Quan Apollo shopped around a little bit before determining UNC Greensboro’s School of Art was the right place for him:
“I decided on UNCG after going to two other institutions—Methodist University and North Carolina A&T. I was impressed by the number of faculty here after having experienced much smaller departments at other schools. The facilities were a factor, too. The building and studios are expansive and up-to-date, which is vital for experimentation and broadening horizons.”
Apollo says he decided to pursue an education in the arts because the arts give people a way to be heard:
“I found that my work has the ability to be my voice and also for those who take an interest in it. There are obvious joys that come with artmaking, and I find a sense of purpose in taking on residential commissions for people new to the art world and in creating works that inform people to worldviews that are parallel and adjacent to their own.”
Apollo says that, until UNCG, he was more of a solo art-maker, but he soon learned the benefits of creating with others:
“The College of Visual and Performing Arts is pretty adamant when it comes to community building and collaboration. Although that wasn’t my strong suit coming in, many of the faculty and students were willing to share their experience and projects, which helped me grow as an artist and a person.”
Apollo plans to come back to the School of Art in the Fall to pursue his MFA. He says he wants to finish up a longstanding series of artwork he calls Color Theory. His long term goal is to establish a career as a practicing artist and as a professor:
“My hopes are to be able to teach techniques and crafts outside of the Western canon. Life can often be more than unfair to those of us who are of minority status, and the realities of off-campus will make their way on campus. I’d like to help change that.”
Apollo says he feels UNCG prepared him for that career goal:
“I gained confidence during my undergraduate work here as well as a strong sense of resolve. That resolve to help others and to reach my goals through thick and thin no matter the struggles life throws due to circumstance is something I am sure to take with me well beyond in my journey.”
Quan Apollo’s advice for current and future Spartans:
“Use all and any help the University offers you. It is okay to take longer than four years to graduate. Whether you are ill, discriminated against, or seeing a friend or stranger in need, speak up for yourself and others. The best help you can give is the help you afford yourself.”
Learn more about studying at the UNCG School of Art
Story by Terri W. Relos
Photo credit: Quan Apollo