Artist Tiana Brooks commissioned for first-ever JMArts spring greeting cards

SILER CITY, N.C. — Tiana Brooks, a senior artist at Jordan-Matthews High School and JMArts Scholar, was commissioned to create work for the first-ever JMArts spring greeting cards now on sale.

Her digital work, “symbol of strength”, will appear on greeting cards sold by JMArts, the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation, to raise money for JM artists. Brooks received $100 for the rights to reproduce her work.

The greeting cards are designed for any occasion and planned for sale before Mother’s Day, graduation and other spring occasions. They feature the digital work on the front with a blank area inside for personal messages. The back lists the name of the artist and her work, along with a very short artist statement.

Brooks was recently selected as one of 35 high school artists statewide to exhibit work at The 2021 Emerging Artists Invitational, an exhibition for high school artists sponsored by the Darrell E. Sechrest Art Gallery and the High Point University School of Art and Design. Her mixed media work, “Say Their Names”, is appearing now in the exhibition being held online this year due to the pandemic. The exhibition runs through April 19.

Preorders for JMArts greeting cards are now being accepted online at JMArtsGreetingCards.com. Packets of 10 cards and 12 envelopes are $10 each at the Jordan-Matthews High School office — or $13 by mail to domestic addresses. The domain forwards to a Google form, where you can place an order and pay online with a credit card or through the mail by cash or check.

More information about JMArts, including a schedule of upcoming arts events and information on membership, is available online at JMArts.org.

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The front and back panels of this spring’s JMArts greeting cards featuring Tiana Brooks’s digital work, “symbol of strength”.

Tiana Brooks selected to exhibit work at The 2021 Emerging Artists Invitational

SILER CITY, N.C. — Tiana Brooks, a senior at Jordan-Matthews High School and JMArts Scholar, was one of 35 high school artists statewide chosen to exhibit work at The 2021 Emerging Artists Invitational, an annual exhibition for high school artists sponsored by the Sechrest Gallery of Art and the High Point University School of Art and Design.

Her mixed media work, “Say Their Names”, is appearing now in the exhibition being held online this spring due to the pandemic. In past years, the event has taken place in the art gallery and has culminated with a daylong special program for students featuring workshops, tours of High Point art facilities and a special reception to honor the works on exhibition.

This year’s virtual exhibition runs through April 19. It can be viewed at highpoint.edu/artdesign/2021/03/11/emerging_artists_2021/ by scrolling through the slide show and clicking on any image for a larger view of the work. During the exhibition, the Sechrest Gallery will announce special prizes and feature each work on its Instagram feed.

“This piece was created for the sole purpose of remembering the Black women who lost their lives in the hands of police officers,” Brooks said of her work. “We must remember these women and fight for their rights and justice.”

Themes of compassion, understanding and justice run through much of Brooks’ work, one reason among many that JM art teacher Rahkie Mateen-Mason has developed such respect for the young artist. “We often hear that life imitates art, but art also imitates life,” Mateen-Mason said. “In Tiana’s piece, ‘Say their Names’, Tiana tackled a really tough subject. I think what I admire most about Tiana is that her art is so personal that it often becomes universal.”

Brooks received first place in “Path to the Woods,” a 2019 juried art show at Jordan-Matthews held in conjunction with the high school’s stage production of “Into the Woods.” She has exhibited at other shows in the area including the 2019 Chatham Artists Guild Studio Tour Student Show, received her school’s 2020 Young Artist Award and was named a 2020 JMArts Scholar, an annual honor awarding scholarships for intensive study over the summer at weeklong, residential workshops offered on university campuses.

More information about JMArts, including a schedule of upcoming arts events and information on membership, is available online at JMArts.org.

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“Say Their Names”, a mixed media work by Jordan-Matthews artist Tiana Brooks, is on exhibit through April 19 as one of 35 works selected statewide for The 2021 Young Artists Invitational.

JMArts Scholar Tiana Brooks with her mixed media work “The Beauty Within” — the first of four works in sequence — that was exhibited in Siler City as part of the 2019 Chatham Artists Guild Studio Tour Student Show.

2021 JMArts Scholars applications open for intensive summer study in the arts

SILER CITY, N.C. — Applications are now being accepted for 2021 JMArts Scholars, a program offered by JMArts, the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation, to provide intensive summer study in the arts for current Jordan-Matthews High School students who will be returning to the school next year.

Since being launched in 2012, JMArts Scholars has awarded 67 scholarships to 44 students, allowing them to develop their talent, explore artistic options before making their college decisions and bring what they learn back to share with other students. Awards may vary, but generally cover the full cost of attending the workshop.

Students can apply online using a link at jmarts.org/scholars. Scholarship decisions are being made on a rolling basis, but all applications must be submitted by April 15.

Plans for many of this year's summer workshops statewide are still in flux due to the pandemic. Some, like NC State’s Design Camp, will be held virtually, with students receiving “camp in a box” containing all of the materials they need to complete their design projects. Others, including those offered by the NC State Department of Music, will be day camps. Some are waiting a few more weeks to announce their final plans.

“This isn’t a typical year, to say the least, but there are many more workshops being held than there were last year, when almost everything was canceled,” said JMArts President Rose Pate. “Whatever options are available, we are committed to providing this opportunity for our arts students — along with the much-deserved recognition as JMArts Scholars for what they have accomplished already.”

Scholarships are funded by individual contributions to the foundation, community fundraisers and ticket sales for the fall musical and major concerts during the academic year, most of which had to be canceled this fall.

Pate says she understands how difficult things have been for many people during the pandemic. “But if you’re in a position to contribute,” she said, “your generosity now would provide much-needed opportunity for student artists who have been struggling over the last year to advance their work.”

Contributions can be made online at the JMArts website, jmarts.org, which also includes information about the nonprofit foundation, membership information and a schedule of upcoming events.

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Laci Burt, from left, Jennifer Trejo Benitez and Conrad Suits after their cabaret performances at the 2019 UNC Music Workshop in Chapel Hill. The cabaret is one of two major public performances held each year at Hill Hall during the weeklong workshop for vocalists and pianists.