These new findings will guide how Charlotte spends money to improve arts, culture
Charlotte aspires to be a leading arts city, and a plan to achieve that may be just a few months away.
The city’s arts and culture steering committee Tuesday met to refine and finalize Charlotte’s State of Culture Report, the findings that will inform an arts and culture plan expected to be completed this summer.
The full report is expected to be released in detail to the public in early March, but lead planner Joy Bailey-Bryant provided “emerging insights” from the report that will guide the city’s planning process.
Through community events and an online survey, arts officials received survey responses from 3,236 people in 75 ZIP codes for its State of Culture report. It will guide leaders on how they invest time and money in the arts and inform a plan that sets policies and funding strategies.
The report is also informed by a map of cultural assets across Mecklenburg County, an evaluation of local funding and a look at arts and culture support in other similar-sized U.S. cities.
“We were able to really speak to people about what is important for them regarding arts and culture, and not just individual artists and arts organizations, but residents as well as educators,” said Bailey-Bryant, president of consulting company Lord Cultural US.
The goal? Make Charlotte a leading arts city in the country, with the intention of driving tourism, community and economic development to the area.
In the report presented Tuesday, three themes emerged — collaboration, education and a need for equity. Here’s a closer look at what that means.
Who foots the bill?
After a tumultuous few years for arts and culture in Charlotte, the report found improved collaboration is needed in the arts sector.
The plan is an outgrowth of the city’s 18-member arts and culture advisory board, created after the Charlotte City Council upended a decades-long policy of relying on the Arts and Science Council as a mechanism for arts grantmaking.
“Sustainable funding for arts and culture in Charlotte-Mecklenburg requires public-private planning, collaboration and commitment,” according to the report.
In 2021, the city established an “infusion fund” to support the city’s arts and culture sector for three years. The infusion fund is administered through the Foundation For The Carolinas, a local philanthropic organization that serves a 13-county area in and around Charlotte.
The new arts board determines how money is spent with input from the Charlotte City Council.
In the fiscal year 2023 budget, the city allocated $4 million to the Foundation For The Carolinas. It was matched by $2 million from American Rescue Plan Act funds and more than $6 million from private-sector donations, said Priya Sircar, the city’s arts and culture officer. That provides a total of $12 million to be spent at the city’s discretion for arts and culture initiatives through 2024.
All eyes will be on the Charlotte City Council when final funding decisions are made for the next decade of arts in the city.
“The plan will have recommended options for sources of funding. It will also have amounts for different strategies and tactics,” Sircar told reporters Tuesday. “These are cost ranges that are estimates for how much would it take to get certain things done.”
Art for everyone
A pattern discovered early in the city’s research is that many Charlotte artists lack affordable places to create, perform and display work.
“Access to affordable space is challenging, both for producers and consumers of arts and culture experiences,” according to the report.
To combat this, Charlotte needs to meet people, artists and organizations where they are and support small to midsize organizations, the research findings show. The Mint Museum and Blumenthal are household names in Charlotte, but residents want to see themselves represented in the work that defines the Queen City.
“Small to midsize local arts organizations are a key differentiator when looking at Mecklenburg art ecosystems,” Bailey-Bryant said.
Arts education at every stage of learning
Another finding is the need for arts education — in school and beyond.
Lifelong, K-12 and post-secondary experiences should be expanded, the study found, granting access and exposure to arts and culture to Charlotte residents.
Research in the report showed the exposure will help the city with workforce development, quality of life and cultivate future arts and culture supporters. Further details are expected to be revealed as the full report is made public.
Next steps
- Early March — Public sharing of report and virtual work session to develop priorities for the plan’s draft
- April — Assemble draft plan
- May — Test draft plan with the public and create a final plan document
- June — Deliver completed plan
