Arts

The Arts Council celebrates Native American Heritage Month

19"Redefining Indigenous: Indigenous Art of the Past, Present, and Future” runs throughout the month of November at the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County. The exhibit features 28 different artists from over a dozen tribes spanning the East Coast.
“‘Redefining Indigenous" is a reclaiming and reintroduction of the modern-day Native American experience through the arts,” says curator John ManiQ Whittemore. Whittemore is a member of the Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina and is himself an artist and cultural teacher. He hopes the exhibit breaks stereotypes and challenges what people expect from Indigenous art.
“When you think of Indigenous art, there is a mass-produced style that has been recycled over and over,” Whittemore explains. “I feel this show holds a lot of reverence for our area with works that contain both modern and traditional elements that make up our subculture today.”
The exhibit and events surrounding it coincide with National Native American Heritage Month, which celebrates the achievements of Native American Indians and Alaskan Natives.
According to Stacker.com, North Carolina has the biggest Native American population east of the Mississippi River and the sixth largest in the United States. "Redefining Indigenous" features the works of regional artists from various tribes and showcases them at the Arts Council Gallery, which is on the traditional land of the Tuscarora (NC), Catawba, and Lumbee People.
The month-long exhibit includes two events steeped in reimaging cultural traditions. The Opening Reception gives an opportunity for the community to share refreshments with featured artists, enjoy performances by the Smokey River Singers, and participate in a traditional craft led by artist Frances Sandra Whittemore. Later in the month, the Redefining Indigenous Expo opens the gallery for curated Native vendors, including BsBeadFantasies, Scuffletown Suppliers, and The Lune Tree.
For Whittemore, the exhibits and coinciding events represent a connection between the artists’ experiences and the representations of those experiences through their art.
“I’m most excited to see the different stories and ideas and moments told through the works that give a deeper detail in the Indigenous experience of this modern time.”
"Redefining Indigenous” will be on display in the Arts Council’s gallery until Nov. 29 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The "Redefining Indigenous" Expo is on Nov. 21 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
For regular updates on the Arts Council, follow the organization @artscouncilfay on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and/or YouTube.

(Graphic courtesy of the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County)

Cape Fear Studios: Clay Invitational Reunion

18"Clay symbolized renewal and reincarnation. It alludes to the infinite possibilities of clay and the capacity to start all over again and be reborn."
— Symbolism of Clay, Ceramic Arts Studio,

Barcelona

Cape Fear Studios presented the Clay Invitational Reunion on Oct. 25. This exhibit will be open until Nov. 19. Stan Simmons and Robert Helsel are potters/artists featured in this exhibit. Simmons and Helsel were members of Cape Fear Studios from 1994-1998. Robert Helsel was stationed at Fort Liberty (then Fort Bragg). His artistic expertise is clay and textures via the Raku technique. Stan Simmons is a Potter/Artist. His expertise within the clay medium is traditional. These are two of Cape Fear Studios favorite artists.
The Clay Invitational Reunion is located at Cape Fear Studios, 148 Maxwell Street, Fayetteville. The studio is open Tuesday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free to the public. Cape Fear Studios can be contacted at 910-433-2986.
According to Wikipedia, Ceramic art consists of clay and other materials. Clay is shaped in various forms inclusive of tableware, figurines, and sculpture. Pottery is one of the oldest human art activity and inventions originating before the Neolithic period. Pottery dates back to 29,000 – 25,000 BC.
Clay is an abundant material found in lakes, ponds, streams in all parts of the world. Ceramic Arts was the source of every-day cookware, tableware, and food storage for early civilizations. There are five clay art techniques: Terra Cotta, Polymer Clay, Raku, Ceramics, and Sculptural Ceramics.
Terra Cotta is Italian for “baked earth." The clay is fired but not glazed. It reflects warmth and simplicity. Polymer Clay is based on the combination of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC). The clay is soft and malleable and becomes firm when placed in the oven. This is an effective technique for figurines.
According to Soul Ceramics, “Raku technique dates back to 16th century traditionally crafted by hand and not thrown on the Potter’s wheel. The glazed ceramic is taken from the kiln while still glowing red hot and placed in a combustible material such as sawdust or shredded newspaper. The item is starved of Oxygen which creates the colors within the glaze. Raku creates a unique design each time.”
Ceramic is processed with the kiln. The clay is shaped into a form and fired at intense heat for durability and tensile strength. Ceramic Arts are inclusive every-day dinnerware to abstract arts.
Sculptural Ceramics is represented by highly textured and interplay of rough and smooth surfaces. It can have realistic or abstract expressions.
Jill Dieffenbach, Board Member of Cape Fear Studios and Potter shares these insights about the exhibit, “What makes this show a must-see is to experience the creative diversity of the two potters as they follow two different approaches towards clay. Stan Simmons follows the traditional approach with clay with the use of form and creative glazing and firing. Robert Helsel combines traditional form with creative use of the Raku technique. Both Potters combine the best of clay art techniques.”
For more contact information, Cape Fear Studios via phone at 910-433-2986 or website, https://capefearstudios.com.

