N E W S & N OT E S F R O M E X E C U T I V E D I R E C TO R A L L I S O N P E R K I N S
W E ’ V E G OT A N E W LO O K !
Reynolda has launched a new website that combines the complete offerings of the historic 1917 estate (House, Village, and Gardens) into one comprehensive digital portal. Katharine Reynolds’s vision for Reynolda included each part of her family’s estate working in harmony, unified through architectural design and horticultural abundance. This idea rings true in 2021, just as it did in 1917. The release of a combined website represents a critical moment for the Reynolda brand and its vision, which is to bring the entire estate together to thrive as a unified destination for learning, wellbeing, and reflection. Several new features designed to enhance the digital experience of visitors are now available, including: a robust, user-friendly events calendar that’s searchable by category and date range; a monthly guide to what’s blooming in the Formal and Greater Gardens; a new collections database that offers a streamlined look and feel, along with multiple online galleries—including new galleries—and a chance for users to create their own gallery of favorites; a detailed shopping and dining directory for the Village; a rich presentation of multimedia resources, resources including educational resources, lesson plans, and original feature stories; an interactive map, map offered by Wake Forest University and integrated into the site, has been updated to add close to 30 additional points of interest for visitors to the Reynolda Historic District; an expanded historic timeline; timeline multiple opportunities to donate to the House and Gardens and become a member; and content and resources for the Winston-Salem and Wake Forest Community. Digital accessibility is also a key component of reynolda.org, and website content and features have been fully audited to ensure compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act. Reynolda.org will be updated this fall to reflect a complete integration of the Museum’s online collections database into the website and its search capabilities, along with the release of a 3-D tour of the historic house. Reynolda will also continue to create original content for its website on an ongoing basis and make additional site optimizations as needed.
VIEW PRESS RELEASE
IN SUPPORT
of B E LO N G I N G at R E Y N O L DA
Reynolda’s work with Dina Bailey concluded with two meetings in late June during which staff, docent-volunteers, and board members discussed key areas for defining our work going forward. A summary of those sessions is outlined below.. The June 21 session focused on identifying one’s role in Reynolda’s DEAI work that best fits our respective approaches and personalities. Dina defined these in the following ways and asked us to consider in which role we see ourselves. Champion (positional seat of power, hold accountable, remove barriers); Change Practitioner (on task force or committee, put in place to ensure a project--as a whole--is successful, working on a day-to-day basis); People Manager (recognizing that people/staff/board/volunteers are important, check-in with them, see how they are doing); Project Manager (focused on deadlines, how we move forward); and Engaged, impacted staff/board/volunteer (someone who is invested in DEAI growth and evolution). Concluding this session, Dina shared the five-step plan on how to promote racial equity in the workplace as described by Robert Livingston in this article from the Harvard Business Review. On June 29, Dina facilitated a discussion of core values such as service, integrity, respect, caring, curiosity, and compassion. She reviewed that organizational values and personal values are not completely separate. For instance, we bring our personal values with us to multiple venues such as home, work, or school. Our goal during this session was to come up with a set of clear institutional values that embrace concepts of empathy, understanding, and belonging. After highly engaging small-group discussions, the group of 25 participants (representing board, staff, and volunteers) concluded in a large group agreement upon the following values as being relevant to our work at Reynolda. They included: exploration (curiosity, learning), empathy (caring, respect, acceptance), continuous improvement (teamwork, fundraising, environment), community building (communication, togetherness, unity, teamwork), open-mindedness (willingness to listen and learn, accepting me for my uniqueness), and passion (inspiring others to become a part of or belong). As a group, we examined how these values aligned with our current vision, mission, and diversity and inclusion statements. The participants collectively determined that it would benefit Reynolda to seek greater alignment between the core values that were identified and our mission, vision, and diversity statements. This work to evolve our core institutional statements will continue throughout the fall.
Reynolda House with “Home” handwritten below, circa 1920s, from Nancy Reynolds’s photo album. Estate Archives.
