Will Taylor celebrates 20 years of inspiring young artists at UNCSA

The UNCSA High School Visual Arts program has long been a mecca for high school juniors and seniors with the desire to pursue a hands-on artistic curriculum with a close-knit cohort. At the center of the program is Assistant Dean and Director of the Visual Arts program Will Taylor, who celebrates his 20th anniversary at UNCSA this year. Taylor first joined the program as a full-time faculty member, then became director in 2011 — the same academic year he was awarded a UNCSA Excellence in Teaching Award.

What keeps him engaged year after year? “Some things stay the same and are great,” he says. “But many things are constantly changing… students bring in new interests and new ideas every year. And our faculty can evolve the curriculum to embrace that change.” Two decades in, Taylor reflects on growth, potential, and 20 years well spent. 

Discovering potential

A graduate of UNC Chapel Hill and the Pratt Institute, Taylor came to UNCSA following teaching stints at Elon University and Wake Technical Community College, along with other institutions along the East Coast. It took only one campus visit for the Visual Arts program to leave its mark. “The students made an immediate impression on me,” he recalls. “Their focus, the caliber of their work, and their professionalism, discipline and work ethic were remarkable.” Visual Arts, tucked underneath the branch of the School of Design & Production, was a much smaller program than Taylor was accustomed to, and he was intrigued by the opportunity to work with talented young students within a conservatory setting.

Initially hired as a drawing faculty member, Taylor still teaches drawing today. It’s a great way to discover the potential of newcomers to the program and to track their growth. “I love working with first-year students as I am introduced to their work,” he says. “It helps to set a bar of where we want them to be in terms of drive and discipline and evolving their work in that first year.” And when they come back for their second year there’s a newfound confidence and ability to talk about their work. “Second-year students aren’t as worried about honing their skills, but rather focus on the ideas they want to pursue and the mediums they’d like to use,” explains Taylor.

“Students don’t need to have formal arts training when they enter the program,” he continues. “We consider potential, drive, motivation and excitement. If a student is invested, we notice. We can hone the skills and teach the fundamentals, but there has to be an energy and excitement.” Students are expected to participate in conversations about their work and the work of their peers. “It’s all about that engagement and that sense of community,” he adds.

Art in practice

As a faculty member, Taylor has found his own sense of community at UNCSA through the years, and has taken advantage of many opportunities for faculty support and professional development through the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts. Most recently, he spent a week at Penland School of Craft to study printmaking. The fully-funded workshop allowed him dedicated time to focus on his personal work while fueling new ideas for the Visual Arts curriculum. Taylor, who has a background in drawing and painting, has a special interest in printmaking and has woven it into the curriculum over the past few years. “Students are familiar with printmaking and have maybe done it on a small scale before,” he explains, “but integrating screen printing on a larger scale to make shirts or show posters in a fine art capacity has been fun.”

Only a few years into his tenure at UNCSA, Taylor had the opportunity to travel to Europe through a BREATHE faculty grant. Along with filmmaking faculty member Julian Semilian, he met with stop motion animators Brothers Quay and animation pioneer Jan Švankmajer to have a dialogue about their work. Upon their return, Taylor and Semilian were able to create new collaborative opportunities between their two programs.

Outside of Taylor’s on-campus collaborations, faculty grants have also allowed him to maintain his personal artistic practice. The Deep South Project is a collaboration with his wife, Allison Gilbert – an associate professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University. Gilbert’s,  and Taylor’s work intersect around a shared love of the printed image. For the Deep South Project, they traveled through six different states in the South, focusing on rural communities with older architectural spaces. The project culminated in a collection of photographs and prints that highlight the geography, culture and artistry of the South. “It was important to us to see how an idea can be developed through collaboration,” says Taylor. “It’s important for my students to see that, too.”

Shaping the program

While the size of the Visual Arts program has stayed largely the same over the years (current enrollment is 37 students), there have been many opportunities to evolve the program to meet the needs of its students and to draw from the strengths of its faculty. For example, Taylor’s interest in printmaking has yielded new areas of exploration, and faculty member Kaitlin Botts’ background in digital design and fine art photography has shaped the design curriculum. 

Taylor is especially proud of one area of growth: the annual Visual Arts Senior Thesis Exhibition. For many years, graduating students exhibited their work in the Visual Arts studios on campus. Two shows were held each day, meaning that each student was able to display their work for only half a day. The students enjoyed ample creative freedom to design their thesis exhibitions, but the turnaround time was tight — and during the busiest weeks of the spring semester. 

In 2019, the Visual Arts faculty connected with NCMA Winston-Salem (formerly SECCA) to discuss a new location for the exhibitions that would allow the community to view student work and for installations to last longer. Now, senior thesis exhibitions are installed at NCMA Winston-Salem each April. “It gives students more exposure,” says Taylor, “but additionally they have the experience of working within a major museum exhibition space.” In similar fashion, winners of the recent Mid-Carolina Scholastic Arts Awards currently have their work on display at the Mint Museum Uptown in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Bridging generations

As Taylor considers the last two decades of his work, he’s also proud of the opportunities the program has seized to bring distinguished alumni and guest artists to campus to engage with students. “In my first year, alumnus David LaChapelle came to campus to share his documentary, ‘Rize,’” he recalls. “David hadn’t been in touch with the program much in the past, but he came and toured the studios and interacted with the students during that visit and we began building a relationship with him.” Years later, LaChapelle (H.S. Diploma ’81) — a famed fashion photographer and music video director — gave the UNCSA High School commencement speech. 

“That triggered something in me,” says Taylor. “I really enjoy connecting with our alumni and guest artists and creating those experiences for students.” Some recent guests Taylor coordinated for campus visits include painter Damian Stamer, graffiti artist David Ellis, photographer Endia Beale, printmakers Bill Fick and Carlos Hernandez, and sculptor Sherrill Roland. LaChapelle returns to campus this month in conjunction with the opening of his retrospective exhibition, “Dear Sonja,” at NCMA Winston-Salem. Visual Arts students will have the opportunity to see the exhibition followed by a private Q&A and conversation with LaChapelle.

Looking back, moving forward

Something that sticks with Taylor after twenty years in the program is the quality of students who pass through the doors of the studio, whether or not they ultimately pursue careers in the arts. “There are so many life skills they gain at UNCSA,” he says. “A maturity grows when they are on campus… discipline and attention to detail and accountability can all translate into any area of work. Art is a form of expression, but also a form of communication.” One alum is a neurologist, another a sculptor. Yet another transferred his skills into visual merchandising. Some continue through undergraduate studies at UNCSA, while others choose programs like the Art Institute of Chicago, the Kansas City Art Institute or the Maryland Institute College of Art. A recognized name in the fields of entertainment and fashion, Hunter Schafer (H.S. Diploma ’17) dove straight into acting and modeling following her graduation from the program.

Art is a form of expression, but also a form of communication.

Will Taylor

When asked how his students have impacted his own artistic approach, Taylor does not hesitate: “I think of the classroom as a collaboration,” he says. “You’re working alongside emerging artists, and that exposes you to new approaches. Everybody touches the paper in a different way.” The great thing about teaching, he adds, is that you can constantly change and adapt your approach. For Taylor and the Visual Arts program, the past is a prime example of change and evolution… and the future is wide open.

by Hannah Callaway

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