Arts & Lifestyle
Of Interest ...
Attendance has been
high at new Rhodes Center
The new Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts is
being called a success on its six-month anniversary.
i ne mum-purpose aris,
entertainment and events
venue is home to Sawtooth
School for Visual Arts, two
gallery/exhibit spaces
(Womble Carlyle Gallery and
Davis Gallery), two major
event spaces (Reynolds Place
and Mountcastle Forum) and
the 300-seat Hanesbrands
Theatre.
To date, more than 31,0()0
individuals have attended a
function, performance, class.
Kmmett
workshop or exhibit at The Center.
"If we include the 7.500-plus individuals who
attended the Grand Opening festivities including the
Gala, ribbon cutting, and Community Weekend
events, and the approximately 3,400 that attended
classes at the Sawtooth School during summer 2010
prior to the building's official opening, the facility has
seen more than 42,000 people' come through its
doors," said Arts Council Chief Operating Officer
Richard Emmett. "By almost any measure, we consid
er our first six months of operation a resounding suc
cess and thank the people of Winston-Salem for their
outpouring of support," Emmett added. "Stay tuned
to hear more about the great things we have in store at
the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts for the rest of
this year and 2012."
Wilmington student
wins state poetry contest
Marty McCarthy of Eugene Ashley High School
in Wilmington won the North Carolina Poetry Out
Loud competition recently. The high school senior
will be on his way to Washington for the national
finals starting Wednesday, April 27.
McCarthy
twenty-nine mgn scnooi
students participated in this
year's Poetry Out Loud
statewide competition. The
second place winner was Toby
Ziemba of Cedar Ridge High
School in Hillsborough.
About 9,800 students
across N.C. took part in sbme
level of the state-wide recita
tion program funded by the
National Endowment for the
Arts and the Poetry
FnnnHiitinn
The semifinals and the final competition were
held Saturday, March 5. at the N.C. Museum of
History in the auditorium. The winner of the state
competition receives $200 and an all-expcnses-paid
trip to Washington. D.C., for the national champi
onship. State winners' schools also receive a $500
stipend to be used for purchasing poetry books. The
runners-up at the state level receive S I (X). with their
schools receiving a $200 stipend for buying poetry
books. The N.C. champion will be vying for a
$20,000 college scholarship.
UNCSA elected to USITT Board
University of North Carolina School of the Arts
(UNCSA) School of Design and Production Dean
I . ? u n T:if. 1 u... u
r. i iiiuiu na:> uttu
elected to the Board of
Directors of the United States
Institute of Theatre
Technology (USITT).
USITT is the association
of design, production and
technology professionals in
the performing arts and enter
tainment industries. USITT
has approximately 4,000
members from the United
States. Canada and 40 other
Tilford
countries.
Last year, in celebration of its 50th anniversary.
USITT chose Tilford as one of two designers to
highlight in special exhibits.
Beach Music Hall of
Fame to induct first class
Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C.
will host the first-ever Beach Music Hall of Fame
Induction Ceremony. Eight legendary beach music
Ruth Brown
anisis anu iu songs will De
inducted at the ceremony,
scheduled for 6 p.m., Sunday,
May 15, in CCU's
Wheelwright Auditorium.
The artists are Hank
Ballard and The Midnighters,
Ruth Brown, The Clovers,
Fats Domino. The Drifters,
Louie Jordan, Amos Milburn
and Big Joe Turner. Songs to
be honored include "Sixty
Minute Man," recorded by
The Dominoes; "Shake. Rattle and Roll," recorded
by Big Joe Turner; "Ain't That a Shame," recorded
by- Fats Domino; "The Great Pretender." recorded
by The Platters; "Green Eyes," recorded by the
Ravens; "Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean."
recorded by Ruth Brown; "Nip Sip," recorded by
The Clovers; "One Mint Julep," recorded by the
Clovers; "White Christmas," recorded by The
Drifters; and "Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee,"
recorded by Sticks McGee.
McMillan 's tribute to the Greensboro
Four, "Four Dreambuilders."
Local artist
achieves
stardom at 85
CHRONIC! I STAFF REPORT
The burgeoning career of
renowned North Carolina artist James
C. McMillan takes center stage with
two major exhibitions covering his
prolific 60 years in art. Opening
simultaneously at the African
American Atelier Inc. and Bennett
college in
Greensboro,
these exhibi
tions follow
the artist's
a c c I a i med
West Coast
debut at the
Bakers field
Museum of Art
in California in
2009.
An art
prodigy,
McMillan
McMillan
attended Howard University at 15
.years of age. graduating with, a BA in
tine arts, He was the first African
American student accepted at the
noted Skowhegan School of Art in
Maine: he later studied at the presti
gious Academie Julian in Paris,
France. He achieved eminence as an
art professor and chair of both art
departments., at Bennett College and
Guilford College
McMillan is like many African
American artists born in the early 20th
Century whose work has been largely
undiscovered. Now at age 85. he is
being recognized and brought to
national attention by virtue of this ret
rospective.
