We had three wonderful events featuring Dorothy Gillespie's work! The slide show (above) includes pictures of WIN members at the Gillespie exhibit at the Arboretum, and below is the recording of the Zoom call, which featured Tony Rivenbark and Frances Hawke, who both knew Gillespie well. The video opens just after we watched a video of the cleaning of the Gillespie work in the foyer of Thalian Hall. It opens just after some video-related technical glitches (videos and Zoom don't play nicely together), but the video smooths out quickly and is really worth watching! 

You can use this link to  watch the Zoom video of the Gillespie Event. Depending on your computer software, you may have to download the video to watch it.

Gillespie Zoom Event

WIN is offering 3 events about Dorothy Gillespie: 2-in-person showings of her work at the Arboretum (one morning & one evening), and a separate virtual event. Details of each event are offered below, with a link to take you to the registration page for the event(s). There is also a little more information about Dorothy Gillespie and her work at the bottom of the page. We hope you can join us! 

Events 1 & 2: In-person visit to the Dorothy Gillespie exhibit at the Arboretum

Join fellow WIN members for a tour of Gillespie’s art pieces currently on display at the New Hanover County Arboretum,

6206 Oleander Drive, Wilmington

MORNING Visit: Friday, September 4^th at 9am

EVENING Visit: Wednesday, September 9th at 5:30pm

Attendance at each event  is limited to the first 15 registrants

PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED

Guests are welcome (this might be a great opportunity to recruit new WIN members!)

We will follow all pandemic protocols, maintaining small groups only and practicing social distancing

Please wear a mask

The tour will be led by Lloyd Singleton, County Extension Director

To register for the MORNING event, click here: Dorothy Gillespie Morning @ The Arboretum

To register for the EVENING event, click here: Dorothy Gillespie Evening @ The Arborteum

Event 3: Memories of Dorothy Gillespie (Zoom)

Friday, September 11^th at 5:30pm 

Featuring Tony Rivenbark, sharing his memories of Dorothy, and including the 12-minute film “Dorothy in her own words”

Plus! plenty of time for virtual socializing with fellow WIN members before and after the program

This is a great stand-alone event, as well as a nice addition to the in-person tour of her work. 

Registration is necessary in order to get the Zoom link. To register, click here:

Dorothy Gillespie Memories (zoom)

GETTING TO KNOW DOROTHY GILLESPIE

Dorothy Gillespie (1920 – 2012) was an American artist and sculptor who became known for her large and colorful abstract metal sculptures, and is an icon of the American art world.  Her work uses ribbon-like shapes and bright colors, and are crafted out of aluminum covered in enamel. One of her most famous pieces,  “Colorfalls” is a 40-foot tall sculpture hanging in the lobby of Thalian Hall. 

Gillespie's philosophy was to look for "the good side of life, and turned everything negative into a positive." She never wanted to be treated as “just" a woman artist, buth she was an important influence on the woman’s art movement.   She was one of the first artists to offer her work for public display in places such as the Epcot Center, Fort Lauderdale airport, and the United Nations. 

Gillespie had a special connection to Wilmington, and her work is on display at Thalian Hall, Cameron Art Museum, UNCW’s Cultural Arts Building, and CFCC’s Wilson Center. To continue to honor that special connection to Wilmington, her foundation has established a scholarship in Art and Art History at UNCW, and has donated sculptures to GLOW, CFCC, and NHRMC.