H E R E TO S TAY:
Three Pandemic-Related Trends Likely to Stick Around
Please enjoy this article that appeared on Colleen Dillenschneider’s Museum Market Research website. Coincidentally, this article was released on August 31, the same day we launched reynolda.org. In the short reading, you will learn about “three broader market trends for reynolda.org cultural organizations to embrace to help adjust to the new normal.” These trends include: An increase in expectations related to digital engagement; Changes in travel behavior that may impact long-term attendance trends; and 3. A movement toward suburbs and working from home. 1.
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I think these topics are ones that will continue to challenge us.
I N A L L K I N D S O F W E AT H E R
As reported on the website Traditional Building, Building the rehabilitation of Reynolda’s iconic green roof commenced in July and will be completed in December. The project includes the replacement of three HVAC systems that condition the second floor and attic of the bungalow. The project is on schedule and visitors continue to be welcomed to the Museum despite construction work in multiple locations both inside and out. Commemorative tiles are being packaged and sold through the Museum Store—a five-pound piece of North Carolina architectural history. THE RISE
of the S E L F -TAU G H T A R T I S T
Horace Pippin’s The Whipping (1941) is now on view at the High Museum in Atlanta in an exhibition titled Gatecrashers: The Rise of the Self-Taught Artist in America. With support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the exhibition illuminates how artists including John Kane, Horace Pippin, and Anna Mary Robertson “Grandma” Moses overcame class-, race-, and gender-based obstacles to enter the inner sanctums of the mainstream art world. The exhibition’s curator made a strong case for Reynolda’s painting, calling it a “haunting work” that is “perhaps the most powerful example of Pippin’s confrontation with America’s violent racial past.” The painting, seen below at left, will travel with the exhibition to the Brandy Museum of Art in June and the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in October 2022.
C R E AT I V E C ATA LYS T F E L LOW
On August 25, 2021 the Kenan Catalyst Fellow for Art and Community Engagement began a sixth-month fellowship with the Museum. Photographer Owens Daniels has joined the staff in this position dedicated to connecting people throughout the community with Reynolda’s learning resources, whether that be onsite or off, virtual or in-person. He will work with teaching and learning department staff to define new audiences, develop partnerships, and expand the Museum’s volunteer base. The fellowship has been funded by the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts Creative Catalyst program and Debbie and Mike Rubin, with additional support by Lynn and Barry Eisenberg. In addition to recent solo exhibitions in the Triad and Triangle, Daniels has participated in numerous group exhibitions in North Carolina, Georgia, and South Carolina. He is the 2019 Duke Energy Grant and Z. Smith Reynolds Lead artist for the Present Absence Project with the Center for Design and Innovation (CDI) as well as a recent Leadership Winston-Salem graduate. View press release.
OPENING EYES
and M I N D S F O R 5 0 Y E A R S
This year marks a half-century of the volunteer docent program at the Museum. Docents Unscripted tours have been planned as the soft launch for the anniversary, an idea offered by a docent. Work is also underway for a printed newspaper devoted entirely to the accomplishments of the docent and volunteer group over the past 50 years, and will be mailed to everyone that was noted as completing the docent training course (any iteration of it), or was an active docent or volunteer during that time.
G R OW I N G
our G A R D E N S
Despite being down a staff position since late May, the Gardens have continued moving forward with the completion of several small projects. Eight ‘Taylor’ eastern red cedars were planted at the east, south, and west terminus areas of the lower formal gardens. A $5,000 gift from Loy McGill in honor of Paul McGill, her husband and past director of Reynolda Gardens, has allowed for the purchase of a new complement of deciduous and evergreen azaleas, as well as lilacs (ones suited to our climate). This will allow for a resetting and renewal of the east/west axis (pictured below) in the lower Formal Gardens this fall. Work has continued along the trails eradicating English ivy, Japanese honeysuckle, and a whole host of other invasive pests. This should position us well for the beginning of replanting this fall with natives in many of these areas. This will follow after the installation of an irrigation loop around the meadow which will provide water not only for planting along a large portion of the trail but also position us for implementing and planting a suitable landscape and color scheme at the Reynolda front gates. The Gardens hosted Lead Girls of NC, a non-profit organization focused on leadership development for middle school girls, in June with a tour and tasting from the vegetable gardens with Michelle Hawks, along with a complimentary copy of Terri Tells: The Garden by Theressa Stephens, and lunch from Sweet Potatoes.
