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Reopening the Arts in North Carolina

Last Monday, Arts NC and the North Carolina Arts Council shared a new reopening guide for the arts in NC. The purpose of this document is to provide recommendations for arts organizations as they respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and develop plans for reopening to the public. A webinar (recording above) was also held on Wednesday to go over the document and address questions.

Reopening Guide

View AAAC's Reopening Resources page for the latest materials and guidance.

TP Art Auction was a Success

Earlier this month, the Asheville Area Arts Council and Buncombe County Schools partnered to raise funds to purchase art supplies for the Buncombe County Schools Family Resource Center. With your support we were able to raise $1,425!

A BIG thank you to the BCS art teachers, students, artists, and community members that created original masterpieces using a single sheet of toilet paper as their canvas, and to the bidders that purchased these one-of-a-kind pieces of art.

Upcoming Grant Deadlines

Buncombe County Tourism Jobs Recovery Fund Grants (Application Deadline May 31) The purpose of these funds is to preserve and safely reopen the region’s unique and diverse small business ecosystem and protect tourism-related jobs. The Tourism Fund helps tourism-related small businesses and nonprofit organizations reopen through simple and streamlined micro-grants of $500 – 5,000 and full grants of $5,001 – $50,000. Learn More>>

North Carolina Arts Council NEA Stimulus Fund Grants ( Application Deadline May 29) These federal grants are designed to help arts organizations remain operational during the pandemic crisis with an emphasis on job protection and overhead costs such as facility mortgage or rental. It is anticipated that grant amounts will range from $1,500 to $7,500, depending upon organizational budget size. Learn More>>

South Arts Sustainability Grants Arts Organizations (Application Deadline June 10) South Arts will offer a limited number of $5,000 to $20,000 grants to statewide or regional (multi-state) arts and cultural service organizations based in our nine-state region to help sustain operations during or after the pandemic. Learn More>>

NC Arts Funding Bill Update

Arts NC is excited to announce that Joint Caucus on Arts and Arts Education Co-Chairs Rep. Becky Carney and Rep. Jeffrey Elmore are joined by Rep. Michele Presnell and Rep. Susan Fisher as primary sponsors of H1068, the new legislation that would allocate $3 million to arts organizations negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic through the NC Arts Council.

UPDATE: Sen. Harper Peterson, Sen. Kirk deViere, and Sen. Michael Garrett have filed identical companion legislation in the NC Senate, S738, that would also allocate $3 million to arts organizations negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic through the NC Arts Council.

Learn More>>

Upcoming Webinars with Mountain BizWorks

AAAC is partnering with Mountain BizWorks, Center for Craft, and UNC Asheville on a Craft Your Commerce COVID-19 Webinar Series series. More information with be posted soon, but now mark your calendars!

May 29 (2-4 pm) - Legal Live Q&A for Makers and Creative Entrepreneurs
June 5 (2-4 pm) - Mindset Reset for Creatives.

Learn More>>

Sector News

Local arts nonprofits continue toward their missions amid COVID-19 challenges

To help gauge the impact, Katie Cornell, executive director of the Asheville Area Arts Council, points to Americans for the Arts’ ongoing “Economic Impact of Coronavirus on the Arts and Culture Sector” survey, where 78 arts organizations in Buncombe County have reported over $4.2 million in lost revenue so far.