CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Feb. 9, 2022) – Creative individuals and cultural organizations of all sizes will engage Charlotte-Mecklenburg residents and visitors through community-focused and innovative programs supported by ASC Cultural Vision Grants.

From projects using arts and creativity to build coping skills and ease anxiety/mental health challenges to those promoting racial and social equity, ASC Cultural Vision Grants respond to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community’s interest in arts, science, history and heritage programming.

The awards provide funds of up to $10,000 to support high quality arts and culture projects presented within Mecklenburg County by Mecklenburg County-based creative individuals or nonprofit organizations that advance one of the following goals:

• Building community by connecting individuals across points of difference
• Building community by nurturing, celebrating, and supporting authentic cultures and creative expression
• Increasing relevance by using arts, science and history to address complex community issues
• Increasing innovation by supporting the creation of new and groundbreaking work

Fifty-nine groups and individuals applied for the latest round of Cultural Vision Grants, with 48 recipients selected to receive a combined $336,960 in funding. All projects are anticipated to conclude by June 30, 2023.

Twenty-two of the projects are led by and/or serve communities that have historically been under resourced, including African, Latin-a/o/x/e, Asian, Arab and Native American (ALAANA), LGBTQ and disability communities. Organizations that had previously received Operating Support from ASC were eligible to apply to fund new projects and 10 received Cultural Vision Grants, including Arts+, Blumenthal Performing Arts, BNS Productions, Charlotte Art League, Gay Men’s Chorus of Charlotte, Historic Rosedale, JazzArts Charlotte, Levine Museum of the New South, The Light Factory and Tosco Music.

“ASC believes that equitably supporting the entire cultural sector – from creative individuals to small, mid-sized and large organizations – is the best way to ensure that all residents can benefit from and engage in Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s arts and culture community,” said ASC President Krista Terrell. “We are proud to invest in creatives and organizations committed to using arts and creativity to advance community priorities and we are grateful to our public and private donors who invest in our work.”

ASC has made 79 awards in FY22 through this program, totaling $562,260 in investment in the creative community; 25 of these awards are led by independent creatives.

ASC Cultural Vision Grants are supported, in part, by Mecklenburg County, the Infusion Fund and its generous donors, and individual donors to ASC.

The latest Cultural Vision Grant recipients are:

