Week 2: Artistic Excellence

Cannon Community

This week’s Cannon interviewee is Daphne Reynolds; she is a Cannon alumni of the class of 2019. She’s currently attending the Ringling College of Art and Design. We talked to her about her experiences at Cannon and how being black has influenced her art career.

Image of Daphne Reynolds
  1. Tell us when you graduated from Cannon and what you decided to major in?
    • Graduated from Cannon in 2019
    • Majoring in computer animations
  2. What made you realize you had a passion for art?
    • At first she was more into STEM
    • Joined Visual Foundations as a Freshman and enjoyed it
  3. As a black woman, did you ever face any adversities at Cannon?
    • As a lifer, there were not a lot of POC’s in the lower and middle school
    • She did not have people she could relate to
    • As she got older, she was hyper aware of her perception as a black person
    • She did not want to perpetuate stereotypes
    • Felt as though she had to represent the black community
  4. As an artist, do you ever use your black experiences as inspiration?
    • Yes, all the time
    • As a character animator, she creates characters that are POCs
    • Her stories focuses on “feeling in between” black culture
    • He wants to know his student’s as themselves

Click the image for the audio of Daphne's interview!

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Art Spotlight

Click the image below to watch Blumenthal's “We are Hip Hop: The Reveal” Video. The video recognizes, celebrates and amplifies Charlotte's unique hip-hop culture and talent.

Blumenthal We are hip hop img
  1. What is Blumenthal?
    • Blumenthal’s Mission Statement: “We are a nonprofit. Our mission is supported by generous supporters, including the Arts & Science Council and North Carolina Arts Council, and through earned revenues from ticket sales and associated services.”
    • Head over to the We Are Hip Hop CLT Facebook Page to learn more about the organization and watch the full We Are Hip Hop Documentary by Loyd Visuals

Discussion Questions:

  1. What’s one thing you took out of Daphne’s experiences at Cannon?
  2. Was it surprising to learn the pressure Daphne felt of representing black people?
  3. What did you learn about Charlotte’s hip hop culture?