A new, multi-cultural, arts initiative seeks to mix things up in Winston-Salem by challenging regional artists and community members from diverse racial backgrounds to take part in a citywide celebration of community diversity. The arts/community initiative will center around four cross-cultural, multi-ethnic exhibitions of visual art titled "Blurring Racial Barriers" hosted by Delta Arts Center, Diggs Gallery at Winston-Salem State, Salem College Art Gallery and the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art.

The exhibition schedule is listed at the end of this article. Each exhibit's reception is designed to make opportunities for participants to meet, share ideas and get to know each other. "Blurring Racial Barriers" is sponsored by Crossing 52 and was made possible through an ECHO grant from the Winston-Salem Foundation.

Everyday, each of us ventures into the world regardless of our age, race, color, creed or culture. We simply live in the skin that we are in. When Crossing 52 initiated a citywide celebration of community diversity through the visual arts by sending out a Call-to-Artists this summer, they expected and received a strong response. The curators, Vicki Kopf, Dianne Caesar, Belinda Tate, and Kim Varnadoe, envisioned a citywide exhibition that celebrates the true racial and cultural diversity of our community, a diversity so rich and so broad that no one institution could capture it alone. Thus, a different version of the exhibition is planned for each of the four institutions.

Sometimes artists, like others, get comfortable within a circle of friends. The four arts institutions along with Crossing 52 thought it important to shake things up a bit and play musical chairs to invigorate the community with a broader representation of the diversity that exists, but we often fail to recognize. The curators believe that we share a common humanity, which can be expressed through art. These exhibitions represent an opportunity for the artists and galleries alike, to peek into the world of others and explore how each of us contributes to the make-up of our region.

The goal of this new arts/community initiative is to encourage people to meet and talk with one another -- to become friends. The exhibitions and discussions will not highlight individuals but, rather, will represent the whole community. They will not be about religion or politics but about everyone working together to promote cultural harmony.

Crossing 52 wants to make these exhibitions a rewarding experience for everyone, not just regular gallery visitors. Schools, religious institutions, seniors groups and other community organizations should put them on their schedules.

Crossing 52 Initiative is an organization founded and operated to improve race relations and to combat racism in the community. The idea for a cross-cultural art exhibition was brought to Crossing 52 and the galleries by Trena McNabb, a local artist who is interested in creating a community here in the "City of the Arts" that will promote cross-cultural friendships. The Winston-Salem Foundation's ECHO Grant program seeks to build social capital in the greater Forsyth County area community.

Blurring Racial Barriers Exhibition Schedule

January 14 - March 17, 2006
Diggs Gallery at Winston-Salem State University
Reception - January 14; 2-4pm
601 South Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive
Winston-Salem, NC 27110
336-750-2458; diggsinfo@wssu.edu

March 27 - April 30, 2006
Salem Fine Arts Center Gallery
Exhibition opens on March 27
Reception - April 9th; 2-4pm
601 S. Church Street, 301 Fine Arts Center
Winston-Salem, NC 27108; 336-721-2636

May 5 - June 18, 2006
Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art
Reception - May 5th; 7-9pm
Community Day - May 13th; 1-4pm
750 Marguerite Drive, Winston-Salem, NC 27106
336-725-1904; general@secca.org

September 17 - October 28, 2006
Delta Arts Center
Reception - September 17th; 3-5pm
2611 New Walkertown Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27101
336-722-2625; www.deltafinearts.org