• Carla Aaron-Lopez — $5,000 to support local creatives of color, non-gender conforming artists and elderly artists by exhibiting their works in spaces founded by legacy organizations in Charlotte in spring 2022.
• American Capoeira Foundation — $7,000 to support Sua Casa, an African-Brazilian cultural festival highlighting the importance of the African diaspora, specifically the artforms of capoeira and samba.
• Tony Arreaza — $8,500 to support a deeper understanding of Charlotte’s Latino community by showcasing its musical talent, sharing its stories of resilience and highlighting the need for immigration reform.
• Arts+ — $10,000 to support a 10-episode podcast series that celebrates the stories of different people from our city.
• Bach Akademie Charlotte — $9,500 to support the “Bach at the Brauhaus” and “Bach in a New Light” programs of the 2022 Charlotte Bach Festival, reaching out to the community with recitals in non-traditional venues.
• PJ Barnes — $4,000 to support local Black filmmakers in creating new, cutting-edge material that elevates their body of work through The Blackout Film Project.
• Blumenthal Performing Arts — $3,500 to support theater productions of “Romeo & Juliet” and “Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them” at the Brooklyn Grace Church performance space in February and April 2022.
• Blumenthal Performing Arts — $10,000 to support academic and achievement-oriented workshops for youth that will culminate in May 2022 with Freestyle Love Supreme, an event that will that expose youth to live, improvisational theater and encourage creative expression.
• BNS Productions — $10,000 to support a performance of Langston Hughes’ “Black Nativity” at the Booth Playhouse.
• N. Jenkins Memorial Presbyterian – Fine Arts Ministry — $3,650 to support the international community locally and abroad in building community through an International Festival in May 2022.
• Camino Community Development Corporation — $10,000.00 to support creation of the public mural “Journey of Hope” that celebrates the lives of Charlotte’s Hispanic immigrant community and their contributions to the city.
• Charlotte Art League — $10,000 to support Building Bridges, which continues conversations on eliminating racism through art and provides artists of color opportunities for artistic expression at various locations around the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region.
• Charlotte Black Film Festival — $8,000 to support the 12th annual Charlotte Black Film Festival, which promotes the significance, history and need for Black stories told through film.
• Charlotte Dragon Boat Association & Asian-Chamber of Commerce — $5,000 to support the 2022 Charlotte Dragon Boat/Asian Festival in May 2022 at Ramsey Creek Park.
• The Cherry Community Organization — $4,000 to support Charlotte’s oldest Black community in sharing its rich history by creating a walking tour of historic houses through research, oral histories, photos and links.
• Eva Crawford — $3,700 to support “Your Good Neighbor CLT” art show and reception, a celebration of good people making a difference in large and small ways in the Charlotte area, to raise support for mental health counseling and homelessness.
• Dear Soul Music Co. — $9,700 to support spring and summer recording arts camps at the Eastway Regional Recreation Center for children and teens ages 10-17.
• Heidi Dove — $3,600 to support the creation of a documentary film that explores the importance of arts education and a GAP year intensive training program for at-risk Black and brown students from Charlotte-Mecklenburg.
• Friends of the Arts at Davidson College — $10,000 to support creation of productions for a new professional theatre on the Davidson College campus in summer 2022.
• Gay Men’s Chorus of Charlotte — $10,000 to support the formation of the Women’s Chorus of Charlotte, a soprano-alto ensemble raising their voices about issues that affect the family of women.
• Health Empowerment Renewal — $10,000 to support the SummerStock Festival in Camp Greene Park, a celebration featuring live multicultural dance, musical performance, visual art, live painting and a fashion explosion.
• Historic Rosedale Foundation — $4,000 to support re-establishing, expanding, and improving research, interpretation and public presentation of the Black experience at Historic Rosedale.
• I AM not the MEdia, Inc. — $8,700 to support the education, development and film production of stories directed by adolescent Black girls during The Black Girls Film Camp in spring 2022.
• JazzArts Charlotte — $7,550.00 to support the creation of a Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble for middle/high school students at Central Piedmont Community College in spring 2022 that celebrates the music/culture of Charlotte’s Latino community.
• Jessica Camacho, Hinge Productions, (JCE LLC) — $5,000 to support the creation of the Latino Video Series, highlighting Latino artists, professors and community influencers.
• Jermaine Nakia Lee — $8,000 to support Kuumba Academy, an 18-month tuition-free artist development fellowship for the maturation of visual and performing artists of color and to impart the tools to sustain a thriving professional career.
• Levine Museum of the New South — $10,000 to support a new initiative to create content and programming for and by young people utilizing history.
• The Light Factory — $10,000 to build community and support, nurture and encourage emerging Black photographers in Charlotte by exhibiting their new work and having community conversations in east, west and south Charlotte
• Lorien Academy of the Arts — $7,200 to support the launch of after-school photo clubs at three Title I schools.
• MicailaAyorinde (Ayo)Milburn-Thomas — $10,000 to support Black mothers who have lost loved ones to racial violence by raising support and awareness of empowered life choices with a festival that showcases diversely-resourced, thriving Black people.
• Jessica Moss — $4,000 to support The Roll-Up’s Radical Rest initiative for Black creative mothers.
• North Mecklenburg Community Chorus, Inc. — $8,300 to support North Mecklenburg Community Chorus in presenting its spring 2022 season of choral music culminating in a performance entitled “Unisong: A Musical Reflection on Unity” in April 2022.
• Omimeo Mime Theatre — $10,000 to support a variety of performances by local and North Carolina Cultural and Performing Artists throughout the Charlotte Earth Day Family Celebration event at First Ward Park.
• Open Door Dance Foundation — $10,000 to support Inclusive Studio and Outreach Classes, and Inclusive Performance Opportunities for dancers with and without disabilities.
• Playing For Others (PFO) — $10,000 to support PFO’s winter/spring 2022 arts programming, designed to expose a diverse group of teens and children with disabilities to a wide range of arts experiences while building meaningful connections.
• Project Scientist — $10,000 for underserved students in Charlotte to attend four months of Project Scientist’s virtual afterschool STEM Club.
• QC Family Tree — $6,600 to support Rehearsal Dinners, a creative problem-solving platform that offers artist facilitation and creative processing of complex community issues with a diverse group of participants.
• Queen City Harm Reduction — $5,500 to support people who use drugs (PWUD) by building a community garden that will offer connection, healing and growth.
• Savvy Organization Inc — $3,360 to support the development of a contemporary chamber music ensemble and collaborations between composers of diverse backgrounds, ethnicities and musical styles with local artists in quality concerts in various neighborhoods.
• SimplisticPhobia, LLC — $4,000 to support the cultural growth and connections of southern Black culture through an interactive, mixed-media experience during a southern culture dinner at the Mint Museum Randolph garden.
• Sol Nation — $9,000 to support the history of the environmental justice (EJ) movement and amplify EJ issues through an art installation called “Environmental Justice Is…” based on an ongoing campaign of Sol Nation.
• Jermaine Spencer — $5,000 to support the growth and sustainability of the music ecosystem for independent artists in a series of monthly events.
• Tosco Music — $8,900 to support and nurture the interests and passions of immigrant and refugee youth through the exploration of careers in music.
• Town of Matthews — $9,000 to support cultural programming and public art for residents and visitors by bringing inclusive events, programs and art to the Town of Matthews.
• Town of Mint Hill — $10,000 to support the community by creating new and modifying existing events to celebrate, promote, enhance and preserve community engagement.
• WDAV Classical Public Radio (Davidson College) — $10,000 to support diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the local music scene by funding, organizing and promoting a concert series that features Black and brown artists collaborating with classical musicians.
• Tamara Williams — $10,000 to support Lavagem Celebration! an Indigenous and African-Brazilian arts and cultural festival celebrating Black heritage with diverse communities in Charlotte.
• Winterfield Community Garden — $5,000 to support community engagement though a “Dozen Years of Digging” festival commemorating Winterfield Community Garden with a celebration of science, art, music and literature around the theme of sustainability.

