By Bernie Petit

Creative individuals and cultural organizations of all sizes have been able to engage Charlotte-Mecklenburg residents and visitors through community-focused and innovative programs supported by ASC Cultural Vision Grants.

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

ASC has made 79 awards in FY22 through this program, totaling more than $534,000 in investment in the creative community; 25 of these awards are led by independent creatives.

Thirty-one groups and individuals receive a combined $198,000 in Cultural Vision Grant funding from ASC in August 2021. Forty-five percent of the grantees are first-time Cultural Vision Grant recipients and 71 percent 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. 

Recipients of ASC’s first round of CVG funding in FY22 are:

• The Arts Empowerment Project — $6,250 to support bringing together youth and law enforcement officers through art to positively impact the nature of community-police interactions in Charlotte.
• Barre Belle — $3,750 to support low-income, underrepresented youth through exposure and access to ballet.
• Lakeetha Blakeney — $6,250 to support the stage and film production of “Sweet Jenn,” which acknowledges past horrors in American history that relate to the enslavement of Africans/African Americans in order to move society forward in truth and reconciliation.
• Charlotte Film Society — $6,250 to support the Charlotte Film Festival, a yearly multicultural film festival organized by the Charlotte Film Society, with the mission to foster diverse and inclusive cinematic arts and educational outreach.
• Charlotte Museum of History — $6,250 to support the annual African American Heritage Festival and Indigenous Peoples Celebration.
• Charlotte Pride Band — $8,250 to support Charlotte Pride Band concerts and community outreach focusing on music by LGBTQIA composers and composers of color celebrating diversity and promoting inclusion and cultural understanding of these communities.
• CineOdyssey Film Festival — $8,250 to support the CineOdyssey Film Festival, which celebrates and gives voice to filmmakers of color from the African, Caribbean, Latin-a/o/x/e, Asian and Native American diasporas.
• Digi-Bridge — $9,500 to support partnership with Briarwood Academy for year of STEAMLab educational programming.
• Vickie Evans — $6,500 to support the production of “The Gift,” a play about the African American experience.
• Friends of President Polk’s Birthplace, Inc. — $3,500 to support the interpretive program, “Inalienable Rights: Living History Through the Eyes of the Enslaved,” presented by the Slave Dwelling Project at The President James K. Polk State Historic Site.
• Dionne D. Hunter — $3,250 to support underserved communities color, including nursing home residents and children of single parents, by introducing ways of expressing themselves through the arts and providing insights into Black history and complex social issues.
• India Association of Charlotte — $8,250 to support the annual Festival of India, presenting and preserving the rich cultural diversity of India for the mainstream community of Mecklenburg, under the umbrella of the CLT SHOUT! festival.
• International House of Metrolina, Inc. — $7,000 to support the local immigrant artist community through “The Journey: Art Exhibit and Competition,” showcasing artwork depicting local immigrants journeys to the U.S.
• Anne Lambert / Charlotte’s Off-Broadway — $6,250 to support productions of “She Kills Monsters,” which is to be co-produced by Charlotte’s Off-Broadway (Anne Lambert) and Women in Plays (Sheri Marvin) at the Arts Factory black box theatre in spring 2022.
• Learning Resources for Change — $7,500 to support the installation of new murals and accompanying programming at Echo Makerspace.
• Lorien Academy of the Arts — $8,250 to support an eight-week Summer Art Academy for youth living in low-income households.
• Nadia Meadows — $2,000 to support the material and exhibition costs of “Subtle Oppression,” an art installation that, through the exploration of natural hair braiding and twists, examines the subtle injustices that African Americans and other races face.
• Metrolina Association for the Blind — $2,500 to create a descriptive mural tour, “Visual Art is for Everyone,” for Charlotte-Mecklenburg residents and visitors with vision loss by partnering with Disability Rights and Resources and Art Walks CLT.
• Metrolina Native American Association — $9,250 to support engagement with authentic Native American culture, through interactive online experiences and the 2022 powwow in Mecklenburg.
• Marlon Morrison — $3,250 to support better relations between law enforcement and communities of color through filming a round table discussion hosted by Officer Reggie Richardson, co-founder of The SEE Program, and screenings of the documentary.
• Moving Poets Charlotte Inc. — $6,250 to support the creation of a new media and dance theatre production of “The Little Prince” with local multi-disciplinary artists.
• Our Daily Bread Foundation — $7,500 to support Micah’s Bakery Program, a training program for disenfranchised individuals to learn the history, art and science of baking authentic bread, while celebrating and uniting cultures in our communities.
• Shawnna Pledger — $3,750 to support the Youth Exchange Project, a multidisciplinary arts summer immersion program that builds empathy across cultural divides.
• Project Scientist — $8,250 to support under-invested girls in Charlotte by providing a high-quality, equitable enrichment experience through the Project Scientist Virtual STEM Lab.
• Promise Resource Network — $9,500 to support partnerships with community creatives, bringing healing through arts and science.
• QC Family Tree — $8,250 to support a community-engaged artist residency during Fall 2021 at QC Family Tree in west Charlotte.
• Queen City Art Fest — $5,000 to support economic empowerment, heightened awareness, significance and need for African diaspora art culture.
• Queen City New Play Initiative — $7,500 to support “Remember When …,” a commissioning and sharing of micro-plays about artistically underserved Charlotte communities.
• SouthEnd ARTS — $7,000 to support the growth of an inclusive community committed to racial equity and progress for all through the arts by creating equity art exhibitions, building cultural bridges and empowering underinvested artists.
• Jacobo Strimling — $9,500 to support and celebrate the contributions and achievements of Charlotte’s Latin-a/o/x/e community through “Los Charloteanos,” a series of original illustrations and stories featured online and at a signature event.
• Camerin Watson — $3,250 to develop a movement for Collective Healing through Collective Dance in Fall 2021.

Forty-eight recipients received a combined $336,960 in funding through the latest round of Cultural Vision Grants, announced in February. Twenty-two of the projects are led by and/or serve communities that have historically been under resourced, including 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.

The latest CVG 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.

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