Gary Bellamy '88 

Since 1976, National Black History Month has had an endorsed theme as a part of the celebration. For 2024, the theme is "African Americans and the Arts," spanning the many impacts Black Americans have had on visual arts, music, dance, theater, and cultural movements. This month’s spotlight features a small group of Black GDS Alumni who have used their artistic talents and skills to be agents of change to create, uplift, and inspire.
 

Introducing…Gary Bellamy '88 

Gary works in graphic design, advertising, marketing, as a fine artist, and public artist.

“My family has deep roots in the arts. My grandmother taught Roberta Flack piano in Arlington, my father was a jazz trumpet player, and my mother was a fashion designer in her free time,” Gary said.

Gary said his experience at GDS from kindergarten through the twelfth grade was filled with great memories, mostly of people in the GDS Community. 

Early on, Gary wanted to be an architect. As an 11th grader, one of his assignments was to complete an internship followed by an oral presentation to fellow students. 

“My internship was with the architectural firm Bryant and Bryant,” he said, “Seeing Black and Brown men and women professionals working in a creative capacity at a high level helped shape and form what I have become today.”

Although he did not become an architect, Gary has had the pleasure of working with a variety of highly acclaimed architects through his public art projects, including: Phil Freelon (designer of Reginald F. Lewis Museum and the design team leader of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History), Hiroshi Jacobs, and Gary Bowden.