GREENSBORO — Alma Adams looks around the African American Atelier’s offices and gallery and shakes her head at how quickly time has passed.
It doesn’t seem like 20 years ago, Adams said, when the Atelier opened in a shoebox of a space down the hall in the Greensboro Cultural Center.
“We didn’t even have room for an office,” said Adams, an Atelier founding member and its longtime curator.
The African American Atelier remains in the Greensboro Cultural Center, but the current Atelier has more than three times the space as its original location, giving it ample room for gallery exhibitions and work space for the staff. Adams and her staff still watch the budget closely, but Atelier supporters no longer worry about its week-to-week financial survival as they did in the early days.
To celebrate how far it has come — and to look ahead at where it wants to go — the Atelier is holding its biggest event to date to commemorate its 20th anniversary.
The celebration begins with an exhibit of artwork by the Atelier’s founding members, including James McMillan, Floyd Newkirk, Eva Hamlin Miller, John Rogers and others. The exhibit will be on display through Feb. 25 with an art auction on Jan. 15.
The January events launch a yearlong anniversary celebration.
The festivities continue in March when the Atelier hosts a national touring exhibit “The Art of James McMillan,” honoring the Greensboro artist and Atelier founding member. The exhibit was first shown at the Bakersfield (Calif.) Museum of Art in early 2010.
Building a dream
After 20 years, the African American Atelier has become a fixture in the local, regional and national arts scene. But that wasn’t always the case. In 1990, the Atelier was just the dream of several Guilford County artists, all of whom were big on vision and talent but inexperienced in the practical matters of running a business. Money was tight, Adams said, and the Atelier depended on local supporters for survival.
But when the doors opened Jan. 13, 1991, the small space, the struggle for funding and other challenges didn’t matter. On that day, Adams knew they had created something important — and something worth sustaining for the long haul.
The mood that day was festive, with a ribbon-cutting, a large crowd of supporters and attention from the local media.
“People were excited because this was the first gallery that embraced the community in that way,” she said.
Since then, the Atelier has been able to obtain corporate funding, major gifts from individuals and local and state grant support. In 1995, the Atelier became a funded member of the United Arts Council of Greensboro.
“It’s been a rewarding experience,” Adams said of the Atelier’s growth. “I’ve been blessed because even in difficult times, people still have a thirst for the arts.”
The heart and soul of the Atelier
If African American artists are the heart of the Atelier, then the late Eva Hamlin Miller was and remains its soul.
Miller was a prominent Greensboro artist, N.C. A&T art professor and supporter of the local arts scene. Her husband, Dr. W.L.T. Miller, was a local dentist, and before the Atelier opened, Miller would host shows for local African American artists in the basement of her husband’s Bennett Street office.
Miller also served as a teacher, mentor and second mother to Adams after Adams studied under her at A&T. She encouraged Adams and other local artists to form the Atelier and was a driving force in its organization.
Miller served as its first curator. And even though Miller couldn’t be more excited about the project, she seemed to be preparing her friends for a future without her.
“She told me, 'Alma, I’m not going to be here forever,’ ” Adams recalled. That was in December 1991, a day before Miller’s 83rd birthday, and it was the last time Adams saw her beloved teacher alive.
In addition to the immense personal loss, Adams also had to fill a huge void left by Miller’s passing. Adams already was active in politics, serving on the Greensboro City Council at the time — she has since been elected to nine terms as a state legislator — plus she had a demanding career as an art professor at Bennett College. But when Miller died in late 1991, Adams assumed her role as the Atelier’s curator and creative director. Since then, Adams has helped orchestrate dozens of shows, and Miller’s work remains on permanent display in the Atelier’s gallery.
This year, Atelier members also are remembering another avid supporter, Alberta Cuthbertson, who died last January. An Atelier board member, Cuthbertson had worked with the Atelier since its founding and organized the annual Minority Student Exhibition held every May. The exhibition is sponsored by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and gives high school students a chance to exhibit their work.
National profile, local roots
The African American Atelier is more than just an art museum. It also provides numerous programs to promote the arts in Guilford County.
In 1993, the Atelier launched a summer youth program, which now has expanded to include after-school, Saturday and summer sessions. It runs year-round in 11 local schools and serves 1,200 students annually.
The youth programs serve children ages 5 to 16 from low-income neighborhoods. Students receive instruction in artistic media such as paper making, mask making, collage, crafts, drawing, painting, cartooning, fabric design and construction, sculpture and ceramics. A number of colorful murals around Greensboro, such as the one in the city parking deck on Davie Street, were painted by youth program participants.
“That’s probably one of the best things we have done,” Adams said. “When you help the children, you help the community.”
LeAnder Canady, N.C. A&T arts professor and artist, joined the Atelier in its early years and has been a longtime supporter ever since, even serving as board chairman from 2002-04. In particular, he has worked closely with the youth program and said it has been a particularly worthwhile effort. Canady said one of the Atelier’s main missions has always been “giving young artists a chance to share their art with the public.” The youth program has opened those possibilities up to thousands of young artists, he said.
Atelier officials also organized a recent “25 Under 25” show to spotlight local artists younger than 25. More than 300 people attended.
As the Atelier’s profile — and budget — have grown, the gallery has been able to bring nationally known artists to Greensboro. Most recently, the Atelier held an exhibit of the work of Synthia St. James, whose paintings adorn dozens of best-selling novels, including works by Alice Walker and Terry McMillan, and even a U.S. postage stamp.
Still, the Atelier remains committed to local artists. One of those creators is Leo Rucker of Winston-Salem. Rucker now is a successful professional artist, whose recent work includes a 100-foot mural commissioned by Rankin Elementary School in Greensboro. He also has launched a clothing line that incorporates his designs and is sold on his website (ruckerartstudio.webs.com).
Twenty years ago, however, Rucker was an aspiring young artist living in Stokesdale, unsure of how to bring his work to the public. He met Adams, who encouraged him to exhibit his work at the Atelier, which he did in 1991. Two years later, his piece “Young Dreamer” won an Atelier-sponsored contest. Rucker said that working with the Atelier gave him the exposure and the confidence to build a career.
“Alma Adams was the first person who gave me a chance to showcase my artwork,” Rucker said. “She opened up an opportunity for me.”
As a way to say thanks, Rucker donated his piece “A Moment in the Fairways” to the Atelier’s auction. The piece commemorates the contributions of African Americans in the sport of golf.
John Rogers, a High Point painter, photographer and graphic artist, said the Atelier “has been a lifeline.” Rogers, who has been with the Atelier since its founding, spent 30 years with the U.S. Postal Service, often working 12-hour days. The Atelier gave him an outlet for his creative side.
“I could come here and relieve the stress,” Rogers said. “It was therapeutic for me.”
Looking ahead, Atelier leaders said they wish to continue to expand their reach beyond just African American artists to include the entire community. Canady said he would like to see the Atelier model itself after the Harlem Renaissance, in which artists worked closely and collaboratively with writers, poets and musicians.
“There is a lot of talent here in Greensboro,” he said. Canady believes the Atelier can be the venue to give that talent an opportunity to shine.
But while Atelier officials are looking ahead to the future, they also want to celebrate 20 years of success with the anniversary exhibit and auction.
Other artists, including Adams herself, are lining up to participate in the exhibit and the auction. Between her administrative duties at the Atelier, her teaching career at Bennett College and serving in the General Assembly, Adams doesn’t often have the opportunity to show her artwork. But for the anniversary show she will exhibit a piece — that much is certain.
“It’s going to be a big, big party,” she said.
Contact Bruce Buchanan at brucebuc@bellsouth.net
