Gamil’s Gift
/When Dr. Gamil T. Arida arrived in the United States from his homeland in Egypt, he brought more than his knowledge and passion for medicine. From his youth, he was an artist at heart who loved to spend his free time drawing and painting. His enthusiasm for art was so significant that later in life he committed to finding ways to lift up both the arts and other artists. That commitment ultimately became the genesis of the annual Arida Arts Symposium hosted each year by Blue Ridge Community College.
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Gamil Arida was born and raised in Tanta, Egypt just a handful of miles from the legendary Nile River. Over six decades later in 1988, a life of accomplishment, adventure, and art would lead Gamil and his wife Ann to Flat Rock. Although he ended up 6,000 miles from his boyhood home, Gamil’s heart was never far from his love for family, his commitment to helping others, and his passion for the arts.
The first Arida Arts symposium honored Robert Morgan in 1993
It was that passion that inspired Gamil to set up the Dr. Gamil T. Arida Endowment Fund at Blue Ridge Community College in 1990. After his death in 1992, BRCC approached Ann about using the Arida Endowment as a way to both promote the arts and honor Gamil’s legacy. Options were discussed and the conversations resulted in the creation of The Arida Arts Symposium to honor North Carolina artists and their many contributions to the arts.
Well-known author and poet Robert Morgan who grew up in the Green River valley, was the first recipient in 1993 and now, thirty years later, the Arida Arts Symposium prepares to celebrate its most recent honoree, local storyteller and chronicler of local Black history, Ronnie Pepper. The Symposium will take place this year on September 29th and is free to the public.
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Growing up in Egypt, Gamil was one of eight children and his mother quickly recognized two things about her son. One, he was academically gifted and, two, he was destined to be a caregiver. Years later she would share with Ann stories of family holidays at the beach. When the other Arida children would dash off to play, Gamil stayed behind to spend time reading books and looking after his disabled sister who was unable to join the other children in outdoor activities. Having seen his heart for helping others even at a young age, Gamil’s mother encouraged him to study medicine
Following his mother’s advice, Gamil embarked on a medical career and was a general practitioner in Egypt for a few years before deciding that he wanted to learn a specialty. His quest to further his medical career led him to Chicago. It was there he would find both professional advancement and a life partner - Ann Atteberry, a young nursing student from nearby Joliet, Illinois.
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Today, Ann Arida Talley lives in Flat Rock and still serves on the committee that each year selects the artist to be honored by the Arida Arts Symposium.
Ann’s parents grew up in South Carolina - her mother was a Charlestonian - but Ann spent most of her childhood in Iowa and later Joliet where she completed high school before leaving home to study nursing in Chicago. It was during her training at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center that she first saw - but did not formally meet - the handsome doctor from Egypt. They later got to know each other at a bridge social organized by the nursing school. “I fell head over heels,” Ann recalls with a smile. “When he later asked me to marry him, I quit school to be with him during his Urology residency in Madison, Wisconsin.” Ann was 19. Gamil was 36.
Ann and Gamil
Perhaps not surprisingly, the elder Atteberrys had their reservations about the proposed union but Gamil was able to quickly assuage their concerns and win them over. “Over the years, he became the son they never had,” Ann says with a smile. “He was very close to my parents. They both loved him very much.”
The couple was married in Joliet in 1960.
Gamil and Ann soon started a family and welcomed their daughter Janet in 1962 and, two years after that, their son George was born. By then, the young couple had returned to Joliet and Gamil established himself in a successful Urology practice for the next 25 years.
Later in his medical career and nearing retirement, Gamil took classes in sculpture and ceramics at the local community college. There he met a young art student who had to drop out due to an inability to make the tuition payments. Gamil was moved by the young student’s struggles and resolved to do something.
“He started endowing scholarships for a student in the art department there,” Ann recalls. “He felt so strongly because so many artists struggled to make it. It’s just wonderful to see people grow in their art.”
In 1981, Gamil was diagnosed with Lymphoma. Treatment held the disease at bay for seven years but a recurrence in 1988 prompted Gamil and Ann to look for a place where the weather was less severe during the winter. “Partly because he was older than me, but mostly because he was just by nature a caregiver,” says Ann. “He worried about me when he was gone.”
Gamil and Ann in their new Flat Rock Home
Gamil had a former patient who lived in Laurel Park and invited Ann and Gamil to visit. “Gamil took a look at the view and said, ‘This is where we should end up.”’ The couple built a home in Flat Rock and even though time was short for Gamil, he quickly became a fixture at Blue Ridge Community College where he taught philosophy, founded a philosophy club, served on the board of the BRCC Foundation, and on the board of the Hendersonville Symphony. Throughout it all, he continued to pursue his passion for drawing, painting, and ceramics. His commitment to art was such that he set up the initial endowment at BRCC to provide support for an art student or a foreign student.
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Louise Howe Bailey was the 2003 Arida Arts Symposium honoree
After Gamil’s death in 1992, members of the College approached Ann with an idea of how to use the endowment set up by Gamil to honor his legacy of compassion for others and his love of the arts. “The idea really appealed to me and our children,” says Ann. “The Arida Symposium gives us an opportunity to teach a lot of people about an art form they may not be familiar with.”
