Amid equity and funding controversies, Charlotte arts group names permanent president
Amid a new city arts funding proposal and controversy over its own unfair funding history in Charlotte, the Arts & Science Council has named its new leader.
The ASC board of directors on Tuesday named acting president Krista Terrell to permanently lead the arts and culture group, effective immediately.
“Krista operates with integrity and openness – much needed qualities in this time of great change,” ASC board chairwoman Susan Patterson said. “I don’t think we could have a better leader for ASC at this time.”
The decision comes as ASC in recent months has been embroiled in controversy.
Last week, Terrell posted a blog, “The Uncomfortable Truth,” about the reaction from unnamed arts groups and white cultural leaders to ASC’s public apology in its Cultural Equity report in February after finding decades of inequitable funding to minorities.
Those findings have been cited by City Council members as reasons the city of Charlotte has created controversial plans to directly fund arts and culture groups, rather than work through the ASC. The ASC, founded in 1958, has been the pass-through funding organization for Charlotte’s arts and culture groups for decades, as well as Mecklenburg County. A discussion on the arts is listed on the county’s meeting agenda Tuesday.
“Despite decades of close collaboration, the city developed its cultural sector recommendations without seeking public input from ASC, individual artists, creative organizations or residents,” the ASC said in Tuesday’s news release.
Patterson and other ASC board members were not available Tuesday for comment about Terrell’s blog post.
The city’s arts and culture scene was already hurting when the coronavirus pandemic hit last year from a decades-long decline in funding. That includes a failed $22.5 million Mecklenburg County sales tax referendum.
Terrell is the second Black woman and second person of color named to lead ASC, following Harriet Sanford from 2000 to 2004, according to the ASC news release.
Terrell is ready to “transform” ASC by “securing the financial resources needed and investing in the people, organizations, programs and ideas that move us toward a more equitable, sustainable and innovative creative ecosystem.”
About Krista Terrell
Terrell had been with ASC for 19 years in marketing and communications before becoming acting president in January when Jeep Bryant left for undisclosed reasons after less than two years.
She led ASC’s Culture Feast, where 1,000 people shared a community dinner in uptown Charlotte and connected through arts and cultural experiences, and Connect with Culture Day, which gave free arts and cultural access to more than 11,000 residents. She also launched CharlotteCultureGuide.com.
“From Connect with Culture Days to Culture Blocks, she has been a driving force behind ASC programs that have connected artists with multigenerational audiences, opened the door for additional community collaborations and built a wider appreciation for the arts throughout the entire Charlotte community,” said Dr. Ricky A. Woods, senior minister at First Baptist Church-West in Charlotte and a former member of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Opportunity Task Force.
Terrell also worked in public relations for Community School of the Arts (now Arts+) and Johnson C. Smith University, where she graduated.
She also is part of several groups focused on equity and diversity. She is a board member for Public Relations Society of America’s ethics and professional standards, a steering committee member for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Remembrance Project, a local effort to expose the horrors of racial terrorism, and part of Lee Institute’s Leading for Change, Community Building Initiative’s Leadership Development Initiative and Leadership Charlotte. She also served on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Foundation Social Capital Grants committee and on the board of directors of Mitchell’s Fund.
She also received the PRSA Charlotte chapter’s Mosaic Award last year for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion, and was a 2019 Fellow by Reframe to help build inclusive employee and customer experiences.
“Krista has been a steady force in the cultural sector and in Charlotte,” said Ruby Lopez Harper, Americans for the Arts vice president of equity and local arts engagement. “It is exciting to see her move into this leadership role and we look forward to working with her in our efforts to advance the local arts field.”
A native of Augusta, Georgia, she and husband Gerald Terrell Jr. have two sons.
This story was originally published April 27, 2021 at 12:22 PM.