If you’re wondering why Winston-Salem is called the City of Arts and Innovation, we’ve done a little digging for you. The city got its slogan after a vote from residents in 2014 and is now on display in various parts of the area, including on highway signs leading into the city. We talked to some citizens who have witnessed the motto in action over the years.
Gayle Anderson, the former head of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce, was involved in the decision to add “innovation” to the city’s slogan. She explained how the decision was made.
As the city was expanding its economic base beyond textiles and tobacco, a group of citizen leaders was wrestling with what our brand should be. We already were known as the City of the Arts. We debated various industries and business categories — including manufacturing, finance, and education — but nothing was broad enough and descriptive enough. At some point, someone threw out “innovation,” thinking back to how inventive the Moravians had been, as well as various businesses over the decades. We felt that Winston-Salem had been and would continue to be innovative. Look at how we’ve grown our medical segment, our technology segment, our small business segment.
Jeff Smith, known to many as “Smitty,” has informed the community for 25 years.
Winston-Salem is where the first Arts Council in the United States was founded. The only arts conservatory in the state — The North Carolina School of the Arts, now known as UNC School of the Arts, was started here by the philanthropy and support of the Winston-Salem community. From Richard J. Reynolds founding RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company; the Hanes family in textiles founding the Hanes Underwear Brand; Wachovia Bank, and Trust and what continues to come out of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in the medical world to name a few, were entrepreneurs at heart during their founding.
Redge Hanes, a longtime trustee with the Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County and Southeastern Center for Contemporary Arts, has lived in Winston-Salem for about 78 years. He explains that our city’s connection to the arts goes back centuries.
A group of Moravians seeking freedom from religious persecution moved from Europe, and settled in Old Salem.
Photo by WStoday
Part of the history of the arts and culture came from the earliest Moravian settlers in the 18th century. As the earliest part of the city, the Moravians were an extraordinary people in that they had Moravian music, full symphonies, quartets, bands, and the pottery that they produced — and any number of products — were extraordinary. Winston-Salem certainly devoted a great deal more money and time to developing arts and cultural institutions. It happened to be blessed with a leadership that said, “since we live here, we are going to make this a place that everybody can be proud of and prosper in.”
If you’d like to explore more of the Twin City, check out “100 Things to Do in Winston-Salem Before You Die” by Tina Firesheets.