(Photo: One of the many pieces of ceramic art is displayed at Cape Fear Studios. Photo courtesy of Cape Fear Studios)

Step Into Possibility: Fayetteville State University presents Kinky Boots

9Get ready, Fayetteville…something fabulous is coming to Seabrook Auditorium in November! Fayetteville State University’s Department of Performing and Fine Arts presents the smash hit musical Kinky Boots Nov. 14-17. This high-energy musical about the power of friendship, compassion, and collaboration is sure to have you dancing in the aisle.
What do you get when a pop icon and two Broadway legends put their heads together? You get the Tony-award winning Best Musical called Kinky Boots. The musical features 16 original songs by the incomparable Cyndi Lauper, dialogue written by theatre legend Harvey Fierstein, and original direction and choreography by Jerry Mitchell. When it debuted on Broadway in April of 2013, it was an instant hit, and for good reason.
Kinky Boots tells the story of Charlie and Lola’s unlikely friendship. Charlie, a young man with sights set on a life in the big city, finds himself suddenly thrust into the role of saving his father’s struggling shoe factory.
He meets Lola, a drag performer, and learns about the common struggle she has to find shoes that are sturdy and well-made while also being flashy and fabulous. The unlikely duo put their heads together, along with the folks in the factory, to create a line of sturdy stilettos, specifically made for drag queens.
It is a funny, high-energy show with moments that are tender and moving as well.
The story shines a spotlight on the need for compassion, for understanding, and being one’s true, authentic self.
The theme of collaboration that is so prominent in Kinky Boots is a significant part of the Fayetteville State University production of this hit musical. The production is a collaboration between the Theatre, Dance, and Music departments of the university and features students from FSU, a few Early College high school students, and even one alumnus. Theatre professors Jeremy Fiebig and Evan Bridenstine are working together to co-direct the production, with technical leadership in scenic and lighting design by FSU Theatre Professor Dave Griffie.
Through funding provided by a Kenan Charitable Trust award, they are also able to collaborate with local professionals who are providing support with music, choreography, fight work, stage management, set construction and painting, and more.
Fiebig explained that in their usual productions, they might be able to hire one or two local professionals to consult and assist with the show; but for Kinky Boots, there are nearly a dozen people from the local arts community contributing. Not only does that provide a wealth of experience for the students involved, it is a unique and important networking opportunity for those aspiring performers.
Proceeds from the show will help fund FSU students' participation in the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe Festival-the world's largest arts festival. The Fringe Festival is an annual multi-week celebration of theatre and arts in Edinburgh, Scotland; some say it is like the Olympics for the performing arts. The Festival features the International College Theatre Festival, an opportunity for students from colleges and universities all over the world to come together and perform.
Plans are for the contingent from Fayetteville State to write and produce an original, world-premiere play at the 2025 Fringe Festival.
Such an experience is rare and incredibly valuable for the students who will participate. Such an experience is rare and incredibly valuable for the students who will participate.
It will allow people from all over the world to get a glimpse into the talent and creativity happening in Fayetteville. Funding such an endeavor is a daunting task but every ticket sold to see Kinky Boots helps them get closer to that goal. Audiences can even look forward to a couple of “Easter egg” moments in the show that pay homage to the world-renowned festival and FSU’s participation in it.
In addition to proceeds from ticket sales, there will be additional opportunities at the performances for patrons to contribute to the FSU at Fringe Fund.
Patrons should be aware that the show contains some mature content, including discussions of gender identity, adult language, and some suggestive material.
Tickets are on sale now; visit https://www.uncfsu.edu/fsu-presents-kinky-boots and scroll to the bottom of the page for a link to purchase tickets. Admission is free for FSU students.

