Arts Council News

Longtime arts advocate and local arts pioneer John Ellis is the recipient of Arts Council’s John Cram Arts Leadership Award (fondly nicknamed “the Crammy”) for his service to the area arts community. He will be honored at this year’s State of the Arts Brunch, scheduled for Wednesday, November 2 at The Orange Peel.

A new report from Asheville Area Arts Council examines the impact of the pandemic. Health concerns, supply chain issues, and employment challenges continue to impact the local creative sector – particularly Leisure and Hospitality, and Manufacturing industries. Lessons learned by these industries provide creative solutions for future crises, such as public health messaging that emphasizes creative engagement and socially distanced community gatherings in public spaces.

Buncombe County awarded a $129,788 block grant to the Asheville Area Arts Council to support the arts council’s grant programs and creative economy reporting initiatives. This investment comes on the heels of a arts-sector relief grant program funded by Buncombe County earlier this year with its COVID Recovery Funds.

The Asheville Area Arts Council announces the Creative Sector Series– 5 events running from September 2022 to February 2023 centered on local arts impacts and challenges.

Over 35 arts nonprofit organizations in Buncombe County received funding totaling $75,500 through the Grassroots Arts Program (GAP) from the Asheville Area Arts Council.

The Arts Build Community grant supports innovative, arts-based projects that inspire diverse groups of participants to be more active, involved, and civically-engaged by creating together. Grants range from $500-2,500 and priority is given to projects based in low-income neighborhoods, Title 1 public schools, and communities in need.

Grants ranging between $500 and $2,000 are currently available for emerging and established artists across North Carolina.

Just in time for NC Arts Education Week, the Asheville Area Arts Council (AAAC) is proud to announce a new partnership with the Asheville City Schools Foundation (ACSF) and Buncombe County Schools (BCS) to expand the Teaching Artists Presenting in Asheville Schools (TAPAS) program into county classrooms.

The Asheville Area Arts Council will host a virtual AVL Arts Town Hall on September 21 at 12 pm on implementing health and safety protocols at local live events.

I urge you to pass an indoor mask mandate for Buncombe County in accordance with the recommendations put forth by the CDC at the end of July. I would also ask you to please consider a mask requirement for large outdoor mass gatherings where six feet social distancing is not feasible.

As COVID levels rise in Buncombe County, arts organizations are taking precautionary steps to support the health of the Asheville- Buncombe community.

The arts council serves ALL arts professionals and organizations in Buncombe County, and it is our hope that this coalition will help us gather more input from the sector, aid in prioritizing and unifying our advocacy efforts, and create more support for policy initiatives,” says executive director Katie Cornell.

Asheville Area Arts Council presents Live! An Asheville Arts Benefit Series running from June through September, and features ten performances produced by Asheville’s leading downtown arts nonprofits.

Asheville Area Arts Council has released a new Creative Jobs Report, which provides an in-depth look at Buncombe County’s creative economy leading up to the pandemic.

The Asheville Area Arts Council’s most recent arts impact survey further highlights the devastating impact of COVID on the Buncombe County creative sector.

I ask the City of Asheville to please reconsider the newly proposed noise ordinance.

The Asheville Area Area Council has awarded $251,000 in business interruption grants to 36 local nonprofit arts organizations through the North Carolina CARES for the Arts grant program.

This has not been a typical year by any stretch of the imagination, but it is times like these when the services the arts council provides are most important.

Across the nation, communities are looking at long-standing public artworks in a new light. Are these valuable pieces of our history or are they symbols of oppression that continue to reinforce inequities in our society? What is clear is the public art we choose to place in our city square makes a decisive statement about our shared values.

There were four full-time staff and one part-timer, when Katie Cornell took over just a year ago as executive director of the Asheville Area Arts Council .

Eleven of the 13 local candidates on the Nov. 3 general election ballot completed the Asheville Area Arts Council’s latest survey.

Lexi DeYeso remembers the pride and passion she felt early this summer as Black Lives Matter protests unfolded in downtown Asheville. “I do stand with the

In Asheville, N.C., creating public art in support of BLM brought people together, has created social understanding, and is aiding the healing process.

On July 24, Asheville Area Arts Council launched the Buncombe County Arts Business Impact Survey to quantify the impacts of COVID-19 on our local arts community. Over 100 arts businesses replied to the survey. Responses came from organizations that are primarily located in Asheville, Black Mountain, and Weaverville.

Artists Jenny Pickens, Joseph Pearson, and Marie T. Cochran will lead the design and implementation process for a Black Lives Matter mural in Asheville’s central business district. The street mural will be located in Pack Square, and extend from N. Pack Square to S. Pack Square.

All five candidates share their vision for a supportive and sustainable arts community in Asheville and Buncombe County

Feb 12 | Nate McGaha, Executive Director of Arts NC, to speak on arts access and education on February 18

Feb 3 | Six of the nine candidates share their vision for a supportive and sustainable arts community in Asheville and Buncombe County