Charlotte leaders vote to join new arts plan after months of debate. How will it work?
Charlotte will join a new model for supporting the arts and culture across the region after months of debate.
The City Council voted 8-2 on Monday to become part of a new governance system for distributing millions in arts grants that will also include Mecklenburg County, the Foundation for the Carolinas and the group formerly known as the Arts and Science Council.
Council members Victoria Watlington and Reneé Johnson voted against the plan, and Mayor Pro Tem Danté Anderson was absent from the meeting.
Multiple City Council members shared concerns at earlier meetings about whether the new board is structured fairly, whether it will give the city enough control over city money and if the plan does enough to support equity and diversity in the arts. Some also questioned the administrative fees the foundation would collect.
Those debates continued at Monday’s meeting.
“I think we’re getting too far away from the voters,” Watlington said.
Others were more supportive.
“Finally, after years and years, we have tackled this question,” council member Ed Driggs said of public arts funding.
As Charlotte debated its role in the new set-up, the nonprofits behind it and Mecklenburg County moved forward.
What’s in the arts plan?
The new arts plan was born out of the COVID-19 pandemic, which cratered private donations to the arts and shut down venues throughout the region.
Charlotte broke with the county and long-standing practices when it shifted money typically awarded by the ASC into a three-year “Infusion Fund” after voters rejected a referendum for a quarter-cent sales tax increase to fund the arts.
In November 2023, the City Council approved an “Arts and Culture Plan” under the leadership of now-former arts and culture officer Priya Sircar. That plan called for a steady stream of arts funding and a new model for how it’s handed out but was light on specifics, including a price tag.
In April, the Foundation for the Carolinas and ASC announced their own plan. It called for $21 million in annual public funding: $10 million from the county and $11 million from the city. The groups also proposed the creation of a new Arts, Science and Cultural Council to govern arts funding, including:
Seven county appointees, including two nominees representing Mecklenburg towns
Five city of Charlotte appointees
Three foundation appointees
Two appointees from a new Arts & Science Council Grants Board
The Foundation for the Carolina and the ASC finalized their partnership in September, and county commissioners began making their appointments to the new council in November.
The Charlotte City Council’s economic development committee voted 4-1 to favor of joining in September. But ongoing debate among the full council delayed a final vote.
Council member Tariq Bokhari, who was the lone “no” vote in committee but voted for the plan Monday, said ahead of the final vote he still has concerns with the new plan but wasn’t optimistic a better option would come forward if the council didn’t join.
“I don’t want to vote ‘yes’ for this, but I also just don’t want to sit around doing nothing,” he said.
This story was originally published February 11, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
