Arts aficionados feel right at home in Greensboro– the variety and volume of arts venues throughout the city offer a continuous source of inspiration and entertainment.

Located on North Davie Street‚ the Greensboro Cultural Center houses 15 different visual and performing arts organizations‚ five art galleries and an outdoor amphitheater. The Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art is the largest gallery on the main level of the Cultural Center‚ offering more than 5‚000 square feet of gallery space.

“We’re unique because we focus on the visual arts of North Carolina – all the artists represented have some association with our state‚” says Mary Pearson‚ marketing manager for the Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art. “We showcase six themed‚ changing exhibitions each year.”

The Green Hill Center also offers educational programs‚ including ArtQuest‚ a hands-on art gallery for children and families.

“ArtQuest has interactive exhibits‚ like a giant loom where kids can weave‚ an architecture corner where they can build forts‚ a clay room where they can work with clay‚ and a room with easels where they can paint‚” Pearson says. “There’s also a project table with a suggested activity‚ and facilitators are there to guide and help. Children often come into the gallery to look for inspiration and then go back and do a project in ArtQuest.”

Also located in the Greensboro Cultural Center‚ the Guilford Native American Art Gallery showcases Native American art and artifacts. The gallery features four exhibitions per year and a gift shop selling traditional and contemporary Native American art.

“We also do an annual Powwow and Cultural Festival the third weekend in September at Greensboro Country Park‚” says Alicia Thomas‚ assistant director for the Guilford Native American Art Gallery. “Our powwow started in 1975. People can come see Indian dancers‚ and there are traders and Indian craftspeople selling crafts and traditional Indian food.”

A second “mini powwow” is also held at the Greensboro Cultural Center the first Saturday in November‚ and the Guilford Native American Association will sponsor a storytelling festival with the Greensboro Public Library on May 13‚ 2006.

Artistic energy also flourishes in downtown Greensboro. Two Art Chicks is a contemporary gallery with 12 working studios on Elm Street.

“We lease our 12 studios to individual artists annually‚ and we also have a large exhibition space and a sales gallery‚” says Judith Kastner‚ gallery director and co-founder of Two Art Chicks. “We’re based on the Torpedo Factory in Arlington‚ Va. The concept is an artist co-op with working‚ teaching and sales space.”

The artwork of approximately 300 artists from all over the country is displayed at Two Art Chicks‚ representing mediums such as jewelry‚ pottery‚ paintings and dolls.

Two Art Chicks also offers weekly classes in watercolor‚ calligraphy‚ oil painting and jewelry making‚ and occasionally brings in internationally known artists for master workshops.

Kastner says she loves being surrounded by great art and talking to the artists about what they are creating.

“I love to relay their stories to customers about how things were made and why‚” she says. “There’s always a story behind every piece of art.”