In summer 2022, the Weatherspoon Art Museum received a tremendous gift of more than 100 artworks made at the Taller De Grafica Popular (The People's Print Workshop) in Mexico City.Popularly known as the TGP, this collective of artists formed in 1957 to create prints, posters, and flyers aimed at uplifting the progressive idealism of the Mexican Revolution.In fall 2022, students in two UNC Greensboro art history courses came together to study the history of the TGP, together generating a base of knowledge from which to curate an exhibition and share that learning with others.The Weatherspoon Art Museum is grateful to Dr. Robert Healy and Kay Edgar for their transformative gift of more than 100 artworks from the Taller De Gráfica Popular.Video directed by Harvey K. Robinson.To Serve the People: Prints from Mexico’s Taller de Gráfica Popular January 21 - May 15, 2023“In order to serve the people, art must reflect the social reality of the times.“In 1937, this belief inspired the foundation of the Taller de Gráfica Popular (the People’s Print Workshop), commonly known as the TGP, in Mexico City. Committed to the progressive idealism of the Mexican Revolution, the artists of the TGP worked together to create prints, posters, flyers, and other works on paper aimed at educating the widest possible audience about the social issues of their day. Fundamental to their artistic production was a democratic group process of collective critiques and negotiated decision making.That commitment to shared learning and leadership has likewise fueled the production of this exhibition. In fall 2022, students in two UNCG art history courses came together to study the history and output of the TGP, as well as collaboratively curate this installation. The layout of artworks in the galleries, the texts presented alongside them, and a supporting timeline of Mexican history were all generated by the students through a process of individual readings and presentations, group discussions and critiques, multiple small-group working sessions, and many rounds of peer editing.At the heart of the students’ work was an incredible collection of over one hundred TGP prints brought together by Robert Healy, Professor Emeritus of Environmental Policy at Duke University, and recently promised to the Weatherspoon. This transformative gift to the museum’s collection provides rich material for teaching not only in art history but also across such disciplines as economics, geography, history, and sociology, to name just a few.Organized by the students of ARH490 and Dr. Emily Stamey, curator and head of exhibitions, with the students of ARH219 and Dr. Nicole Scalissi, assistant professor of art history.

Steve Cozart at the Weatherspoon Art Museum

Dr. Claribel & Miss Etta Cone Art Collection presentation to the Bertha L. and Moses H. Cone Society members as part of a Cone Health hosted virtual event on November 19, 2020.Cone Society members learned about Claribel and Etta Cone, the Cone sisters, who became voracious modern art collectors and recognized the value of sharing that art with the public. Weatherspoon Curator of Collections Elaine D. Gustafson presented a history of the Cone sisters’ impact on art in America and specifically at the Weatherspoon. Their donation of art in 1950 to the Weatherspoon became one of the cornerstones of the museum’s permanent collection. The Cone family’s generosity continued with gifts to fund art acquisitions to build the collection and the lead gift from Anne and Benjamin Cone, Sr., to construct the Weatherspoon’s current museum building. Cone Health Philanthropy Officer Ruth Heyd led a live question and answer session with Gustafson and Anne and Benjamin Cone Memorial Endowed Director Juliette Bianco, allowing participants to engage in the discussion.The virtual presentation also included remarks from Weatherspoon Arts Foundation Board member Sally Cone, UNCG Chancellor Frank Gilliam, Cone Health Chief Executive Officer Terry Akin, and the Weatherspoon’s Juliette Bianco. The museum’s sculpture garden served as a perfect setting on a clear November afternoon to capture these leaders’ thoughts about their shared passions for education, health, and art as well as their gratitude for the Cone family’s commitment to Greensboro.Weatherspoon Art Museum: https://weatherspoonart.org/ Weatherspoon Collection: https://weatherspoonart.org/collection/ UNC Greensboro: http://www.uncg.edu/Dr. Claribel & Miss Etta Cone bibliography:Cameron, Dianna and Carrie Streeter. "Modern Visions Modern Art: The Cone Sisters in North Carolina." Blowing Rock, NC: Blowing Rock Art & History Museum. 2019.Fillion, Susan. "Miss Etta and Dr. Claribel: Bringing Matisse to America." Boston: David R. Godine. 2011.Gabriel, Mary. "The Art of Acquiring: A Portrait of Etta & Claribel Cone." Baltimore, Maryland: Bancroft Press. 2002.Hirschland, Ellen B. and Nancy Hirschland Ramage. "The Cone Sisters of Baltimore: Collecting at Full Tilt." Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press. 2008.Levitov, Karen. "Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters: The Cone Sisters of Baltimore." New York: The Jewish Museum. 2011.Pollack, Barbara. "The Collectors: Dr. Claribel and Miss Etta Cone." New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc. 1962.Richardson, Brenda. "Dr. Claribel & Miss Etta." The Cone Collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art. Baltimore, Maryland: Baltimore Museum of Art. 1985.