Greg Antrim Kelly

Greg traces his appreciation for the power of community to his early childhood years spent in the small-town atmosphere of Champaign, Illinois. While in high school, after moving to St. Louis, Missouri, he began working with children, teaching in programs at the St. Louis Art Museum and COCA (The Center for Contemporary Arts), later pursuing a BFA in Ceramics and Art History at Colorado State University under the guidance of his mentor Richard Devore.

When he arrived in Charlottesville in 1999, Greg set up an active studio practice and began looking for opportunities to collaborate creatively within the community. He explored set design, performance and various collaborative mediums, working with local DJs, filmmakers, visual and performing artists. In addition, he began teaching courses in art and humanities at The Living Education Center for Ecology and the Arts.

In 2003, he met artist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Zack Worrell, and the two began working together to create a more vital role for the arts in their own community. Greg was influenced by Billy Wimsatt’s No More Prisons, an inspirational guide to organizing and effecting change, combined with insight gained from such artists as photographers Emmet Gowin and Frederick Sommer, whose ideas and manner illustrated a richer, more humane and fulfilling model of what it means to be an artist in our modern age.

Greg continues to explore his own *artistic practice, exploring the mediums of illustration and sound. He envisions The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative as a way to bring together his experiences, sharing them through his work with the community, and emphasizing the potential of art as a transformative tool for social change and personal development.

*To see more of Greg’s work you can visit gregantrimkelly.com Or Original Multiples.