ARTS BUILD COMMUNITY
Overview
Closed | Next Cycle Opens Spring 2025
Arts and culture are a fundamental part of our community. They help us connect with one another and better understand history, people, and new ideas. When people become involved in the design, creation, and upkeep of places, they develop a vested interest in using and maintaining these spaces. When neighbors have a true sense of “ownership” or connection to the places they frequent, the community becomes a better place to live, work, and visit. According to Americans for the Arts (AFTA), “86% of participants who took part in community-based art want to be involved in future projects, and people living where these art projects occurred were more than twice as likely to be civically engaged as those whose neighborhoods did not have projects.”
Sponsored in part by
Interested in supporting more arts-based community projects? Click here to learn more.
WITH ADDITiONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY:
Pete & Cindy Perez
FY24 Arts Builds Community recipient: Shiloh Community Association’s Pollinator mural
Application Process
Description & Eligibility
Organizations must have been in operation for at least one year and be physically located in Buncombe County. Priority is given to projects based in low-income neighborhoods and/or communities in need.
The arts must be centered in the proposed project. Funds may be used to cover expenses such as art supplies, professional artists’ fees and travel, space rental, advertising, marketing and publicity, website and electronic media, scripts, costumes, sets, props, music and equipment rental. If the project includes events or programs, these must be free to attend (this could include providing scholarships or complimentary tickets). Fundraising events are NOT eligible. For profit applicants are encouraged to partner with nonprofit organizations on your project. For projects in partnership with schools or afterschool programs, please see our Arts for Schools grant.
Funds are for projects taking place from July 1, 2024 -June 30, 2025. This can be a reimbursement for projects occurring during this funding period that have already taken place or for projects that have not yet occurred. Projects must be completed by June 30, 2025.
Questions? Email Rebecca Lynch at rebecca@artsavl.org
2024-25 Timeline
- June 24, 2024 – Application opens
- July 22, 2024 – Application deadline
- Late Aug 2024 – Awards Announced
- Late Aug/Early Sept 2024 – Funds distributed
- May 31, 2025 – Final report due
Application & Support Resources
Application Link
Now closed (Question PDF) Deadline to apply was July 22 at 11:59 pm.
Support Resources
Grant Guidelines (PDF)
Overview for Applicants (Video | Slides)
If you need help with your application or have specific questions, email Rebecca Lynch at rebecca@artsavl.org. No phone calls, please. If you would like to discuss your application, please email us to set up an appointment.
2024-25 Award Recipients
Press Release
All Together Art will provide a safe space for veterans to explore various artistic mediums, socialize with peers, and find calm and comfort in creating.
Arts 2 People will utilize grant funds to support the Surreal Sirkus Arts Festival, a free annual event intended to promote local art and community across all demographic lines in Asheville.
Asheville Art Museum’s funding will allow the organization to offer a free Community Day and arts engagement activities in conjunction with the upcoming American Made exhibition.
Asheville Community Theatre is partnering with Different Strokes to present The Narrative – a series of staged readings of plays written by BIPOC playwrights.
Asheville Creative Arts will use grant funding to support a youth oral history project based in the Burton Street Neighborhood.
Asheville Museum of History will host a Community Day event, free to the public, as the official opening of a new exhibit displaying the photography of Andrea Clark.
Asheville Puppetry Alliance’s grant will fund a 2nd Line style parade with brass band and giant puppets, celebrating the community and culture of the Burton Street neighborhood.
Black Wall Street AVL will utilize funding to add a vibrant mural on the front of their building, celebrating diversity and enriching the cultural landscape of the River Arts District.
Asheville FM will produce a free album release concert showcasing the diverse local bands included on their new Real People Great Radio Volume 3 album.
Happy Chaos hosts Makerspace and Mini-Makers are community arts events for autistic children to create, play, belong, and celebrate neurodiversity. Their grant will fund three free pop-up community arts events.
Hood Huggers Foundation will utilize grant funding to remount a youth art show featuring the work of participants of Under Instruction, to feature photography, sculpture, fiber arts and digital media.
NAMI Western North Carolina is hosting immersive art workshops for peers (those living with significant mental health challenges) with a public gallery show in October.
Open Hearts Art Center will utilize their grant to support the logistics and implementation of artist residencies and the multimedia gallery exhibition: Community Connections through Art: Fostering Collaboration and Creativity.
OpenDoors Asheville’s funds will create arts access for low-income students of color by paying for afterschool and summer arts enrichments.
RiverLink’s after school program provides free outdoor enrichments in which low-income students in Buncombe County create art in nature.
Shiloh Community Association will promote community through the completion of the ancestral mural series and installation through their Building on the Legacy Project.
Story Parlor will reconvene its “Story/Arts Residency” for its fourth installment with local storyteller Carolina Quiroga presenting a three-part series entitled “Beyond the Myth: Re-imagining the Stories that Shape Us.”
The Montford Moppets Youth Shakespeare Company will use grant funding to hire certified interpreters to provide four ASL-interpreted productions between fall 2024 and summer 2025.
Wortham Center for the Performing Arts will expand accessibility to Rennie Harris Puremovement, the first and longest-touring hip-hop dance company in American history, through free tickets to performances, master classes, and pre-show discussions.
Youth Artists Empowered’s funding will support their Community Art Lab Fall Gathering at Dr. Wesley Grant Sr Center, allowing participants to create multimedia art alongside teaching artists to uplift and support students, families, and Center staff of the Southside/Livingston/Walton neighborhoods.