Maiquel Claudio Flores Work Selected for 2025 JMArts Holiday Cards

SILER CITY, N.C. — Maiquel Claudio Flores, a 10th-grade artist from Siler City, has been named winner of Jordan-Matthews High School’s seventh-annual holiday art contest.

Her mixed media work, “Bright Winter Forest,” will appear on holiday cards sold by JMArts, the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation, to raise money for the school's visual and performing artists. Claudio Flores was presented an award certificate and received $100 for rights to reproduce the work.

Holiday cards feature her work on the front with a blank area inside for personal messages. The back lists the name of the artist and work, along with a very short artist statement.

Claudio Flores's forest scene was chosen after consultation with professional artists for its charm, originality and artistic excellence.

“This Holiday Card project gives students real-world experience in creating art for a client,” said JMArts President Rose Pate. “Maiquel’s vibrant colors and sophisticated shading create a card many people will enjoy sharing during the holiday season — and beyond.”

Preorders for JMArts Holiday Cards are now being accepted online at JMArtsHolidayCards.com with an expected delivery date in the first week of November. Cards are available online in packets of 15 cards and 17 envelopes for $20, a price that also includes domestic shipping. The domain forwards to a Google form, where you can place your order and pay online by credit card, Venmo or Cash App. Payment also is accepted by cash or check.

Cards also will be on sale soon for $15 per packet, cash or check only, at the Jordan-Matthews High School main office and the Chatham Rabbit-NC Arts Incubator in downtown Siler City. Other retail locations may be announced on JMArts social media.

Previous JMArts Holiday Cards featured “Cozy Together” by Kenzie Barnett, “Love in Winter” by Stephanie Aleman, “The Perfect Winter Morning” by Lilli Otterbach, “Arctic” by Vielka Gonzalez, “Winter Solace” by Maggie Thornton and “Lighthouse on Christmas Eve” by Natalia Pozos Velasco.

More information about JMArts is available online at JMArts.org — including a schedule of upcoming arts events, information on membership and much more about student activities and accomplishments.

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“Bright Winter Forest,” a mixed media work by Maiquel Claudio Flores, is featured on this year’s JMArts Holiday Cards sold to raise money for arts education at Jordan-Matthews High School.

Artist Maiquel Claudio Flores, center, receives her award certificate and $100 check from art teacher Laura Newman, left, and JMArts President Rose Pate. (Photo by Chip Pate)

Five Community Leaders Appointed to JMArts Board of Directors

SILER CITY, N.C. — Five community leaders have been appointed to the JMArts Board of Directors to help lead the local nonprofit organization providing educational opportunity for actors, artists, dancers and musicians at Jordan-Matthews High School.

Kevin Lindley and Zulma Ureña have accepted four-year appointments to the board. Current Jordan-Matthews student artists Delaney Fuquay, Charline Jimenez Rojo and Zyniuh Marsh have all accepted one-year appointments to the board. At least one Jordan-Matthews student artist is appointed each fall to a one-year term on the board. But, this year, three outstanding student artists applied for the position and all were appointed.

Other members of the JMArts board of directors are president Rose Pate, vice president Matt Fry, Angie Brady-Andrew, Greg Burriss, Heath Smith and William Ureña. Denise Partin serves as treasurer, but is not currently a member of the board.

Lindley is a civil engineer specializing in solid waste management and recycling, who also is a Jordan-Matthews graduate, musician and photographer focusing on lifestyle and sports. “As a JM alumnus, I have been thrilled to see the work JMArts has done to enhance arts education and provide amazing experiences for the students,” he says. "I’m excited for the opportunity to contribute to this important work as a member of the board.”

Ureña has been a longtime volunteer and advisor for JMArts. She is employed as an English Language Learners Student Success Advocate for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and has provided many Spanish translations for JMArts.

Fuquay is an actor, vocalist and JMArts Scholar, having studied this summer at the UNCG Summer Music Camp in Greensboro. She performed the role of Miss Honey in Jordan-Matthews' spring production of “Matilda” and performed on the Durham Performing Arts Center stage in the ensemble for the 2025 DPAC Rising Star Awards. She plans to contibute to the board by brainstorming creative ideas, providing honest opinions and helping promote the school’s arts program. 

Jimenez Rojo is a talented visual artist and JMArts Scholar, having studied this summer at the UNCG Summer Art and Design Initiative in Greensboro. Jimenez Rojo, who has taken art classes through the honors level and was selected for last year’s One Chatham Art clinic, said she looks forward to contributing great art that everyone loves and serving on the board so she can “help with anything and everyone.”

Marsh is a multidisciplinary artist, a visual artist who also has performed on guitar with The Co-Pilots, the Jordan-Matthews rock band — as well as in band, dance and theater. Her Audrey II puppet brought critical acclaim for her work as an artist and in “Matilda,” received rave reviews in a comic role as the Cook. Marsh said she is looking forward to contributing creative ideas, visual arts pieces and helping other artists.

