By Bernie Petit

ASC continues to heavily invest in Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s creative community this spring with the announcement of its latest Cultural Vision Grant and SEED Grant awards.

Forty-three creative individuals and groups will receive a combined $569,300 in Cultural Vision Grants, which respond to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community’s interest in arts, science, history and heritage programming. The awards support arts and culture projects presented within Mecklenburg County by Mecklenburg County-based creative individuals or nonprofit organizations that use arts, science and history to build community and/or increase relevance or innovation.

Fourteen local creatives will receive a combined $42,000 in SEED Grants, which support Mecklenburg County creatives with opportunities for mentorship or are awarded to recognize the quality of their creative work. Each recipient was nominated by an ASC Fellow and will receive $3,000.

Earlier this spring, ASC announced:

• 25 creative individuals that live and work in Mecklenburg County received a combined $71,500 in funding through its new Creative Mecklenburg Grant program, which supports professional and artistic development for emerging and established artists.
• 15 Charlotte-Mecklenburg creative individuals received a combined $185,000 in ASC Fellowships to refresh their creative energy or develop their creative capacity.

ASC Cultural Vision Grants are supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, Mecklenburg County, the Infusion Fund and its generous donors, the towns of Cornelius, Davidson, Matthews and Mint Hill and individual donors to ASC.

SEED Grants are supported by Mecklenburg County.

The latest ASC Cultural Vision Grant recipients are:

• Carla Aaron-Lopez—$9,000 to support Local Street 2023, an exhibition that highlights local artists of color and street artists in Charlotte and surrounding areas.
• American Capoeira Foundation—$10,000 to support, Sua Casa, a festival highlighting the importance of the African diaspora through food, literary arts, Capoeira and Samba.
• The Arts Empowerment Project—$20,000 to support the expansion and continued growth of The Arts Empowerment Project’s primary programs, Promoting Peace + Justice and Encounters.
• BLKMRKTCLT—$5,250 for NuGrowth, a series that aims to support and showcases artists of color throughout their growing creative development through the curation of a small solo exhibition.
• Blumenthal Performing Arts—$10,000 to support Blumenthal’s annual Juneteenth Jam in June 2023.
• BraveWorks—$15,000 to support the reentry of women in Charlotte from historically excluded backgrounds through artisanal training and cross-cultural, community-based programming.
• BreatheInk—$5,000 to support discovery and advancement of creative self-expression and artistic workforce development through poetry and performance for Charlotte-Mecklenburg area youth.
• Charlotte Ballet—$10,000 to support Charlotte Ballet’s performances of Ohad Naharin’s contemporary dance work, “Kamuyot,” in fall 2023 and during the Ballet’s community tour throughout Mecklenburg County from January-June 2024.
• Charlotte Black Film Festival—$10,000 to help the festival heighten awareness of and promote the significance and need for Black cinema as an art form and be a voice for independent filmmakers of color.
• Charlotte Master Chorale—$19,000 to present the North Carolina premiere of Black Canadian-American composer Nathaniel Dett’s neglected oratorio, “The Ordering of Moses,” in partnership with local university choirs in late September/early October 2023.
• Charlotte Strings Collective—$10,000 to support Charlotte Strings Collective and Hip-Hop Artist YUNG Citizen in a multidisciplinary collaboration that tells the story of the Browne’s Ferry neighborhood in Charlotte.
• Charlotte Symphony—$10,000 to support inclusive programming for the LGBTQ+ community with a performance by Drag Queen Thorgy Thor.
• Cine Casual—$13,000 to support the third edition of the Cine Casual Film Series in August/September 2023.
• Common Thread Theatre Collective—$20,000 to support the second season of Common Thread Theatre Collective, a professional theatre on Davidson College’s campus in partnership with N.C. A&T State University.
• CarlosAlexis Cruz—$10,000 to support the development and creation of the Nouveau Sud Circus project’s newest production, “Violenza,” from June-September 2023.
• Friday’s Dope—$10,000 to support the production of “CLT 4 ARTISTS™,” an engaging docuseries spotlighting the state of artistic business ownership with emerging and established ALAANA (African, Latino, Asian, Arab, Native American) artists in Charlotte.
• Julio Gonzalez—$10,000 to support an examination of how death is experienced in different cultures, while including diverse voices in that examination though the Day of the Dead celebration.
• Patrice Gopo—$4,000 to support using picture books to help build connections between people, empowering them to name their stories, recognize commonalities and honor differences.
• Hannah Hasan—$20,000 to support the explorations of Black women’s lived experiences through a series of stage shows and community programming in summer 2023, fall 2023 and summer 2024.
• Hispanic Federation – North Carolina—$20,000 to support FUERZAfest, creating a space where queer and trans Latin-a/o/x/e people can come together to celebrate one another, engage in political and social dialogue and enjoy art, music, dance, theater and cinema.
• Holiday Wish Foundation—$20,000 to support and expand the visibility of outstanding up and coming performing artists of color that identify as LGBTQ+.
• Hope For Harvest Youth Center—$20,000 to support creative expression in youth through engagement and activations hosted by creative experts in the disciplines of dance, film, literature, music, health, visual arts and STEM.
• India Association of Charlotte—$15,000 for the 27th annual Festival of India 2023.
• Jinna Kim—$2,500 to create a new program with accessible sheet music inspired by classical and popular music styles that can be played by local amateurs and professional instrumentalists in Charlotte in spring 2024.
• Lorien Academy of the Arts—$20,000 to support the launch or sustainment of seven out-of-school art clubs at Title 1 CMS schools during the fall semester of the 2023-24 school year.
• Martha Connerton/Kinetic Works—$15,000 to support creation of four world premiere works through the N.C. Choreographers Residency Project 23/24.
• Matthews Playhouse of the Performing Arts—$20,000 to support and celebrate the artistic expression of artists who have been historically excluded and underrepresented.
• The Mint Museum—$20,000 to support the museum’s Mint to Move Cultural Dance Night in FY24.
• Moving Poets Charlotte—$20,000 to support the creation and presentation of “The Snake’s Riddle,” a world-premiere production inspired by the complex character of the Snake in Antoine de Saint-Exubery’s classic, “The Little Prince.”
• North Mecklenburg Community Chorus—$12,000 to support North Mecklenburg Community Chorus and its partners, including QC Family Tree, in providing a dynamic HOME-themed season for 2023-24.
• ourBRIDGE—$17,000 to support, celebrate and share the cultures of the immigrant and refugee families starting a life in Charlotte by celebrating ourBRIDGE’s 10^th anniversary, which will culminate in a Fall Festival highlighting global music, dance, food and arts.
• Project Scientist—$15,000 to support high-quality STEAM (Science, Technology, Education, Art, and Mathematics) education for Charlotte-Mecklenburg students enrolled in After-School STEAM Club.
• The Royal City Collaboration Corp—$20,000 to support the creation of Pulse, a two-day BIPOC indie festival led by Charlotte BIPOC creatives, spotlighting the city’s rich talent in music, art, fashion, film, dance and cuisine in spring 2024.
• Shepherd Shakespeare Company—$11,000 to support a production of Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” that will be free to the public in September and October 2023.
• SimplisticPhobia—$6,750 to support emerging creatives in developing their artistic styles and storytelling abilities through a series of hands-on workshops and collaborative projects.
• Jillian Solotes—$10,000 to support the work of international creatives through a residency program at Prairie Gallery and Studio starting in June 2023.
• Springclean—$15,000 to support A Circular Boutique.
• Theatre Gap Initiative—$20,000 to support BIPOC and LGBTQAI+ students in preparing for BFA and conservatory programs through intensive audition preparation and professional training as a pathway for economic mobility and future success in the arts.
• The Town of Matthews—$3,300 to support cultural events in the Town of Matthews at Stumptown Park, including a Juneteenth celebration in June 2023.
• WDAV Classical Public Radio—$20,000 to support composers from groups that have been historically underrepresented in classical music (BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disabled, women) by professionally recording their music, distributing it and producing community concerts to showcase these works.
• Janae Williams—$15,500 to support creating space for collective ideation and envisioning of an inclusive and well-resourced Charlotte Black queer creative community in response to the absence of rich representation of Black queer and trans artists by arts and cultural spaces.
• Tamara Williams—$11,000 to support the Lavagem Celebration!, an African-Brazilian and Indigenous arts and cultural event uplifting Black heritage with diverse communities in Charlotte.

