimes: Thursday – Saturday performances start at 8:00 pm and Sunday Matinees at 2:00 pm.  Tickets are $18.00 – $15.00 and may be purchased online by clicking here . The Ring Theatre at Wake Forest University is located at 1834 Wake Forest Road, Winston Salem, NC  27109.  For more information call (336) 721-1310.

The Arts Council’s Innovative Project Grant supports programs with artistic merit that also enhance the quality of life in our community.  This grant is partly supported by the North Carolina Arts Council with funding from the state of North Carolina and the National Endowment from the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.

A list of the 2011-2012 Arts Council grantees can be found here.

For more information about The Arts Council’s grant programs please contact Dara Silver, Director of Funded Partner and Grant Programs at dsilver@intothearts.org or at 336-747-1426.

Prior to joining The Arts Council in 2006, New worked with the City of Charleston in the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, with PURE Theatre and as a consultant to non-profits including colleges, community foundations, professional development groups and arts organizations.  At The Arts Council she has served as Director of Special Gifts and Advocacy Relations, Director of Corporate and Workplace Giving and, most recently, as Director of Major Gifts.

“Our core mission at The Arts Council is to raise money effectively and efficiently for our member organizations. Catherine New has been a part of that process for some five years now and is a valuable part of our Arts Council team. As Senior Director of Development, she will have increased responsibilities and, with them, greater opportunities to be of service to our arts community,” said Milton Rhodes, President and CEO of The Arts Council.

New’s appointment is part of Arts Council staff restructuring. Terri Dillon, Vice President of Development, is transitioning to fundraising consulting.

New graduated summa cum laude from the College of Charleston with the Bachelor of Arts degree in Arts Administration and Fine Art.  She is a graduate of the Leadership Winston-Salem Class of 2009 and serves as the Secretary of the Board of Directors for Arts North Carolina, First Vice Chair of the Board of Director for Piedmont Craftsmen and Volunteer Development Chair of the Junior League of Winston-Salem Board of Directors.