Happy Hill art exhibit aims to reclaim and re-present the history of Winston-Salem's oldest Black neighborhood

The Happy Hill Neighborhood Association Art Anthology was founded in 1999 to preserve the legacy of Winston-Salem's oldest Black neighborhood. Its latest exhibit will be on display in the main gallery at Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts through February 18.

The exhibition serves as part of a continued effort by residents to reclaim and preserve the neighborhood's history. WFDD's DJ Simmons spoke with the anthology's founder and exhibit curator Kayyum Allah.

Interview Highlights

On a story or theme for the exhibit:

"We wanted to just show the unity and the value of family life in Happy Hill. By being the oldest Black community in Winston-Salem, and probably in North Carolina, the family structure was very important. So this particular exhibit really highlights family and community and the cultural value of Happy Hill."

 On how an exhibit like this ensures that the history remains for the future:

"Well this is the first series or the first major exhibit of the collected work from the coalition and it is so valuable and so vital to just really getting the city at large a true picture of what was going on in Happy Hill from the time that it was established in 1872 when the first people, Black people, were allowed to purchase lots and build homes in this area. So to actually have artists come in and re-visualize and then re-present this history to the city at large and also the world is vital."

On what Kayyum Allah hopes that viewers of the exhibit pull from this art:

"My hope is that they will look through the art, look through the exhibit, walk through, fellowship, communicate, reminisce and just enjoy the creativity of the art that's being presented. If they're curious about the history, about the pieces that are relevant, then ask questions and learn more about the history and even be inspired to help reproduce the history."