Marcus Edge, the newest principal at Clarkton School of Discovery, has a special connection to his A+ middle school in Bladen County—he was a Clarkton student from 1997 to 2000! Marcus has returned to lead his alma mater with hopes of strengthening its arts programs and commitment to the A+ Schools philosophy. He shared with us a little about himself, his background in arts and education, and his vision for Clarkton.
Topics Related to Arts Across NC
North Carolina’s local arts councils have a long tradition of cultivating and preserving the rich cultures and histories of their communities. They support the work of artists and arts organizations and also host festivals, exhibits, and other events that encourage audiences to come out and celebrate the unique arts landscape that makes up our state.
Summer is a great time to explore the many public art and sculpture exhibitions across North Carolina. Here is just a sampling of the arts events presented by our local arts councils in the next few months:
Happy spring! I hope you’ve been getting out to enjoy the wondrous arts our state offers.
Governor Roy Cooper proclaimed May Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, to commemorate the contributions made by members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities to the state of North Carolina.
Since 1989, the North Carolina Heritage Award has honored our state’s most eminent traditional artists and practitioners. Recipients of the Heritage Awards range from internationally acclaimed musicians to folks who quietly practice their art in family and community settings. Awardees receive a cash award and are honored in a ceremony that draws large and enthusiastic audiences. Several North Carolinians have gone on to receive the National Heritage Fellowship Awards presented by the National Endowment for the Arts.
In 2018, Jaki Shelton Green made history as North Carolina’s first African American poet laureate. The North Carolina poet laureate is an ambassador of the power of poetry and the written word to illuminate, educate, entertain, and transform the minds and hearts of people of all ages and from all walks of life.
AYANNA ALBERTSON-GAY | GOLDSBORO
Writer, digital content creator, and spoken word poet
The House of God sits atop a hill on a residential road on the outskirts of Mt. Airy. Soft light filters in from the stained glass windows over the quiet church sanctuary. The Sacred Steel band the Allen Boys, a pair of brothers and two cousins, discuss their song order as they set up equipment in the middle of the room. For them, nothing could feel more natural. After all, under this same roof these young men learned their instruments, found faith, and developed their lifelong connection—all central forces in each of their lives.
Jeff Bell, our new executive director, is an accomplished found object sculptor who has exhibited his mixed-media installations statewide. His approach to art involves deconstructing everyday objects that invoke his own memories or popular culture.
To understand the evolving impact of Covid-19 on the state’s arts network, the North Carolina Arts Council sent a survey to all 2021-22 grantees. We asked many quantitative questions and were also interested in learning about the less measurable aspects of Covid-19’s effect on how organizations do their work. We received 200 survey responses, with many organizations indicating they had a unique story to share about unexpected opportunities or innovations that arose from the pandemic.