Press Releases

A study released today by Americans for the Arts, in partnership with the North Carolina Arts Council, shows that the nonprofit arts and culture sector in North Carolina generated $2.12 billion in direct economic activity and supported almost 72,000 full-time equivalent jobs in 2015.
 
“Not only do the arts fuel the mind and spirit, they fuel our economy,” Governor Roy Cooper said. “This study confirms that the arts bring jobs, income and visitors to North Carolina, and underscores the important role the North Carolina Arts Council plays in nurturing our creative economy.”

Lori Cozzi, Executive Director of ArtSpace Charter School in Swannanoa, was named the 2017 Gerry D. Howell A+ Educator of the Year at an A+ Network webinar on Thursday, May 4. The award recognizes an A+ educator who best exemplifies the values of A+ Schools of North Carolina and its philosophies.

Raleigh, N.C. (February 21, 2017) — North Carolina high school students from 30 school districts across the state will take the stage on Saturday, March 4, in Greensboro, to compete in the annual statewide Poetry Out Loud Semifinals and Final Competition. The state winner will advance to the Poetry Out Loud finals in Washington, D.C. this April.

A collaboration with universities across the state will bring music from 11 countries in east Africa, all connected by the Nile River, to North Carolina for a series of musical celebrations.

A cross-cultural collaboration, the Nile Project features artists who collaborate on new songs that combine the rich diversity of one of the oldest places on earth that represent more than 450 million people. The first U.S. tour was in 2015.

The Arts Council of Henderson County, in collaboration with the Transylvania Community Arts Council, and the Tryon Fine Arts Center in Polk County, announces the Regional Artist Project Grantees for 2016-17. These grants are awarded to artists planning projects that have artistic merit and promise to advance the career of the artist or collaborating group. The grants are open to emerging and established artists.

Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network Launches New Sites and Programs

Bethesda, MD (October 25, 2016)— The Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C. is one of five new clinical sites for expansion of the Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network, a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Department of Defense (DoD).

Raleigh, N.C. (October 11, 2016) — Shannon Silva of Wilmington has received a North Carolina Arts Council Artist Fellowship Award in the category of film and video.

She is among 17 from across the state to receive the 2016–2017 North Carolina Arts Council Artist Fellowship Award. Artists receive a $10,000 fellowship to support creative development and the creation of new work. Recipients were selected by panels comprised of artists and arts professionals with expertise in each discipline.

Raleigh, N.C. (October 12, 2016) — Andrea Vail, John W. Love, Jr., Stephanie J. Woods, and Thomas Schmidt all of the Charlotte area, have a received a North Carolina Arts Council Artist Fellowship Award in the category of visual art or craft.

The artists are among 17 from across the state to receive the 2016 – 2017 North Carolina Arts Council Artist Fellowship Award. Artists receive a fellowship to support creative development and the creation of new work. Recipients were selected by panels comprised of artists and arts professionals with expertise in each discipline.

Raleigh, N.C. (October 12, 2016) — John Huneycutt of Oakboro in Stanly County has received a North Carolina Arts Council Fellowship Award in the category of visual art.

Huneycutt is among 17 artists from across the state to receive the 2016 – 2017 North Carolina Arts Council Artist Fellowship Award. Artists receive a fellowship to support creative development and the creation of new work. Recipients were selected by panels comprised of artists and arts professionals with expertise in each discipline.

Governor Pat McCrory has proclaimed the week of Sept. 11 –17, 2015 as Arts in Education Week in North Carolina.   

“Arts education is an essential element of a complete and well-rounded education for all students,” said North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory. “Arts education contributes to increased attendance and graduation rates; elevates academic achievement; and prepares students for college, career and citizenship readiness.”

Raleigh, N.C. -- A vision six years ago by Wilson community leaders to restore and preserve the gigantic wind-driven kinetic sculptures created by one of North Carolina's most recognized artists took a giant leap toward completion with the announcement this week of a Kohler Foundation gift.

Organizers of the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park announced that a new partnership with the Kohler Foundation will complete the restoration of the balance of Vollis Simpson's kinetic sculptures, set to top-off the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park & Museum, located in downtown Wilson.

The deadline to apply for the Mary B. Regan Community Artist Residency award is set for Tuesday, March 15, 2016.

This is the second cycle for the grant that honors Ms. Regan's four decades of leadership as executive director at the N.C. Arts Council and her long-held beliefs in the importance of the contributions of artists and the transformative potential of creativity to community life.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced that sixteen nonprofit organizations in North Carolina will receive $320,000 from two grant categories for fiscal year 2016.