(Graphic courtesy of Fayetteville State University)

Country music stars come to Fayetteville, Nov. 11

12Pumpkin spice, cool temps and … country music? Yes, indeed!
Fall favorites and tantalizing tunes unite in Fayetteville, home to Southeastern North Carolina’s biggest country music showcase. Presented by John Hiester Chrysler Dodge Jeep and John Hiester Chevrolet, the WKML Stars & Guitars Concert comes to the Crown Coliseum for the 12th year on Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m. Featuring a mixture of hitmakers and newcomers to the country music stage, the popular promotion stages five artists in a unique, acoustic setting.
Fans will enjoy a spectacular night of great music, engaging live entertainment, a few surprises and the opportunity to support a good cause. A portion of the ticket proceeds benefits St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Here's the lineup for this year’s SOLD-OUT show:
• LOCASH
• Zach Top
• George Birge
• Kameron Marlowe
• Tigirlily Gold
If you can’t pick just one favorite, the good news is you don’t have to! Compliments of The Big 95.7 ‘KML, Today’s Country, and Stars & Guitars’ generous sponsors, Fayetteville gets them all!
Chart toppers, record makers, social media sensations and no strangers to country music fans, these artists have and are making names for themselves across radio and other platforms.
As no one performer headlines, opens or closes the Stars & Guitars show—all the artists are on stage simultaneously and perform individually in rounds—concertgoers experience a true cross-section of talent. The artists sing songs, share stories, tell jokes and wow audiences year after year. The show’s “Unplugged, Unscripted and Unforgettable” tagline best describes the scene.
Beasley Media Group Digital Programming Director and Marketing and Promotions Director Brandon Plotnick explained the “why” behind the WKML Stars & Guitars event.
“The idea here is to celebrate country music with our listeners and market audience. We have a unique position in the industry, and we can put together something with a relatively big-name lineup every year. The affordable show is the biggest country show in our market,” he said.
The concert is also part of the station’s mission to assist St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This is the 38th year WKML and the Beasley Fayetteville team have proudly supported St. Jude's families and children.
This November’s Stars & Guitars concert and the December St. Jude Country Cares, the longest continuous radiothon campaign in the country, are among several ways the company supports this cause.
The station’s listening audience, covering Raleigh to Myrtle Beach and concentrated in Cumberland and Robeson counties, has filled the house for Stars & Guitars for 12 straight years, and this year will be no exception. During the Aug. 30 early pre-sale, available to members of the WKML free All-Access Club, the limited number of tickets sold out in three minutes.
The in-person regular ticket buyers—another sold-out situation—celebrated at the WKML’s Parking Lot Party at the Crown. These sellouts have not prevented fans from winning tickets in several other ways, including Ticket Stop opportunities and online and on-air contests—with chances still remaining.
Three Ticket Stops—chances for YOU to win tickets—remain before the Nov. 11 concert: Nov. 7 at the Holly Day Fair, hosted at the Crown Expo Center, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Nov. 8 at Timely Treasures, 1003 Honeycutt Rd., from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; and Nov. 9 at John Hiester Chrysler Dodge Jeep of Lillington, 940 N. Main St., Lillington, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Get all the details, including info on the Grand Prize VIP Experience, featuring front-row tickets, VIP pre-show passes and an autographed poster, at https://wkml.com/listicle/2024-stars-guitars-ticket-stop-calendar/.