Recently, the Symposium was interrupted for three years by the pandemic and Ann is gratified that BRCC will once again be able to host the event. Past honorees include Louise Howe Bailey, Georgia Bonesteel, Scott Treadway, Lisa Bryant, the Vorhees Family, and a host of others. (Scroll down to see a complete listing of honorees.) Ann is particularly excited to be honoring Ronnie Pepper this year. “He's really an authority on Henderson County history, particularly Black history. And he knows so many fascinating stories.”
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Ann holding ceramic art created by her husband, gamil Arida
Today, Ann looks back on the 30 years of the Arida Arts Symposium and is thankful for the opportunity to remember and honor the handsome man who caught her eye in the hospital corridor over 60 years ago. Gamil’s generosity has been a gift to both the college - and his family. “Gamil’s gift to the college has been like an ongoing gift for me,” says Ann. “My kids and grandkids come to many of the symposiums. I think my grandchildren have a greater appreciation of the arts as well as of their grandfather as a result.”
Sitting on the deck of the beautiful home she and her husband built when they moved to Flat Rock, Ann Arida Talley looks out over an expansive view of the world made possible in more ways than one by the compassionate doctor from Egypt. Gazing towards the horizon, her eyes sparkle and she volunteers, “I still think about him every day.”
This coming week, we will all have the opportunity to remember Dr. Gamil T. Arida and his generous spirit through the Arida Arts Symposium.
Arida Arts Symposium 2023
The 28th annual Arida Arts Symposium of Blue Ridge Community College will take place on September 29, 2023, featuring local storyteller and Black historian Ronnie Pepper.
The symposium was established in 1993 to honor North Carolina artists and their many contributions to the arts. Open to the public with free admission, the event is funded by the Gamil T. Arida Endowment Fund through the Blue Ridge Community College Educational Foundation.
This year’s symposium, the first since 2019, begins at 10 a.m. in Blue Ridge’s Bo Thomas Auditorium with a two-hour morning workshop themed around Henderson County Black history. A 6:30 p.m. reception with light hors d’oeuvres will precede the 7 p.m. special presentation featuring Pepper’s poetry and a monologue.
“My late husband, Gamil Arida, started this endowment to be used for enhancing the arts at Blue Ridge Community College and the community,” said Ann Arida Talley. “I am so pleased to see his vision realized with the honoring of storyteller Ronnie Pepper at this year’s Arida Arts Symposium.”
This year’s featured artist, Ronnie Pepper, is known across Western North Carolina for his storytelling performances and knowledge of Black history. He is the president of the Henderson County Black History Research Committee – a group that documents the local accomplishments of the Black community. Pepper is active throughout the community, serving through the Marable Mentoring Program, Hendersonville Housing Authority Board, Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Committee, Henderson County Walk of Fame Committee, 7th Ave Community Garden Committee and the Contemporary Missionary Baptist Church.
“We are excited to welcome community members on-campus for an unforgettable evening to celebrate the art of storytelling and local history,” said Trina Stokes, executive director of the Educational Foundation.
In addition to showcasing area artists, the Arida Arts Symposium celebrates the life and memory of Dr. Gamil T. Arida, a lover of the arts and a Flat Rock resident from 1989 until his passing in 1992. Dr. Arida was a multi-talented creator of paintings, sculptures, music and pottery. He taught philosophy at Blue Ridge Community College where he also founded a philosophy club. Community-minded, Arida served on the boards of both the Hendersonville Symphony and Blue Ridge’s Educational Foundation.
More information about the Arida Arts Symposium, including past featured artists, is available at www.blueridge.edu/arida. For questions about the event, please contact M.C. Gaylord at 828.694.1779.
Past Recipients:
Arida Arts Symposium Featured Artists
1993 Robert Morgan, writer
1994 Michael Sherrill, clay artist
1995 Sarah Johnson, violinist
1996 Jeremiah Miller, painter
1997 Georgia Bonesteel, quilter
1998 Stoney Lamar, wood turner
1999 Donald Davis, storyteller
2000 Scott Treadway, actor
2001 Daniel Miller, metalsmith
2002 Celebrating Ten Years
2003 Louise Bailey, local historian and writer
2004 Ann Dunn, choreographer and poet
2005 The Voorhees Family
2006 Paul Bonesteel, filmmaker
2007 Daniel Millspaugh, metal sculptor
2008 Steven Walter, guitar builder and performer
2009 Chaffe McIlhenny and Bonnie Hamilton, glass artists
2010 Glenis Redmond, performance poet
2011 Richard Bernabe, photographer
2012 Kevin Ayesh, pianist
2013 Marilyn Bailey, jewelry maker
2014 Bernie Rowell, fiber artist
2015 Lisa Bryant, actress and producer
2016 Pat Shepherd, dancer, choreographer, and teacher
2017 Free Planet Radio, world music band
2018 Ann Vasilik, watercolor painter
2019 Joel Hunnicutt, unique vessel wood turner
