GREENSBORO, NC.- The Weatherspoon Art Museum at UNC Greensboro announces the naming of its atrium as the new Warmath Commons, in recognition of a major gift celebrating the Warmath family’s six decades of service and support. The funds for the Warmath Commons will further the museum's commitment to community engagement by advancing the core mission of the Weatherspoon as a place of welcome, discovery, and engagement for the students, faculty, and staff of UNC Greensboro and the community of Greensboro.

The Warmath family legacy, led by Sarah Warmath and the late Jack Warmath, is a continuation of their early roles in raising funds for the Anne and Benjamin Cone Building, which helped to transform the organization from a small campus gallery into the Weatherspoon Art Museum, now one of the most prominent museums on a university campus in the United States.

Juliette Bianco, the Anne and Ben Cone Memorial Endowed Director of the Weatherspoon and the Associate Vice Chancellor for Museums and Creative Practice at the university, praises this latest contribution from the Warmath family: “The first experience of every visitor to the Weatherspoon Art Museum—whether from the sculpture courtyard or the Spring Garden Street entrance—is to be welcomed in the atrium. With this gift of support, the Warmath Commons will now and always mark the beginning of a new adventure for each visitor we see. The Warmath legacy at the Weatherspoon is clearly thriving.”

Designed in 1989 by acclaimed postmodern architect Romaldo Giurgola as a focal point for the Anne and Benjamin Cone Building, the 2,140-square-foot atrium serves as a convening space for campus and community and a crossroads for engagement with ideas about art and society through programs and special events.

Since the opening of the Anne and Benjamin Cone Building, Sarah and Jack Warmath have been inextricably linked to the museum’s iconic atrium thanks to their generous support of the acquisition of The Frieze (1982), by acclaimed American artist Tom Otterness. Dedicated to the memory of Sarah’s parents, Sarah Ford and Henry Worsham Dew, this monumental artwork graces one of the most prominent spaces in the museum—and indeed on the campus of UNC Greensboro.

With this naming gift, which supports UNCG’s transformative Light the Way campaign, the museum celebrates the impact Sarah Warmath and her family have had on the museum’s development, including her many years of service to the Weatherspoon Guild. The family’s commitment to the Weatherspoon has continued through their son Tim Warmath with his recent leadership on the Weatherspoon Art Museum Council. Along with the dedication of the Warmath Commons, the Weatherspoon will conduct and archive an extensive oral history about the family's numerous contributions to the institution. A fall 2025 dedication ceremony will be announced soon.