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Key figure in growth of arts district dies
Kelly Jo Petersen - artist, organizer, entrepreneur - lost to breast cancer at 41
Journal File Photo
Kelly Petersen created her own, personal alphabet, and used it in some of her artwork.
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Published: January 13, 2009
Updated: 01/12/2009 10:00 pm
Kelly Jo Petersen, an artist whose activism and entrepreneurship played a major role in revitalizing the Downtown Arts District, died Sunday at Forsyth Medical Center.
She was 41. The cause of death was breast cancer, said her husband, Ralph Womble.
"She was a magical spirit who made a huge difference in downtown," said Womble, who has invested in downtown-revitalization efforts for several years. Womble, who has offices at Trade Street Partners in the district, said that Petersen and a few others created a "Bohemia" that "invites people down to the area to see something new."
Petersen was one of the founders of the Downtown Arts District Association (DADA), which was organized in 1998 to promote and develop the district to the point at which shoppers who went there would not get frustrated and say, "Is that all there is?"
"There is not enough to get people to spend two hours here," Petersen told the Winston-Salem Journal in 1997. "You can do it in less than an hour."
Just the opposite is the case today. The district is filled not only with galleries and studios but also with such other attractions as restaurants and shops.
And many events regularly entice people to make return visits; these include summer concerts; Gallery Hops, held on the first Friday of each month; and a "Spooktakular" on the Saturday closest to Halloween.
Millicent Greason, who owns Urban Artware on Sixth Street, praised Petersen's efforts in rallying people behind DADA. The organization, which meets monthly, consists of all manner of artists and artisans.
"Most everybody down here in this neighborhood is doing their thing as a solo effort," Greason said. "That often takes 120 percent of your energy. It's hard to put any more energy back into the whole neighborhood effort. (Kelly) was always motivated and trying to get other people motivated."
Shortly after Sept. 11, Petersen and Greason formed a team called the Renegade Ninja Cowgirls.
The Cowgirls, originally an incognito operation, featured Petersen playing Ruby Montana and Greason as Sapphire Wyoming. The duo made hand-painted signs featuring "positive-propaganda" words such as "peace," "love" and "smile" and attached them to street signs and telephone poles. The aim was to "wage war on negative-thought pollution."
"You could call it a terrorist act of kindness," Ruby told the Journal before her identity was revealed. "We won't stop until we're arrested. And then I guess we'll ask the judge to give us some beautiful community-service project."
"To see these words of hope and encouragement, and artistically done, was just really … interesting," said Scott Wierman, the president of the Winston-Salem Foundation. The foundation awarded the duo an ECHO, or Everyone Can Help Out, award for building social capital in creative ways.
Petersen, the artist/entrepreneur, painted and worked with mixed media. She also produced lamps for Wildwood Design, then, in 1998, started her own company, Kelly Petersen Studios, which distributed lamps to retailers around the world.
In 2004, she opened Patina, a store on Sixth Street that reflected Petersen's interest in art, fashion and food.
Petersen, who was born in Virginia in 1967, is survived by her sons, Max and Nicolas Rowland, her mother, Bertie Leonardi, her stepfather, Tony Leonardi, and several stepchildren.
A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Millennium Center, 101 W. Fifth St., followed by a potluck celebration honoring Petersen's life. Memorial gifts may be made to the Kelly Jo Petersen Scholarship Fund of the School of Design and Production at the UNC School of the Arts.
■ Ken Keuffel can be reached at 727-7337 or at kkeuffel@wsjournal.com.
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