JMArts, the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation, is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, charitable organization and nonprofit corporation registered with the State of North Carolina. It was created in 2011 to enhance arts education and provide exceptional opportunities for artists at the public high school.

In addition to creating and funding student arts workshops, performance opportunities and events, JMArts conducts three major projects each year.

Since being launched in 2012, JMArts Scholars has awarded 113 scholarships to 79 students for intensive study over the summer, usually at weeklong, residential workshops offered on university campuses. JMArts Scholars develop their talent, explore artistic options before making their college decisions and bring what they learn back to share with other Jordan-Matthews students.

JMArts also produces Jordan-Matthews’ annual musical, providing funding to secure performance rights and cover production costs, as well as handling marketing and promotion, box office and ticketing, and other business needs. Jordan-Matthews musicals have included the North Carolina premier of “Frozen” and have received several regional DPAC Rising Star Awards nominations.

Its latest project, Pinnacle of the Arts, gives Jordan-Matthews actors, artists, dancers and musicians an opportunity to experience world-class arts and learn directly from world-class artists. About 30 students attend each event entirely free of charge — including excellent seating locations, transportation and even a meal.

This year’s Pinnacle series includes: Kotis Street Art Experience, a tour of world-class street art in Greensboro followed by a hands-on spray-paint workshop; Handel’s “Messiah” performed by the North Carolina Symphony and North Carolina Master Chorale; the renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater on its national tour; Behind the Scenes at the North Carolina Museum of Art, a look at the permanent collection, special exhibitions and how the museum curates and presents art; the world’s premier big band, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis; and the blockbuster musical, “Hamilton,” on its North American Broadway Tour.

More information about JMArts is available at JMArts.org.

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Community leaders recently appointed to the JMArts Board are, left to right beginning on the top row: Kevin Lindley, Zulma Ureña, Delaney Fuquay, Charline Jimenez Rojo and Zyniuh Marsh.

JM Students to Explore World-Class Music and Art with Grant from the Wren Foundation

SILER CITY, N.C. — More than 90 Jordan-Matthews High School students will have an opportunity to experience world-class music and art this academic year thanks to a grant from the Wren Foundation.

The contribution to JMArts, the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation, funds three of six events in this year's Pinnacle of the Arts, a series giving students an opportunity to explore world-class arts regardless of their family’s financial circumstances.

All events — including outstanding seating locations, transportation and a meal — are offered to students entirely free of charge. Most also provide personal interaction with the artists, who answer questions and provide expert perspective illuminating the artistic work students are experiencing.

The Wren Foundation grant makes it possible for more than 30 Jordan-Matthews artists at each event to experience Handel’s “Messiah” performed by the North Carolina Symphony and North Carolina Master Chorale; a daylong, behind-the-scenes exploration of the North Carolina Museum of Art; and music by the world’s premier big band, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.

Most of the Pinnacle performances include a discussion with performers and other professionals about how the art is interpreted and presented. A discussion with musicians from the North Carolina Symphony after “Messiah” has already been confirmed. After students attended a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony last year, they had a conversation with North Carolina Symphony Musical Director and Conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto and Violinist Pablo Sánchez Pazos.

This season’s other three Pinnacle of the Arts events are the Broadway musical “Hamilton” on its North American tour, the legendary Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the Kotis Street Art Experience. The street art experience, focusing on world-class street art in Greensboro, was designed specially for JM artists by JMArts, Kotis Street Art and professional muralist Jenna Rice, who will lead a hands-on spray-paint workshop after the street-art tour.

“The Wren Foundation has a long history of supporting Jordan-Matthews, both academically and artistically,” said JMArts President Rose Pate. "We are grateful for their ongoing commitment to providing top-tier arts experiences for our students.”

Margaret de St. Aubin, president of the Wren Foundation, said she was impressed with what will be offered this year. “The Wren Foundation is happy to sponsor three events in the Pinnacle of the Arts series,” she said. "The symphony and jazz concerts and the museum tour are all wonderful experiences, which will broaden their horizons and have a positive impact, and I know the students will enjoy them.”

More information about JMArts — including Pinnacle of the Arts, JMArts Scholars and other events throughout the arts season — is available at JMArts.org.

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North Carolina Symphony Violinist Pablo Sánchez Pazos, left, and Musical Director and Conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto discuss Beethoven Symphony No. 9 and their careers as classical musicians with Jordan-Matthews High School students as part of last year’s Pinnacle of the Arts series. (Photo by Rose Pate)

Jordan-Matthews High School artists explore the North Carolina Museum of Art as part of last year’s Pinnacle of the Arts series. Behind the Scenes at the North Carolina Museum of Art is a daylong exploration of the permanent collection and special exhibitions — with an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at how the museum curates, preserves and presents some of the world’s most cherished art. (Photo by Rose Pate)