Art in the Guilford College community has certainly changed over the past century, but one aspect of it has remained constant. The Guilford College Art Appreciation Club has been around the past 100 years to celebrate its evolution.
Caption: Axel Sandova-Pineda ’24 (pictured) and three other Guilford students performed at the Guilford Art Appreciation Club’s monthly meeting on Dec. 4, which celebrated the club’s 100th anniversary.
More than 60 club members and their guests filled the Carnegie Room at Hege Academic Commons on Dec. 4 to commemorate the club’s history and hear from today’s generation of artists. Guilford students and classical guitarists Noah Dabney ’23, Brandon Walker ’23, Axel Sandova-Pineda ’24 and Lexi McGraw ’24 performed several holiday pieces for the audience.
The club was founded in 1923 but traces its roots to 1921 when President Raymond Binford was approached by a Dayton, Ohio, printing company selling reproductions of famous paintings. As longtime club member Clarajo Pleasants ‘67 told the crowd, Raymond liked the idea of introducing Guilford’s first-years to art during orientation and wanted to buy the paintings.
There was just one problem: The country was in the midst of a recession after World War I and the College couldn’t afford the $25 price tag for the prints. That’s when Raymond Binford’s wife, Ellen, decided to form an art club. She rounded up 25 women on campus and their initial $1 annual dues helped buy the prints.
Alas, after two years of the fledgling art club purchasing prints, the company went out of business, but the club has endured — through surrealism, abstract expressionism, pop art, minimalism and postmodernism. The club also celebrates music, dance and literary works.
The club also awards merit and cultural awards annually. Last year’s merit scholarship winner, Noah, received a $500 scholarship.
Clarajo says the club wants to expand beyond the campus and welcomes new members from across the Triad. For more information, contact Clarajo at redclarajo@gmail.com.