About ASC

ASC is the chief advocate, resource hub and steward for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region’s cultural community. Its core functions include advocacy, cultural education programs, cultural planning, fundraising, grant making, public art and workshops and trainings for the cultural community. ASC works to ensure Culture For All by combining resources from local and state government with those of the private sector to maximize community impact throughout the cultural sector.

ASC believes that arts, culture and creativity play a critical role in creating a sense of belonging to a community. Stay up to date on ASC news and happenings at ArtsAndScience.org and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

ASC is supported, in part, by the Infusion Fund and its generous donors: City of Charlotte, Bank of America, C.D. Spangler Foundation / National Gypsum Company, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Trane Technologies, Albemarle Foundation, Atrium Health, Barings, Duke Energy, Honeywell, JELD-WEN, Inc., LendingTree Foundation, Lowe’s Companies, Inc., Novant Health, Red Ventures, Truist, Ally Financial, The Centene Charitable Foundation, Childress Klein Properties, Coca-Cola Consolidated, Deloitte, EY, The Gambrell Foundation, Moore & Van Allen, PwC, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A., Rodgers Builders, Wells Fargo, Fifth Third Bank, Foundation For The Carolinas, Deidre and Clay Grubb, Leslie and Michael Marsicano, Jane and Hugh McColl, Nucor Corporation, PNC Bank, Premier, Inc., Jane and Nelson Schwab.  

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