The Advancement office has stayed very busy this summer applying for multiple grant and funding opportunities, including:
“ I T I S N OT E N O U G H TO B E B U SY. SO ARE THE ANTS. THE QUESTION IS: W H AT A R E W E B U SY A B O U T ? ”
National Endowment for the Arts — Henry David Thoreau (NEA) - salary support for both the event manager and the preparator National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) - Still I Rise exhibition Institute of Museum and Library Sciences (IMLS) - “Reynolda Revealed” app State of North Carolina - a welcome center in the former Garden Boutique and a generator for the Museum American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), Forsyth County - marketing for Reynolda House and Reynolda Gardens to outside markets Winston-Salem Foundation Capacity Building Grant - DEAI training Winston-Salem Foundation Capacity Building Grant - Estate Master Plan
R E Y N O L DA V I S I TO R S A R E R E A L LY J U S T M U S E U M M E M B E R S W E H AV E N ’ T M E T Y E T
The Museum will institute a new policy this fall encouraging new memberships this fiscal year - “One New Member a Day.” The Advancement office is currently soliciting ideas on how to incentivize new memberships, whether by rewarding the new member or the front desk staff who sell the most memberships.
W E ’ V E N E V E R M E T A ( Model!) FA R M W E D I D N ’ T LOV E
Mark your calendars for Sunday, November 7, 5–7 p.m. when Reynolda Gardens will present an evening with Christopher Spitzmiller, author of A Year at Clove Brook Farm. Ticket sales and sponsorships for this fundraiser support the Gardens’ efforts to repair the original flagstone paths surrounding the Formal Gardens. Guests will enjoy light refreshments, a lecture, and a book signing by Christopher Spitzmiller. Covid protocols will be in place, such as small group tables and individual meals. For sponsorship information or tickets, please reach out to Stephan Dragisic at stephan@reynolda.org stephan@reynolda.org.
W H AT D O YO U G I F T T H E P E R S O N W H O H A S I T A L L?
A Little Bit of Reynolda!
Reynolda invites you to get a jump on your holiday shopping and reserve the next in the series of Reynolda Christmas ornaments—the Bungalow! While the final design is being perfected, Beth Warren is happy to share the prototype pictured below. Ornaments will be available in the Museum store beginning in late October. Speaking of shopping, original Reynolda roof tiles are flying out of the Museum store almost as quickly as they are flying off the actual roof. As of August 31, the Museum has sold 129 commemorative tiles at $25 a piece. Make sure to stop by and pick up your very own while supplies last (wink, wink!).
G O O D N E W S T R AV E L S FA S T
A Gardens photoshoot goes viral Since increasing communications about outdoor photo sessions at the Gardens and implementing an online booking and payment form earlier this year, portrait shoots at the Gardens have seen quite the uptick. Earlier this summer, a photo shoot featuring a beloved grandmother’s 90th birthday photos at the Gardens went viral, garnering numerous national and international media clips and reaching thousands on social media. The story appeared in major media outlets like People (above) and Southern Living. Garden and Gun feature story The Gardens have been featured in Winston-Salem’s Green Heart Hear article in the current issue, on the publication’s website, and shared via social media. Other news highlights The Voyage of Life had a successful media preview on July 9. Exhibition coverage has included ArtFix Daily, Daily Art Daily News, News American Fine Art magazine, South Park Magazine, Magazine Winston-Salem Journal, Journal Best of Winston, and social influencer coverage Art Daily, Website Launch WFMY News 2 - Free teacher admission story featuring The Voyage of Life, Watch story Spectrum News Triad - Tar Heel Treasure: A Historic Garden Moving into the Future, Watch story Fox 8 - Picture This mobile app with Jon Roethling in the Gardens, Watch story A Foodie Stays Fit - 15 Things To Do In Winston-Salem Our State, We Live Here newsletter Winston-Salem Monthly, History Maker: Zachary Smith Reynolds