Independent musicians can’t just write a song, record it and hope people buy the CD. They have to market their music. Charlotte’s Tony Arreaza has a process for putting out an album. It includes making videos of a couple of songs and releasing those in advance of the album.
Charlotte artist John Burgin focuses on making art that is whimsical, brightly colored and fun. “I like to take people away from the day-to-day,” he said.
If young people and police officers create art together, what kind of understanding can they reach? Workshops led by the Arts Empowerment Project, a Charlotte program that uses art to heal vulnerable youth, took a recent step toward answering that question.
Shemika Robinson was driving home from work one day when all of a sudden her vision went dark. Terrified, she stopped her Jeep Cherokee in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant and called her older brother, screaming, “I can’t see! I can’t see!”
When Brian Sullivan was in grad school, he became enamored with community music and folk music. He still is. ASC recently awarded the musician a $2,000 Artist Support Grant to help fund what he calls “group ukulele experiences.” The grant allows him to “explore a side of music-teaching and -making in a way (he) hadn’t been able to before.”
When Covid-19 first began to impact our community in early 2020, the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative (CJC), a diverse group of six area media and three community partners, invested in an innovative approach to reach an audience of untypical news consumers with credible and actionable messaging.
Don’t put limits on Kenya Templeton. She doesn’t believe in them and will do her best to defy them anyway.
July 1 is a New Year for ASC and many nonprofits in the creative sector. For ASC, it is an exciting time as we are investing in people, programs and ideas that move us toward a more equitable, sustainable and innovative creative ecosystem.