The 2023 SEED grant recipients are:

• Sheryl M. Brodie—To help elevating her portrait art business.
• Jennifer Carroll—To share the art of pottery making with the community by purchasing portable equipment, workshop/demonstration tools and supplies.
• Sultan Omar El-Amin—To help further acting career by investing in promotional materials.
• John Gurske—To help facilitate the arranging process of popular music into the jazz idiom.
• Aubrey Hedrick—To support the purchase of materials to experiment with oil painting as a medium and produce a collection of smaller works to expand portfolio.
• Marquia Humphries—To support website development, marketing basics and the purchase of materials.
• Gillian Joseph—To support the completion of an experimental poetry collection examining archival portrayals of the Oc̣eṭi Ṡakowiŋ.
• L’Monique King—To grow creative practice.
• Lenora Leggatt—To support the Storyteller Quartet, a music ensemble performing diverse music in collaboration with local artists and artwork.
• Tanya McClellan—To study and become certified in the Gus Giordano Jazz dance method with the goal of teaching this style of jazz dance to students.
• LoVonia Parks—To support a painting workshop and strategic digital growth.
• Abigail Proctor—To purchase fabrics, equipment and display material to design, create and showcase art at events and festivals.
• Maya Nitara Gregory Reaves—To help create music that loves and heals as well as to provide a single for promotions.
• Leonardo Scarpati—To help fund recording space and equipment to further the audio quality and growth of a podcast.