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Arts and Culture

Arts and culture are central to providing a vibrant quality of life for all people, and play an important role in economic development by attracting businesses, new residents and visitors to a city.

To ensure local arts and culture have a healthy future, the City of Charlotte is developing policies and strategies that stabilize the arts and cultural sector, incentivize growth opportunities for artists and arts and culture organizations, grow the industry ecosystem, and respond to community needs and opportunities.

In January 2021, Mayor Vi Lyles created the Charlotte City Council’s ad hoc Arts and Culture Committee to develop a policy for arts and culture as an economic development strategy for Charlotte. The committee was charged with identifying a new investment strategy to support the creative community.

Cultural Planning

The City of Charlotte is developing a comprehensive plan to guide the future of arts and culture in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area. This process will determine how resources and funding can achieve sustainability and growth across the entire sector. It will also identify opportunities for inclusive collaboration among individuals, organizations and other partners.

Public-Private Partnerships

In 2021, the city increased its annual investment in arts and culture to $6 million per year, and Foundation For The Carolinas led a fundraising campaign to match funding the city has committed for a three-year period. With a goal of $18 million for this Infusion Fund, the foundation ultimately raised $23 million from generous private-sector donors. Foundation For The Carolinas has a complete list of the arts and culture contributors.

Arts and Culture Advisory Board

Led by Priya Sircar, the city's new arts and culture officer, an 18-member Arts and Culture Advisory Board is responsible for developing a comprehensive arts and culture plan for Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, and allocating Infusion Fund dollars to support local artists, arts and culture.

Funding Opportunities

A key objective of the plan is developing sustainable funding for arts and culture in Charlotte while maximizing the economic impact of this crucial sector. The city and its partners offer funding and creative opportunities for local artists and arts and culture organizations. Active opportunities will be listed below when available.

Guiding Principles

Seven guiding principles direct the city’s strategies for arts and culture:

Equity, inclusiveness and transparency in the city’s processes.
Meaningful engagement at multiple levels of the community.
Data-driven decision-making, and innovative and implementable approaches to supporting arts and culture.
Valuing the full breadth of the cultural ecosystem, including artists and creatives, nonprofits, creative businesses, partners, funders, educators, audiences and participants.
Removing barriers to help the public engage with arts and culture, and to help artists and groups access funding and opportunities that have been less accessible to them historically.
Sustainability, growth, resiliency, opportunity and collaboration across the arts and culture sector and beyond.
Educating the public on the economic and social impact of arts and culture, and exciting residents and visitors about playing their role.

Watch Advisory Board Meetings

The Arts and Culture Advisory Board generally meets every other Tuesday, from 9-11 a.m. Members of the public can access the meetings via the city’s online calendar, which provides a link to the virtual meeting.

Latest News

(Sept. 23, 2022) – Opportunity Fund Awards
On Tuesday, the City of Charlotte, in partnership with the Arts and Culture Advisory Board, awarded grants to two local arts and culture initiatives.

(Sept. 9, 2022) - Opportunity Fund Grants
The City of Charlotte and the Arts and Culture Advisory Board are accepting grant requests from Charlotte-Mecklenburg artists and arts and culture groups to support near-term projects.

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