Creative Greensboro Selects Original Painting by N.C. A&T Alumnus for City Hall

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Sept. 15, 2025) – Creative Greensboro has selected “Resilience in Bloom,” an original painting by North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State alumnus Karrington Gardner, for its 2025 Downtown Arts Special Commission for City Hall.

Creative Greensboro, established in 2019, supports the city’s arts community through a range of artistic programs. Its Downtown Arts program features the work of Greensboro-based artists and brings original artwork into the city’s public spaces.

“Resilience was central to this painting’s title because that is exactly what educators embody,” said Gardner, a 2021 graduate of N.C. A&T’s Visual Arts Program, housed in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. “We remain flexible, adapt to shifting circumstances, and continue to support our students even when the system fails to support us.”

“Resilience in Bloom” reflects Gardner’s dual experience as a student and educator in 2024. After completing his MFA in studio art at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in May, he stepped into the classroom that fall to begin teaching. The painting features imagery of his students from both A&T and UNCG alongside landmarks such as the February One monument, the Lincoln Financial Group building and architectural details from each campus.

“I want to show how much artistic excellence is being fostered right here in Greensboro, often without the recognition it deserves,” said Gardner.

Gardner grew up in Columbia, South Carolina, where his interest in art was shaped early on with the encouragement of his mother and the support of dedicated art teachers. His work has been featured at Greensboro Project Space, the African American Atelier, GreenHill Center for North Carolina Art and the Weatherspoon Art Museum. It explores the concept of space as it relates to identity through the language of collage and painting.

He is beginning his second year teaching in A&T’s Department of Visual and Performing Arts while also serving as an art instructor at UNCG.

"It is an honor for the Visual Arts Program, faculty and students to see Karrington receive this commission,” said Roymieco Carter, A&T associate professor and director of the Visual Arts Program. “It’s inspiring for us to see his painting capturing the spirit and the character of Greensboro.”

A 10-foot-by-20-foot vinyl reproduction of “Resilience in Bloom” has been installed in the Melvin Municipal Office Building, 300 W. Washington St., on the council chamber wall and visible from the plaza entrance, and will be on view through July 2026.

To learn more about the Creative Greensboro program, go to https://www.greensboro-nc.gov/departments/creative-greensboro/about-creative-greensboro.