Named “country music’s iconic feel-good duo” by PEOPLE, LOCASH, Preston Brust and Chris Lucas, levels big-hit sounds reminiscent of tunes from the 2000s.
Pumping up the crowds with Florida Georgia Line kind of energy, LOCASH has a pop-country feel that gets audiences singing and shouting for more. The circa 2015 band has eight charting singles, two successful albums, nearly 800 million global streams and a history of industry award recognitions. Announcing their 2024 partnership with 44 Farms, LOCASH recently supported Kane Brown’s DRUNK OR DREAMING TOUR.
Stars & Guitars attendees are likely to hear the duo’s smash hits, “I Love This Life,” “One Big Country Song” and “I Know Somebody,” along with other big-name collaborations.
The classic country sounds of Zach Top channels 90s nostalgia that wins with the WKML audience, according to Plotnick. Top released his first radio single, “Sounds Like the Radio,” at the top of 2024 via Leo33; he will join CMA Entertainer of the Year, Lainey Wilson, on her “Country’s Cool Again” Tour throughout the year following the release of his debut record, Cold Beer & Country Music. The Sunnyside, WA, native grew up ranching, tending to livestock and playing bluegrass music—the backstory to his love for country music today.
A TikTok sensation after the posting of “Beer Beer, Truck Truck,” George Birge is an original songwriter with two records currently on the radio: the chart-topping “Mind on You” and “Cowboy Songs.” Country artist Clay Walker and country rapper Colt Ford, among many others, have recorded Birge’s songs, and Walker even released Birge's co-write “Need a Bar Sometimes” as his new single.
“George Birge has a modern, gritty country feel to his music and is particularly appealing to the 20-something young female audience,” Plotnick said. “He has a Morgan Wallen kind of vibe.”
Kannapolis, North Carolina, native Kameron Marlowe, who formerly rocked Fayetteville’s Dogwood Festival, is happy to return to the city to play Stars & Guitars. Described by Plotnick as an “earthy, sort of alt-country artist with tension and meat behind his music,” Marlowe’s biggest hit, the Platinum-certified single “Giving You Up,” earned over 57 million views on YouTube. He’s also had hits with “Girl on Fire” and this year with Ella Langley on the song “Strangers.” The rising star from Season 15 of The Voice, who grew up singing in church, is currently touring alongside some of country music’s biggest stars. Marlowe is considered one of Nashville’s most exciting emerging voices and songwriters.
The duo Tigirlily Gold—North Dakota sisters Kendra and Krista Slaubaugh—have played music together practically since birth. They officially formed their band in high school and toured the mid-west, selling out amphitheaters across their home state of North Dakota.
Nashville was their next residence, where they earned a weekly spot at Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row on Nashville’s famous lower Broadway. The emotional pop country sounds of Tigirlily Gold propelled the band onto the country scene, where their debut single, “Shoot Tequila,” reached the Top 40 and went viral.
The duo’s hit single, “I Tried A Ring On,” released earlier this year, is currently finding huge airway success. Tigirlily has already debuted on the Grand Ole Opry and the TODAY Show, so why shouldn’t Fayetteville be next?
The 2024 WKML Stars & Guitars concert is a can’t miss! Tap into all your chances to win by tuning into The Big 95.7 and visiting https://wkml.com/.

