Shannon Neu
   A&E Editor

[Note from A&E Editor Shannon Neu: The arts, including music, dance, theatre, visual art and other art forms have likely affected your life in some capacity, either in school or in other aspects of day-to-day life. This semester, I have been investigating how the lives of various members of the UNCG and Greensboro community have been impacted by the power of the arts. With each “Impactful Arts” piece, I will feature a different individual and their stories of the role the arts have played in their lives.]

While my previous “Impactful Arts” pieces featured individuals directly involved in the arts or education, I decided to take the project a little further and explore how the arts have impacted individuals in other — perhaps less predictable  — fields, such as politics.

Greensboro City Council member Nancy Hoffmann represents the city’s District 4. Hoffmann strongly believes in the important influence the arts have on individuals and communities. She has been involved as a leader in the Greensboro’s arts scene in the past by serving on the board of music for a Great Space. She has been a leader in the North Carolina arts scene by serving as a board member of the Touring Theatre of North Carolina. She also serves as a group trustee member of The Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro Public Art Endowment. Additionally, Hoffmann has been a steadfast supporter of the new Steven Tanger Center for Performing Arts, which is scheduled to open in Greensboro in spring 2018.

The arts played a significant role in Hoffmann’s life, starting in the third grade when a teacher introduced her to art and classical music. Her class was introduced to works such as “The Nutcracker.” She learned about the characteristics of the instruments of the orchestra through pieces of music such as Sergei Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf.” Hoffmann’s teacher also exposed her to great visual artists and their works, such as Vincent van Gogh and his “Sunflowers.”

“A teacher can have a huge effect at an early age of exposing us to things that will become very important in our lives,” Hoffmann reflected.

After elementary school, Hoffmann continued her involvement in the arts through music programs.

“I began private piano lessons in the fourth grade and continued that through my freshman year in college,” Hoffmann said. “I wanted to join the school band, and in the fifth-grade my parents bought me an alto saxophone. I took lessons and played in the band through high school. In middle school I also took oboe lessons for a few years.”

“Having supportive parents and parents who are interested in the world is an advantage as well,” Hoffmann added.

Hoffmann grew up in a college town, so not only did she get to take music lessons and participate in school arts programs, but she also was able to immerse herself in the arts by taking advantage of opportunities to see a wide variety of artists. She particularly remembers seeing Joan Sutherland — who was a musical giant at the time — perform.

Today, Hoffmann continues to consume and actively support the arts in the Greensboro community.

“I genuinely feel it is my responsibility to support artists and our arts community in Greensboro,” Hoffmann said.

“Cultural heritage and the arts are essential to society — the visual arts as well as the performance arts,” Hoffmann explained. “They speak to us in ways that are healing, that bring us together [and] that inspire us to excellence and greatness. The arts teach us and enhance our lives every day. They even sometimes compel us to set aside our petty differences and grievances to think collectively about the common good.”