County leader: Meck has ‘no desire’ to follow divisive Charlotte arts funding plan

The city of Charlotte unexpectedly shook up the local arts community this month when it said it may yank funding from the Arts & Science Council in favor of directly funding arts and culture groups.

That raised a host of questions and concerns, from individuals and organizations worried about whether they would still get funding through the ASC to whether it’s a good idea for the city to decide what type of art is worthy of taxpayer dollars.

Many of those questions remain unanswered. But late Monday, a county leader indicated that Mecklenburg commissioners have no intention of following the city’s lead.

“We would prefer that government not get involved in making funding decisions about which (arts and culture) organizations receive funding, especially when we think that the ASC does a good job with that,” commissioners board Chair George Dunlap said. “We have no desire to create a new organization to do what ASC already does.”

Under a city plan that is still evolving, the Charlotte council would upend a 46-year partnership with the ASC. Instead of funding the agency, which would then dole out that money to arts and culture recipients, the city would assume that role.

It also would create an arts and culture advisory board and hire a coordinator to oversee the funding.

Earlier this month, a city council subcommittee told the full council its plan could secure $4 million in city taxpayer funding for the arts industry, as well as another $4 million from the private sector.

An $8-million funding target would be nearly $5 million more than the current $3.2 million the city provides the ASC, a funding pass-through agency.

ASC acting president Krista Terrell said she’s excited by increased funding for the arts but is concerned about how the money will be disbursed. And Terrell said the ASC was “blindsided” by the city’s plan and has not been asked to be involved to this point.

“There’s just a lot of uncertainty with this proposal,” Terrell said. “Who is going to be supported and who is going to be left out?”

Mayor Pro Tem Julie Eiselt said the city has met with ASC even before the pandemic over funding issues. “...We have a responsibility to make sure they are meeting the goals of the council,” she said Tuesday. “We’re just saying what more can we be doing?”

Small arts groups worry

With few details available yet, some small, diverse arts groups are questioning their role, too.

“We have a really good relationship with ASC, they’re there for us,” said Rory Sheriff of Brand New Sheriff Productions theater company. “They really want us to succeed.”

He said ASC grants have provided half of his operational and other needs over the past four years. “Not knowing (about) a major change is not a good feeling.”

Others worry it will create a host of other problems.

“This thing has hijacked our conversations,” said Manoj Kesavan who runs Boom Charlotte, a three-day arts showcase of performances and visual arts.

Art, he said, “could get more politicized,” referring to controversies including one in the late 1990s about the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Angels in America.” It ultimately took a judge’s order for the play to go unabridged following high-profile controversy over its gay content, profanity and nude scene.

“It does help to have a somewhat independent agency,” Kesavan said.

County options

Mecklenburg County has its own a say in arts funding.

The county typically budgets about $2 million for ASC. Terrell said she’s had no indication the county will change how it gives to ASC.

Last year, Mecklenburg increased the funding to about $2.6 million. The county must adopt its annual budget by July 1. The next county budget meeting is Tuesday.

The Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners will examine the arts budget as part of its overall budget discussions, Dunlap said.

However, he said the board is happy with the changes that the ASC has made, including efforts around diversity and inclusion, and generating opportunities for artists and other creative groups.

But at least one commissioner, Pat Cotham, said Tuesday she wants further discussions about arts funding. She said it’s important to have a diverse arts community not only for cultural enrichment but also for economic interests.

“We must face the facts that the voters rejected two sales tax increases within four years for the arts,” Cotham said. “We need to explore other options that could better serve the arts community.”

ASC worries about city impact

The ASC receives $3.2 million from the city, which is 23% of the agency’s budget.

Terrell said losing this funding could jeopardize grants, fellowships and other projects.

That unrestricted funding this fiscal year, she said, helped ASC support 37 arts, science and history organizations, and provided workshops and training for artists and professionals.

It also funded more than 50 cultural projects led by small- and mid-sized organizations and individuals.