(Graphics courtesy of Beasley Media Group)

Gallery 208-Chronicles of Time: A Retrospective Exhibition

12The newest exhibition at Gallery 208 brings together many of the artists who have been a part of the gallery’s history during the past ten years. Chronicles of Time: A Retrospective Exhibition is the last exhibit of the 2024 season, opening Oct. 22, 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Visitors to the exhibit will experience the ongoing discourse on the role of image and object-making that is taking place by 18 artists. The exhibit is a celebration of 16 artists who have exhibited before and two artists exhibiting at Gallery 208 for the first time. The artists in Chronicles of Time: A Retrospective Exhibition all contribute to the larger dialogue taking place in visual art today.
Visitors will see a painting hanging next to a digitally generated image, a mixed media alongside a photograph. The mix allows for comparisons, to observe common themes or differences in an artist’s approach — deepening our engagement with the artwork and the possibilities of art and creativity.
There are other advantages of a large group exhibit. We are able to compare and observe common themes or differences in what artists choose to focus their work on. Emerging and mid-career artists are exhibiting with established artists — providing an accessible and affordable way for collectors to discover new talent and acquire unique pieces.
Johanna Gore and Shane Booth are examples of an emerging artist exhibiting with a professional artist. Gore, a young artist, has explored identity in the last two years with a series of self-portraits. The work titled Life Mirrors Reality is a blurred digital image floating between the mark-making above and below the portrait.
Gore’s self-portrait hangs next to established artist Shane Booth — an artist known for his years of investigating the self-portrait as a theme in his work. Both artists are exhibiting portraits that hang next to each other in the gallery. Looking at the two portraits, we see the influences of very different historical and cultural experiences between each portrait.
Not all art is a self-portrait. But for many artists, their unique perspectives, preferences, and worldview can be interpreted as reflecting the artist’s identity and, therefore a self-portrait. Leslie Pearson is such an artist who imbues the work with her love of nature, the cycle of life (skeletal remains), and a fascination with our ecosystem.
In the exhibit, Pearson is showing small handmade books. In Pearson fashion, part of a bone or a lock of hair is submerged in a clear epoxy window on the surface of her hand-sewn books. Thick in depth, the books are journals for the owner to take notes in a work of art - each page is part of the greater aesthetic of the functional, abstracted, sculptural book form.
Dwight Smith and Vicki Rhoda both bring the self-portrait to their work. You cannot separate the artist from the image. Smith is exhibiting a small mixed media and is known for his large abstract paintings with references to African and African American symbols.
In Elizabethtown, North Carolina, Vicki Rhoda grew up with a church named Lula’s Temple located across the street from her house. Her recent body of relief prints interprets her memories of the pastor of Lula’s Temple. Rhoda shares her experiences in the print titled Lula’s Temple: Redemption.
One of two digital artists, Jonathan Chestnut used technology and AI to explore known texts. Chestnut’s print titled Genesis 3:24 is an interpretation of a quote: "So he drove out the man, and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." Using technology, AI, his drawing and digital skills, Chestnut is creating new visual interpretations on an old subject religion.
Abstracting nature is a theme by two artists: Katey Morrill and Callie Farmer. Farmer has shifted her interest in capturing the beauty of nature to abstracting it in graphic patterns of color and shapes. Morrill is exploring “the process of abstracting observed landscapes by emphasizing southern terrain patterns through color and shape.
Beauty is a theme we still see in a contemporary art world filled with conceptual art and spray paint. Jaden McRae is exhibiting a pencil study of an aged cherry tree in front of a building and its set of stairs. In the drawing titled Nappy Canopy, McRae reduces his subjects to value and planes.
Beverly Henderson is another artist who brings her love of nature as a subject. In the exhibit, Henderson is showing a mixed media work that explores not only the beauty of nature, but the potential of the unseen.
Titled Unconditional Love, Kyle Harding brings the beauty of childhood in a photographic portrait of her daughter Savannah with one of her large dogs. Throughout the years Harding’s two children are a perfect subject to capture the magic and fleeting essence of childhood. In this image, Harding has captured the ineffable: “the joy we experience from unconditional love and trust.”
In contrast, Angela Stout’s portrait painting titled Self-Embrace is filled with a sense of angst, but it also evokes beauty. Not only is it painted beautifully, but as Stout shares: “we can find beauty in the midst of despair.”
Leslie Pearson and Skylor Swann are the only two artists exhibiting three-dimensional works. Swann’s ceramics contrast with Pearson’s organic books. Swann’s recent work has shifted from his well-known organic forms, delicate tendrils emerging from protruding surfaces. His new work is the opposite. Beautifully crafted, the work is a play on minimalism and the everyday object. Made out of clay, Swann has created the illusion of an opened paper bay, standing upright, the open end reveals the negative space of the interior of the bag.
The two artists who have never exhibited at Gallery 208 are Adrienne Trego and Bobbe Garcia. Trego is a fiber artist exhibiting a triptych titled Entangled: Mycelium, Veins and Roots. Visitors will see how Trego uses different colored threads as her medium and focuses on nature and detail. The artist stated: “my work concentrates on the minute, the detail, the minuscule patterns, which we are interconnected in their own forms and with the larger world.”
In the long list of artists, Bobbe Garcia’s prints are another example of a fresh interpretation of beauty and nature around us. Her compositions of patterns and color move across the surface of her paper, reminding us of the patterns of color that can be lost in a moment when the light changes.
A refreshing exhibit, Gallery 208 welcomes the public to view the Chronicles of Time: A Retrospective Exhibition. The gallery is located at Up and Coming Weekly, 208 West Rowan Street in Fayetteville. Gallery hours are Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The exhibit will remain until Dec. 11. For more information call 910-484-6200.

(Photo: Jonathan Chestnut print titled Genesis 3:24 is a piece using both AI and Chestnut's drawing skills.)

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