news
Board of Directors
We are pleased to announce the addition of four board members to TOSS! We have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each of these remarkable, creative individuals, and can’t wait for you to, as well!
TOSS Board Member, Michael Berley, will have a sculpture on display at the South Carolina Governors School Alumni Exhibition. Congratulations Michael! Here is an excerpt from his artist statement:
The “Morgan Civitas” sculpture was created as part of a competition for ART/RE/ART. ART/RE/ART is a series of pop up art events in downtown Morganton, NC, founded by artist Nancy VanNoppen. These free events, held in nontraditional art spaces, offer alternative ways to interact with and experience art in the community. Typically, there is an emphasis on performative, interactive, and installation art works. In the fall of 2019, the show organizers asked area businesses and artists to embellish and display mannequins throughout the city in order to build interest in the upcoming event.
The city was invited to embellish a provided, full size nude mannequin. This task was turned over to me. I tend to be frugal when it comes to art supplies using them sparingly or using existing or free materials. This is a battle between being loose and creative versus being held back by material costs. I used this characteristic in setting the tone for Morgan Civitas.
I met with city department directors and administration asking them to provide outdated and used materials representing their departments. Materials were gathered from departments of administration, main street, municipal auditorium, public safety, recreation, electric, cable and development and design, etcetera. Some items include baseball trophies, safety equipment, survey ribbon, street light fixtures, magazines, license tags, old promotional items, wiring, phones, video camera, meters and road signs. These items were then unified on the mannequin representing all city departments. Each time the mannequin is viewed a new item becomes apparent. On the night of the ART/RE/ART event the mannequins were brought together at the venue for public voting. “Morgan Civitas” won best in show.
The exhibition opens March 23rd and closes April 24th.
Reception to be announced
Visual Arts Department
SC Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities
15 University Street
Greenville, SC 29601
(864) 282-3705
In review
TOSSafter
TOSSafter, our afterschool program for students in k-12th grade. In this program, students are trained in creative, critical thinking and familiarized with visual mediums such as painting, drawing, ceramics, sculpture, printmaking, textiles, and photography.
DEETS
Hours: Monday-Thursday, 3:30pm- 5pm (When Burke County Schools are in, TOSSafter will be operating.)
Location: Studio @ The Outreach Center
Team Lead: Hannah Thrower
Teachers: Hannah Thrower and Kathryn Ervin
Volunteers: Five, weekly volunteers
Partners: Burke Arts Council, Burke County Literacy Council, Burke County School System
Participation: ~40 students (90% capacity); 10 students fully funded through scholarships
Events/Outreach:
FAB Crawl 11/30
TOSSing 12/14
Yuletide 12/15
Dancing with the Burke Stars 2/1
Los Mayas de Morganton 2/3
Funding: Tuition, individual contributions, TOSShunts, regional foundations
TOSSworks
TOSSworks is a series of workshops we host with partnering organizations for students in k-8th grade. Currently, we have three program in this series: Our Big Backyard, Mini Makers, and Los Mayas de Morganton.
#1
Our Big Back Yard
This monthly workshop series is a partnership with Forest Hill Elementary and the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina to highlight issues around conservation and ecology through the arts.
Dates: Sept-May, 2019/20
Location: Forest Hill Elementary
Team Lead: Hannah Thrower
Partners: Forest Hill Elementary, Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina
Participation: ~275 elementary students
Funding: PTO, Creating New Economies Fund (CNEF)
#2
Mini Makers | Pequenos Creadores
This free series seeks to connect guardians/parents with accessible materials and ideas for art making and experimentation with their little one (0-3yrs).
Dates: Jan-Dec 2020
Location: Early Head Start + TOSS
Team Lead: Kirksey Lowther
Partners: Early Head Start
Participation: 15-25 families
Funding: Walmart Foundation
#3 Los Mayas de Morganton
This project is in support of Little Guatemala, an emerging cultural center and coffee business. Together we seek to share the contributions of the Mayan Guatemalans in Morganton through the arts!
Dates: Winter 2018-Ongoing…Here is a timeline of our work, to date:
Jan '19 | Conducted and published 10+ interviews of Guatemalan residents in Morganton
Feb '19 | Contracted Guatemalan artists to create a mural design for Little Guatemala
Jan-March '19 | Hosted a free dinner series to promote our initiative, supporting local Guatemalan vendors
March '19 | Sponsored a photo journalist to visit Guatemala to meet Little Guatemala’s coffee farmers
June '19 | Sponsored a live, backstrap weaving demonstration by Francisca Mendez Rodríguez
Nov '19 | Celebrated Guatemalan culture with the North Carolina Museum of art through a workshop on Day of the Dead
Aug-Dec '19 | Free painting workshops for elementary students
Feb-March '20 | Exhibiting a retrospective of the year during a two month exhibit at City Hall
Location: Faith Presbyterian Church, Food Matters Market, TOSS Studio, City Hall, Morganton Public Library
Team Lead: Kathryn Ervin
Artists: Francisco Diego, Francisca Mendez Rodríguez, Rigo Kan Puentes, Efraín Rodríguez
Volunteers: Innumerable volunteers including our high school interns and translators, the Ramazzini, Ervin, and Kuehnert families, Izabela Peeler, Kirksey Lowther, and Chesley Bailey.
