Visual Artist Mariyah Sultan, Paul Brown and His Piedmont Pals, Faith in Films, and More

Mariyah Sultan

High Point University's beautiful Sechrest Gallery is home to the fascinating new solo exhibition of paintings by abstract expressionist Mariyah Sultan. Director and Curator Maxine Campbell says Mariyah's works were painted,  “With unabashed freedom, Sultan incorporates brilliant splashes of rich color, flat planes, the subtle variance of textured grays and elegant childlike lines in her paintings and drawings”.

Mariyah says her work reflects the atmosphere and sounds swirling around her. That atmosphere changed dramatically about four years ago with a move from her home in New York to High Point, NC. Mariyah's large scale paintings and murals are set in striking oil and pastel colors, cool and varied greys, broad strokes and tiny detailed gestures of graphite…

Her exhibition of large scale paintings from 2012-2015 titled “Elemental Emulsions” will continue at High Point University's Sechrest Gallery through March 5^th. On Friday, February 6^th from 4 to 6 p.m., there will be a reception at the gallery with an artist talk at 5 p.m., and musical performance by violinist Marta Richardson. It's free and open to the public.

****

Paul Brown

The variety and richness of music traditions found throughout the Piedmont and Blue Ridge is truly staggering. Paul Brown is a former NPR newscaster, former WFDD news director, and a celebrated musician. Terri McMurray, Paul's wife is  a talented multi-instrumentalist and retired educator. They share a deep and abiding love for traditional Appalachian music, and for decades they have shined a light on the amazing musicians who have kept the tradition alive, their music and the wonderful stories that go along with it.

This weekend, in collaboration with the Blue Ridge Music Center and their great interpretive mission, Paul, Terri and Piedmont Pal Craig Smith return to Winston-Salem with Across the Blue Ridge: Old Sounds, New Trails. Together they'll perform as the house band—that's one heck of a house band by the way—and they'll be joined by guest performers the dynamic Buckstankle Boys, Helen White and legendary guitarist and luthier Wayne Henderson.

Across the Blue Ridge: Old Sounds, New Trails  with Craig Smith, Wayne Henderson, Helen White and The Buckstankle Boys is Saturday, February 7^th at 2pm and 7:30pm at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA). Both shows are sold out, but thankfully for us here in the Piedmont, you don't have to wait long or look far for lots of excellent Traditional Appalachian Music performances. 

The Blue Ridge Music Center at mile post 210 on the Parkway has outdoor amphitheater concert programs every Saturday during the warm months and lunchtime performances practically daily in the breezeway there. There's a new Earl Scruggs museum in Shelby you'll want to check out dedicated to the life and times of the man who revolutionized banjo picking in the post war era. Up in Bristol, Virginia there's a wonderful museum devoted to what it calls the birthplace of country music—certainly the country music recording industry owes a lot to Bristol. There's a Tuesday night contra dance in Clemmons with live music, WPAQ in Mt. Airy and the Merry Go Round every Saturday live downtown at the Earl Theatre. While in Mt. Airy you might check out the fiddler's conventions there in the spring and in June. There are fiddler's convention in Fries, Virginia, West Jefferson, North Carolina, and Cliff Top, West Virginia every summer you'll find a fiddler convention there as well just to name but a few. You'll find complete listings in The Old Time Herald Magazine.

****

Butter Birkas and "Faith in Film" Series

For years now, in addition to providing traditional services and church activities, Centenary United Methodist Church in Winston-Salem has been exploring faith through virtually all of the arts with poetry readings, painting, sculpture, music and more. The Music and Arts Ministry there continually pushes the arts envelope forward with weekly Roots Revival performances, special events like this weekend's Love Thy Neighbor Fashion Show, and once again this year, movies. Centenary's ongoing Faith in Films series iscurated and hosted by former RiverRun Film Festival director Butter Birkas. She gives pre-film lectures and facilitates post-film discussions with audience members to provide deeper insight into each of the classic films presented throughout the season. This year's Faith in Films series is "The Mythic Hero," a subject that's near and dear to Butter's heart.

You can join Butter, and fellow film fans of all ages throughout the series in their exploration of The Mythic Hero. (Except Children of Men which is decidedly not a kid-friendly movie.) The screenings are free and open to the public. They're every Sunday this month beginning at 2PM in Memorial Auditorium beginning Sunday, February 8^th with Charlie Chaplin's “City Lights”. 

****

Unbroken Circle

The Unbroken Circle is Wake Forest University's multi-generational string band. It's a community of musicians who gather together regularly to share in the fellowship of music-making, song-sharing, story-telling, and poetry reading. They also come together for worthy causes, and on Saturday night, February 7th at 7:00 pm they'll offer a free concert at Kulynych Auditorium in the Byrum Welcome Center on the Wake campus Winston-Salem.

Donations will be collected there for The Shalom Project, a Winston-Salem charity that feeds the hungry, provides clothing to those in need, and tutors at risk children. They also care for the sick running one of the largest free medical clinics in the city.  The fundraiser will be an intimate evening of live, acoustic Old Time music and blue grass with poetry readings by Ed Wilson. WFU Dean of Admissions Martha Allman is a member of The Unbroken Circle. She's a native of Mitchell County, North Carolina in the Appalachian Mountains. The Wake alumna and auto harp player, along with her family will join their friends in The Unbroken Circle on Saturday night, February 7th at 7:00 pm. 

Last year they had standing room only in the Welcome Center auditorium and raised $8,000, and this year with your help, they're hoping to repeat that success!