His work explores a variety of
media, artistic movements, and styles
that defy simple categorization and
serve as an emotional archaeology of
the universal human condition: dehu
manization. loss and renewal.
Painting, drawing, traditional and
abstract sculpture and printmaking
will be featured, representing an oeu
vre ranging from the 1940s to the
present.
"That universal theme of individ
ual tragedy, loss and revitalized hope
is manifested in the brilliant art of a
man with a special vision." says
Bennett President Dr. Juliannc
Malveaux. "By taking time to discov
See McMillan on A9
'Color Purple' singer to perform
CHRONIC I I STAFF REPOR1
Actress/singer Maria
Howell will perform in
Winston-Salem on April I
and 2.
The Winston-Salem State
University alumna is best
known for her memorable
role as the choir girl in the
movie "The Color Purple"
and as the expectant njother
in Tyler Perry's "Daddy's
Little Girls."
The not-for-profit
Winston-Salem Performing
Arts Alliance is presenting
the concerts, which will take
place in WSSU's Dillard
Auditorium at 7:30 p.m.
each night.
The Friday, April 1 event
will feature world
renowned jazz violinist
Kersten Stevens and the
Howell
drama production "Not My
Child," written by local
playwright Sharon Evans,
directed and choreographed
by Elliott D. Lowery and
starring Howell. The pro
duction will start at 8:05
p.m.
On Saturday night, a jazz
concert featuring Howell
will take place. Other per
formers will include Ernest
Johnson & the Phase Band;
Michael Thomas &
Envision.
Tickets for this event will
be $25 per night or $45 for
VIP tickets for all perform
ances. including a reception
following Saturday's per
formance at the Delta Fine
Arts Center.
Tickets may be pur
chased at Sweet Potatoes,
529 North Trade St., or
Fairway Home Care, 534
North Liberty St. For addi
tional information, call 336
608-6133.
Motown in D.C.
Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton
First Lady Michelle Obama greets, from left, John Legend, Smokey Robinson, Berry
Gordy and Bob Santelli in the Old Family Dining Room of the White House before the
Motown Music Series student workshop on Feb. 24.
Feminist Cooper to be remembered
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
Trailblazing feminist educator Anna Julia
Cooper will be honored this weekend in
Raleigh.
A tribute program will be held at Saint
Augustine's College Chapel on March 19. at
1 p.m. An unveiling and dedica
tion of ;i N.C. Highway Historical
Marker (from the N.C.
Department of Cultural
Resources) for the activist will
follow at 3 p.m. at the corner of
East and Edenton Streets in
Raleigh. Fittingly, the program
will also serve as a launch event
for a new a YWCA mentorship
program. The Pathways to
Empowerment program is
designed to help pregnant and
parenting teen moms.
Cooper, in "A Voice from the
South, published in 1892, wrote
what is considered "the first book-length
feminist analysis of the condition of African
Americans." Throughout her life, she advo
cated for racial and gender equality with
equal fervor.
She was born in about 1858 to Hannah
Stanley, a slave in the household of Dr.
Fabius J. Haywood in Raleigh. She enrolled
at Saint Augustine Normal School and
Collegiate Institute on tuition scholarship in
1868 at age 10. There, she first encountered
gender discrimination and became an advo
Cooper
cate for gender and racial equality. She
completed high school and took college
courses at Saint Augustine's until graduating
in 1877, and also married George A. C.
Cooper that year. In 1884. she earned a B. A.
in mathematics from Oberlin College.
After receiving the M.A. in mathematics
from Oberlin in 1887. Cooper
took a position at the prestigious
Preparatory High School for
Colored Youth in Washington,
D.C. She eventually became
principal of the "M Street
School," later Dunbar High
School. In Washington, she
honed her writing and oratory
skills as an advocate for gender
and racial equality.
In "A Voice from the South,"
Cooper wrote, "Not the boys
less, but the girls more." The
collection of essays addresses
education, segregation,
woman's suffrage, poverty, and also exam
ines the portrayal of African Americans in
literature. She provided a firm underpinning
for the black feminist movement. Her book
also underscored the importance of African
American folklore, and Cooper co-founded
the Washington Negro Folklore Society. She
enjoyed international acclaim for her writ
ings and speeches and advocated for social
change. She began work on a doctorate
degree at Columbia University, which she
completed at the Sorbonne in Paris in 1925.
Slate of 20 1 1 RiverRun films announced
Ftowinzm Photo
9th Wonder does his thing.
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
The 13th Annual RiverRun International Film Festival,
April 8-17, will screen 57 features and 61 shorts from 32
countries.
Key selections for this year's fes
tival include the world premiere of
director Paul Bonesteel's "The Day
Carl Sandburg Died" and a work-in
progress screening of "The Wonder
Year," a film directed by Kenneth
Price and that documents the life of
music producer 9th Wonder. Both
Price and 9th Wonder are Triad
natives.
"It's an exciting year for
RiverRun," said RiverRun Executive
Director Andrew Rodgers. "We've
got a really great lineup of films in
Rodgers
this year s program, and we re happy
to once again welcome lots of talented filmmakers from
around the world to Winston-Salem for the event."
See Films on A9