SYNERG STORIES
Reinventing Art
606-608 South Elm Street once belonged to Sylvia Gray who operated a variety of retail businesses from 1939-1997. After Sylvia’s passing in 1997, the store and its contents remained untouched until George Scheer, Sylvia’s grandson, and Stephanie Sherman a college comrade re-opened the building, declared “nothing for sale,” and set about creating the one-of-kind space to explore art and collaboration. George, 28 and Stephanie, 27 are now the directors of Elsewhere Artist Collaborative, a living museum, collaborative laboratory, and one-of-a-kind visiting artist program in downtown Greensboro.
The artist collaboration piece of Elsewhere invites emerging and established artists from around the world to create new artworks from the 58-year collection of material and cultural surplus. Since 2003 over a hundred artists have come into the building, created artworks across media. “Greensboro’s downtown community has an enormous impact on our visiting artists’ experience. Our artists come to Elsewhere seeking a transformative, creative experience, and they find in Greensboro a community accepting and willing to participate in the creative exploration,” says George.
As a museum, Elsewhere is open publicly, and every Friday they host public events exploring multiple intersections between art and audiences. Stephanie says, “What is so spectacular about Greensboro is the level of curiosity that its citizens bring to the cultural conversation, an intense interest in shaping their urban experience through a diverse and inclusive exchange of ideas.” While some of Greensboro is still unaware of Elsewhere’s impact, they are becoming nationally respected for their innovation and creativity.
