About Us
Associated Artists of Winston-Salem (AAWS) is a non-profit fine arts organization located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1956, the organization comprises artists and art supporters from throughout the United States. Our mission is to support and celebrate the visual artist, from the aspiring to the professional.
Associated Artists provides exhibition opportunities for beginning and professional artists in the EVERY CORNER GALLERY with twice-yearly shows in the ARBOREAL GALLERY, both at Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts. AAWS also exhibits year-round at the MASONIC CENTER OF WINSTON-SALEM, THE BENTON CONVENTION CENTER, and periodic exhibits in various galleries around the city. Exhibitions change periodically and are open to artists at every level of expertise and experience. Most of the work on display in these shows is for sale. All exhibitions are free and open to the public.
Members also exhibit in community spaces and participate in the organization’s educational, social, and volunteer activities. Volunteer opportunities provide an avenue for networking with fellow artists and art appreciators. In the past, Associated Artists also sponsored workshops, lectures, demonstrations, art-related trips, and in-school programs, and hopes to again, in the future.
Brief History
In 1956, the same group of people who founded the nation’s first Arts Council here in Winston-Salem also formed Associated Artists with the idea that artists’ work must be exhibited to be truly appreciated. At that time, exhibits were held in churches and the lawn of the public library, hallways, parlors, and city offices. Today, the same grass-roots approach to art defines Associated Artists and you’ll experience it from the moment you set foot in one of our exhibitions in the City of the Arts and Innovation.