Partners: Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina, Burke County Literacy Council, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, Burke Arts Council, and Faith Presbyterian Church, Burke County Public Library System, Little Guatemala
Participation: 400 community member, both students and parents have participated over the course of the year
Funding: We receive funding for these activities through in-kind contributions from TOSS and competitive grants totally $10,000:
+ Z. Smith Reynolds Foundations Inclusive Public Art Initiative
+ N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts
+ Grace Episcopal Foundation
+ Ezra Jack Keats Foundation
+ 400 hours of volunteer work from TOSS staff members and volunteer fleet
TOSStern
Eight- Fourteen week program to provide students with mentorship and resources to learn and develop community art initiatives in Morganton. Highschool and college students assisted us with these events, most recently:
FAB Crawl 11/30
TOSSing 12/14
Yuletide 12/15
Dancing with the Burke Stars 2/1
Los Mayas de Morganton Exhibition 2/3
Location: TOSS
Team Lead: Kathryn Ervin
Partners: Host Families, Furman University, Berea College, Upward Bound, Outreach Center
Participation: (past and present) Jordan Winiski, Samuel Kuehnert, Nesly J. Rodriguez, Francisco Diego, Khamkay Inthavong, Calia Kilbo, Tammi Harman, Jesse Barber, Elizabeth Williams, Lila Chamberlain
Funding: Stipends from Furman and Berea College
We are currently seeking college interns to work with our afterschool studio and summer camp!
TOSSair
TOSSair supports emerging artists, such as Alexa Eliana, Rodrigo Pacheco, Rigo Kan Puentes, Efraín Rodríguez by connecting them with regional art projects. We seek to help these artists working with our community through education and collaborative opportunities.
TOSShunts
TOSShunts are a series of creative, curated events that fund our subsidized programing. The Industrial Commons, Select 2000, and TOSS have partnered to bring our community an art-based walking tour of downtown Morganton to explore the triumphs and challenges of our diverse community.
👩🎤👨🎤
On January 28th we were very excited to host an exclusive pilot of this emerging series for regional leaders to critically reflect on its content and design.
🙏
Many thanks to all who helped foster, shepherd, and host this convening, and a special thanks to Franzi Charen, for documenting the afternoon-enjoy a selection of photos from our time together.
🗓
Stay tuned as we work out next steps for this initiative. 📸 @franzi.avl
TOSSers
ED, Kathryn Ervin
10/28-10/31 | Attended the 2019 Conference of Artists Communities
11/19 | Named co-chair of the Courthouse Square Steering Committee
12/18 | Conducted a Site Visit to AiR Serene
1/16 | Appointed to the Morganton Recreation Advisory Board
Student Program Director, Hannah Thrower
1/4 | Working with consultants on local grant applications for TOSSafter/TOSSworks
1/4 | Forming an advisory group to design teacher orientation for TOSSafter/TOSSworks
1/15 | Kathryn Ervin, speaking to a group, visiting Material Return, an enterprise of The Industrial Commons, on an immersion trip sponsored by COLLECTION
Thank you!
We are so grateful for the all who have come alongside TOSS this winter as we have built our community art initiative. We are so grateful for your investment in this community and for your faith in us.
A special thanks in this season to:
Volunteers
Melinda Davis
Kathleen Decker
Judy McNally
René Gaete Mora
Katelyn Pettus
Vendors
Little Guatemala
Queens Catering
Partners
Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina
Little Guatemala
Burke County Literacy Council
St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church
Western NC Workers Center
Burke County Public Library
Fonta Flora Brewery
Worker’s Legacy Exhibition
Diversity and Inclusion Committee, of Carolinas HealthCare System Blue Ridge (CHS Blue Ridge)
Poe Mill Achievement Center
Media
@tablerockprinters
@franzi.avl
@thehandsomehansons
Inkind Donations
The Outreach Center
Kristin Steiner
LGM Plumbing
Sponsors
The Community Foundation of WNC
Grace Episcopal Foundation
Huffman Cornwell Foundation
National Philanthropic Trust
Main Street Office
North Carolina Arts Council
Walmart Foundation
North Carolina Museum of Art
Jean VanNoppen
Beth Bailey
Kathleen Chapman
Kristin Steiner
Bill Steiner
Julia Mode
Susie Graham
Michael Berley
Sandra, Mark, Charlie and Camm Bennett
William and Tara Mode
John and Amber Gannt
William and Catherine Bell
Matt and Christen Robeson
Tracy and Amy Jones
Ginny Erwin
Julia and Richard Mode
Trent and Sheri Toner
Jim and Iris Toner
Shane and Julie Cross
Laura and Scott Mulwee
Chris and Leanne Brittain
David and Colleen Bennett
Paul, Andy & Spence Rosebrock
Ben and Libba Belton
Jann & Mary Bailey-Kropelnicki
Jen and Michael Fulenwider
Darren and Treasure Lathan
Erin and Stewart Mishoe
Nancy Albers
Thomas and Hailey Best
invitations
Become a Monthly Sponsor!
This year we are focusing on establishing reoccurring fundraising revenue to begin our expansion into the public schools in our county and beyond. Support us in this way through a monthly contribution!
