Arts veteran to lead Arts & Science Council in Charlotte amid funding challenges
Arts veteran Adam Santalla Pierce has been named president of Charlotte’s Arts & Science Council, leaders of the longtime nonprofit organization said Tuesday.
Santalla Pierce has been with the ASC for seven years, including as interim president since June.
The ASC has been redefining its role as an arts advocate and funding agency after Charlotte City Council diverted much of its funding. Council wanted more control over where city money supporting the arts goes, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
“Adam has demonstrated exceptional leadership and a deep commitment to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg creative community,” Laura Yates Clark, Foundation For The Carolinas president, said in announcing Pierce’s selection.
Before being named interim president, Santalla Pierce served as ASC vice president of community and artist support. The Washington, D.C., area native is a graduate of the University of Virginia, and previously worked with performing arts groups in Washington, Virginia and North Carolina.
He helped obtain $1.4 million from foundations and governments to support ASC’s grantmaking and led a $3.2 million investment in local artists, Clark said.
Last fall, the foundation and the ASC announced they had finalized a new partnership where ASC would become a supporting organization of the foundation. The new structure ensured that ASC could continue focusing on its work and retain its identity while benefiting from managerial and back-office support of the foundation, the groups said at the time.
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This story was originally published February 18, 2025 at 2:15 PM.