News & Events
ABC Fashion Show
September 17, 6:30pm at the Arts Center
This event is being held at the Arts Center and is the brain child a student at Arendell Parrott Academy, Prianka Anand. Prianka has been working closely with students at North Lenoir, South Lenoir, Kinston High, and her own school to bring her vision to life. The reasons the "ABC (Anything But Clothing) Fashion Show and Art Sale" came about is tri-fold: the event is part activism, part fund-raiser, and part fun. The event is being held to raise awareness of discarded items headed for the recycle bin or landfill. The proceeds from ticket sales and the sale of donated artwork will go to benefit the art departments of each of the four schools. And the fashion show promises to be great fun to participate in as well as enjoy as an audience member.
Prianka Anand has been working hard to gather discarded items for use in this event. Several teams from all four schools will assemble at the Arts Center on Saturday, September 17. Each team will be given a pile of discarded items to work with and they are to design an outfit in only a couple of hours. Each team's model will display the outfit on the runway at 7pm. Audience members may begin arriving at 6:30pm for light hors d'oeuvres and to browse the artwork for sale. Come to the Arts Center and experience this one-of-a-kind event!
Artist of the Month
Dinah Sharpe Sylivant has been named by the Lenoir County Artist League as the featured "Artist of the Month" for March. Dinah is from Snow Hill, NC and has been painting for 35 years. She is an established artist in the traditional sense. She has studied under many artists.
Pictured: Dinah Sylivant & painting, "Sassy Egret"
Dinah is a member of the American Society of Portrait Artist, Kinston Community Council for the Arts, Lenoir County Artist League, Arts Council of Carteret County, and Greenville, NC Brushstrokes. She has been an artist-in-residence at Arendell Parrott Academy in Kinston, NC.
Dinah was named the poster artist of the 2002 North Carolina Seafood Festival, the 2002 Core Sound Decoy Festival, and the 2009 North Carolina Sweet Potato Festival.
Dinah's mediums are oil and pastel. She believes art should invite the viewer to enter into the piece of work and feel the presence of the subject.
The Arts Center and Tourism
The Arts Center contributes to tourism. How?? In the month of March, due to just the activities of the Arts Council we have rented 50 motel rooms for artists in residence in our community. At an average of $100/room that’s $5,000 and does not include meals, gas, sundries, etc. which at an average of $50/person/day is (180 days = 15 people totaling 15 days of stay) equals $11,250. In addition, the Arts Center, due to the artist’s tech riders has spent an additional $5,000. The total, $12,250.00 has been spent in our community through the artistic programs of the Arts Council in just one month. This does not include the grants that supported the artistic fees which totaled $29,000 or the volunteer hours. Also it does not count the artists visiting other attractions in our community or other visitors utilizing the Arts Center for events. These events not only bring visitors who rent motel rooms or stay in private rooms, but also spend dollars, particularly with the hospitality industry -caterers, florists, linen services, etc. The Arts Council is a good investment in Kinston/Lenoir County.
