Arts & Science Council

Officials with the Charlotte Museum of History want to be included in the annual distribution of operational funding support from the city that many other arts organizations receive annually.

The Charlotte City Council will decide who gets to divvy up and disburse arts funding to artists and organizations around the city. The Arts & Science Council could be a contender.

Charlotte's first arts and culture officer, Priya Sircar, talks with WFAE's "All Things Considered" guest host Sarah Delia about challenges and opportunities in her new role, and how she sees financial sustainability and equity in the sector as vital areas to address.

Artist J. Stacy Utley wanted to honor the history of Charlotte's West End for his public art sculpture in the new Five Points Plaza. That's why he turned to a famous image of one of West End's most revered residents, Dorothy Counts-Scoggins.

Charlotte City Council members last night raised their own pay by about 50%. It was part of a budget that holds property taxes steady, with increases in water and solid waste fees.

Charlotte plans to provide $6 million a year toward local arts and culture groups, and the private sector would match the city's amount. That might seem like welcome news for artists, but a shift in how the money will be distributed has some in the community concerned.

This past week: Outrage grew in Elizabeth City — along with national attention — over the killing of Andrew Brown Jr. by Pasquotank County deputies, especially after a judge delayed the public release of body camera footage in the case. A mass shooting in the Boone area left a married couple, two sheriff's deputies and the suspected gunman dead. North Carolina earned a 14th U.S. House seat after the 2020 census. And Apple picks the Raleigh area for its East Coast campus.

Charlotte’s Arts & Science Council is working to support more culturally diverse and grassroots organizations. The effort follows its first Cultural Equity Report released in February admitting that organizations of color received small amounts of funding compared to larger organizations such as the Mint Museum.

Charlotte City Manager Marcus Jones on Tuesday said the city would increase its annual contribution to the arts from $3.2 million last year to $6 million for the upcoming fiscal year.

We get reaction to the Charlotte City Council’s proposal to directly fund the arts and establish an organization to carry out that plan. We'll hear from four potential recipients to talk about that and the state of the arts in Charlotte.