Monday, March 18, 2013 —
RALEIGH -- The North Carolina Arts Council invites the public to share ideas about how partnerships between the state and local communities can ensure the arts remain essential to North Carolina's future.
A series of public meetings, Creative North Carolina Connects, have been scheduled in Charlotte (April 16), Morganton (April 17), Chapel Hill (April 23) and Elizabeth City (May 2) so that both citizens and the arts industry can talk with board members and the N.C. Arts Council about the arts industry.
The Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Cultural Resources, receives funding from the state and the National Endowment for the Arts. Funds are dispersed so that every county in North Carolina has access to arts programming. The Arts Council wants to connect is currently preparing its 2014 - 2018 Strategic Plan and public meetings are one way citizens can provide input into the plan.
"We want to hear from citizens about how the arts should be developed and utilized for the well-being of our communities," said Executive Director Wayne Martin, of the N.C. Arts Council.
"We know the intrinsic value of the arts in our lives, and we can document the role of the arts in creating jobs, revitalizing downtowns and bringing visitors to our state. The arts make North Carolina a better state in which to live but we must think creatively about how to sustain and support the arts for the future.
All meetings are from 7 to 9 p.m. and will include a presentation by Arts Council and staff. The Arts Council has requested that attendees consider the following questions: 1) What are the key issues in your community and your work? 2) How are the arts a solution in your community? 3) What can we do together to position the state's arts industry as essential to North Carolina's future?
Below are the locations of the meetings:
Tuesday, April 16
Mint Museum Uptown
500 South Tryon St.
Charlotte, N.C. 28202
Wednesday, April 17
Burke County Arts Council
115 E. Meeting St.
Morganton, N.C. 28655
Tuesday, April 23
Chamber of Commerce Conference Room
Town of Chapel Hill Town Hall
405 Martin Luther King Blvd.
Chapel Hill, N.C. 27514
Thursday, May 2
Arts of the Albemarle
The Center
516 E. Main St.
Elizabeth City, N.C. 27909
