Pictured above: Pete Perez, Chair of the ArtsAVL Board and Shannon Gallagher from Open Hearts Arts Center

ArtsAVL Announces Arts Build Community Grant Awardees

Projects center art as a connector across diverse organizations

February 14, 2023 | Asheville N.C. – Ten Buncombe County organizations have been awarded Arts Build Community (ABC) grants from ArtsAVL. This year’s grants, which typically range from $1,000 to $2,500, will support programs and initiatives in areas including music, theatre, craft, Black history, arts education, regional culture, cooperative farming, and more.

ABC grants support local organizations that play a vital role in the creation of thriving, sustainable neighborhoods, cities, and regions. Applicants must share how the arts are central to their programs and note how Buncombe County residents will benefit. Priority is given to projects based in under-resourced communities, including those that work with people whose incomes are below the federal poverty threshold, youth, Black and Indigenous people of color, and people with disabilities. Funds from the ABC grant 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.

Awarded projects highlight the importance of the arts for building and maintaining strong connections and for empowering community members. Asheville’s James Vester Miller Historic Walking Trail, which elevates the legacy of the Black brick mason responsible for many notable local buildings, will use funds to support the creation of a traveling educational mural painted by local children. Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, which serves as a steward for the living traditions of the region, will use grant funds to support Fine Tuned, a program that provides professional and musical development for a small, diverse cohort of emerging musicians.

Open Hearts Arts Center will fund its annual talent show, an opportunity for artists with disabilities to create, rehearse, and act in performances for an audience. Southside Community Farm, a Black-led project in a historic Black neighborhood that celebrates diverse cultures and foodways, will host a public mosaic making session led by artist Jennifer Murphy to create pathways for the farm.

Now in its sixth year, the ABC grant inspires civic engagement, involvement, local pride, and a sense of ownership and connection. 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.” ArtsAVL is proud to support these projects.

See the full list of recipients here. The grant cycle for 2023-24 opens later this year.