TheBiscuitJune9
SUPPORT INCREASED ARTS FUNDINGCharlotte, NC needs arts and culture.
Charlotte, NC needs history and science.
Charlotte, NC needs strong major cultural institutions.
Charlotte, NC needs artists.
And, those artists and institutions need equitable financial support and certainty.
Last week, U.S. News & World Report named Charlotte, North Carolina the fifth best place to live in the United States out of 150 major U.S. cities.
And, while our banks, our economic conditions, major employers, our sports culture, our weather, our geographic location and much more were part of attaining that status, we firmly believe that our arts and culture community are just as important.
Charlotte, NC needs our arts and culture community.
And, put simply, our arts and culture community needs sustained financial resources in order to serve our growing population. INCREASED ARTS FUNDING IS ON THE TABLE NOWOn Monday night (June 10), the City Council will be making decisions about whether or not to commit $11 million in arts funding in the fiscal year that starts on July 1.
We can debate about whether $11 million is enough. (It isn’t. But, it’s great step in the right direction.) Or, who will make the decisions about how it’s allocated. But, the reality is that this is more money than the City has committed in memory – and it is greatly needed. Let’s get those funds committed and then do what we do as a creative community – go to work on how it’s used. Here’s what we know: - We know that more funds are needed.
- We know more support is needed.
- We know that we have a brand new arts and culture plan that we need our public and private sectors to make manifest.
- We know we need to commit to long-term, ongoing equity work.
- We know that we need to care for individual artists and grassroots groups alongside our larger cultural institutions.
- We know that we need to make sure that a wide array of voices are always at the table.
- We know that we must continually invite new perspectives, under-represented populations and challenging opinions into the conversation.
- We know that there’s no stopping.
None of that is possible without funding for this year and a commitment to ongoing funding for an ever-increasing creative ecosystem across Charlotte and Mecklenburg County into the future. READ THE CITY’S ARTS & CULTURE PLAN HERE.
But, for now … Monday night. Let’s focus on the vote for $11 million in City Funding. And, up to $5 million in County funding in tandem with that.
WHAT CAN YOU DO RIGHT NOW?If you want to see these increased funds secured, please don’t be silent. With seriousness and positive affirmation, please reach out to the individual members of our City Council. Reach out to our County Commissioners.
Tell them arts and culture funding is important to Charlotte and to Mecklenburg County. Tell them it is important to create jobs at both the institutional and the small business level.
Tell them arts and culture funding is important to you. And, ask them to vote IN FAVOR OF these funds.
Once the funds are in place, let’s go to work. And, let’s not rest until the Charlotte area is known as the most supportive community in the country for artists, makers and creative entrepreneurs.
Tim Miner, Matt Olin, Makayla Binter and the Charlotte Is Creative Team | The Biscuit is proudly sponsored by: |
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