to Strange Fruit Arts Center
The mission of Strange Fruit is to connect people with African American art through innovative, unique art, and art education by local African American artists where talents are exposed to the community. In turn, artists share their gift and love of art by educating other art enthusiasts from beginners to advanced classes and pop-up events which would enrich and contribute to the economic development of the community.
Welcome to New Artists
Denise Gunter
Denise Gunter is a mixed media collage artist who has been practicing her art since high school. She works collaboratively with her clients to create unique one of a kind, personalized pieces. A graduate of the University of Hartford with a BFA in Art Education, her career expands four decades as an educator.
D. Sharese
I am a transplant who now calls Greenville home. As a single mother of two wonderful young men, I proudly embrace my identity as a neurodivergent individual living with ADHD and dyslexia. My journey as an artist began in the wake of a profound loss: the passing of my mother. Struggling to articulate my grief, I turned to my therapist for guidance.
Jackie Jackson-Harvey
Jackie Jackson-Harvey’s passion for quilting began in 1996 when she started making quilted Christmas tree skirts for family, followed by her first “quillow” as a birthday gift for her ailing son, Corey. Over time, Jackie fell in love with the Amish styled “hexies” rather than the traditional paper pieced technique.
About Us
The song, ‘Strange Fruit,’ written by Abel Meeropol in 1937, and made popular through the unique voice of legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday, represents the horrific lynching of black people in the American South during the early 1900’s.
The song exposed the harsh brutality and dirty little secret of racism in America. In stark contrast to the metaphor of the song, the idea of changing the narrative of Strange Fruit was born and transformed into Strange Fruit Arts Center.
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