Bloom: New Art Collection Release by Beth P. Leigh

October 18, 2021

Cultural Art Center
Greensboro, NC

Overview

When discussing societal impact and change, we must look at those within our community that are most marginalized and begin demanding their voices be present and heard on all fronts. When reviewing the Arts community, historically, and present day, we find the voice of Black Women are often left as footnotes or afterthoughts. Bloom seeks to disrupt this notion by providing the following:

A visual representation of a Black Woman healing
Artist Talk for the community, discussing healing and art as a meditative practice
Making resources for mental health/healing available for patrons

Story

In 2019, Beth made a promise to journal with great intention throughout 2020. Little did she know, 2020 would be a year of great isolation and reflection for the world. Isolation afforded her the opportunity to become more serious about the meditative practice of journaling. In reviewing her 2020 journal, she realized, 2020 was a year of great growth. She had “Bloomed.” She decided to take pages from her journal and create paintings that brought those words and emotions to life; the Bloom Exhibit was born.

Beth P Leigh.jpeg — Beth P. Leigh

She/Her
**@frankleighart**

Bio

Abstract artist, Beth P. Leigh was born and raised in Greensboro, NC. Her earliest art experiences can be traced to her childhood. Growing up in a “Village” curated by her mother, Beth experienced visual arts, literary arts, musicianship, dance and theatre. Beth is a healer, dedicating her life to being a gatekeeper of Black Art, mental health advocacy and community building. With training in literary, vocal, music, 2D, and 3D visual arts, Beth has found that art can be utilized as a gateway to break the stigma of mental illness, offer resources to the community at large, and save lives. She has shown in galleries in North Carolina, Florida and New York. Her commissioned pieces can be found in North Carolina, New York, Florida, Virginia, Washington, DC, California, Texas, Illinois, Mexico, Spain, Dominican Republic, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, England, Botswana, Kenya, South Africa and Morocco.

When she isn’t running the daily operations of her art company, FrankLeigh Art, Beth is managing Leighway Consulting, her nonprofit consulting firm specializing in intercultural communications training, fundraising and board management. Throughout her career, she has managed multimillion dollar fundraising campaigns locally, nationally, and internationally. She truly enjoys the juxtaposition of nonprofit management and artistry.

When work isn’t calling, you can find Beth exploring the native lands of NC as a Co-Founder of Durham’s first chapter of the NC Wildlife Federation, Bull City Trailblazers. A nonprofit chapter focusing on creating pollinator gardens, trash cleanup, and nature education in underserved areas of Durham.

Beth earned a Bachelor of Science in Applied Arts and Sciences from Rochester Institute of Technology and a Master of Arts in Education, Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Phoenix. She is a certified international humanitarian law instructor for the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent and has her certification in grant writing from Notre Dame.