The city plan would exclude organizations like Matthews playhouse and Jazz Art Charlotte if it focuses solely on groups using city-owned facilities. “It seems to be only about uptown and city-owned facilities. Our work focuses on the broader ecosystem of the art sector beyond uptown and small organizations and creative individuals,” Terrell said.

ASC donors are asking what’s happening with the city, Terrell said, and could create competing funding requests. And, if funding is directed only in relation to city-owned facilities, what will that do to small- and mid-sized groups.

“They should also be supported in their growth in development to become major institutions,” Terrell said. “It’s not about ASC, it’s really about the (arts and culture) sector. We just want the broader cultural sector to thrive and we need the investment to do it.”

Arts and culture generates more than $242 million in annual economic impact in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Terrell said.

Next steps

The city’s ad hoc arts and culture committee met twice in February. The five-member group has been directed by Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles with developing a policy for arts and culture as an economic strategy for the city.

The five city council members in the committee are Eiselt (chairwoman of the group), Ed Driggs, Malcolm Graham, Tariq Bokhari and Braxton Winston.

They sent a recommendation for how the advisory board could work to City Manager Marcus Jones.

Eiselt expects Jones will respond this week. Then the group can take the next step for creating policy about how the money will be spent on arts and culture. She said it will likely come up at the April budget workshop.

Unlike other council committees on the city website, the arts and culture committee does not list any committee documents, meeting dates or additional resources. The committee does not have another meeting set yet because “we’re waiting to hear what the manager has to say,” Eiselt said.

Jones is expected to present city budget recommendations May 3, and the council will finalize it in June.

At the March 1 council meeting, the committee first discussed the plan that would create a city arts and culture advisory board and a commissioner, possibly paid, rather than send money to the ASC.

At that meeting, Eiselt said that plan would give the city more say in arts funding policies, what is expected in return and how its arts buildings are used.

The city owns six facilities: The Mint Museum uptown and on Randolph Road, Bechtler Museum of Fine Art, The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, Blumenthal Performing Arts Center and Discovery Place.

The committee also is recommending a 25% annual art and culture budget increase to $4 million, but it’s contingent on a $4 million match or more from the private sector. It’s unclear what will happen if the city doesn’t raise those funds.

Eiselt said Jones is tasked with securing at least half of the $8 million from private sector funding. “We are stipulating that if we step up for ($4 million), that the private sector needs to do that, too,” she said.

All recipients of arts grants will be covered in this budget cycle, Eiselt said, and the advisory ad hoc group will look at a long-term plan.

Changes to arts giving

Eiselt said as ASC workplace giving has been declining every year, the city has been asked to pick up the slack.

The city’s new plan would create a sustainable funding source for the arts and be more inclusive to cover artists and organizations as part of the process on the advisory board, which ASC’s board does not have, according to Eiselt.

Eiselt said the city welcomes ASC’s grant-making expertise and hopes it will be part of the process.

But Terrell said so far, her agency has not been part of the planning despite extending offers to share its expertise.

“What is the true intention of all of this?” Terrell asked. “I can’t seem to get an answer on that.”

Will it help equity?

Last month, ASC apologized for its role in systemic funding inequities against Blacks and other minorities after the release of its Cultural Equity Report. The report also points out ways the agency has supported Black, Latinx, Asian, Arab and Native American artists, cultures and communities.

Terrell said ASC is on a journey to reinvent and strengthen its equitable funding lens.

Kesavan with Boom Charlotte said his organization was among the groups asking for an equity report to show what percent of ASC funding goes to organizations of color.

Until last year, Kesavan said ASC would give Boom Charlotte about $5,000 to $10,000. Last July, Boom received $24,000 operational support for the first time.

“I feel ASC was not problematic, but symptomatic, not the cause (of funding inequities),” he said. “Replacing ASC, if not done properly, could end up with something more exclusionary.”

Sheriff said the city could take steps to redirect ASC funding toward diversity with more stipulations. “Everyone can do a better job at funding minority groups because we need it,” he said. “We’re at a disadvantage.”

This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 6:39 AM.