ARTS COALITION

OVERVIEW

The Creative Economy in Buncombe County spans over 8 supersectors and supports 14,000+ jobs. In order to better serve the many diverse arts professionals and businesses in our community, ArtsAVL formed the Arts Coalition in 2021 to drive policy in key focus areas, including: Arts Education, Arts Equity, Manufacturing, Nonprofits, Performance Venues, Professional & Business Services (Design, Advertising, and Photography), Public Arts, Festivals, and Community Events, Recording, Publishing & Film, Sole Proprietors/ Independent Contractors, Trade/ Retail.

Each focus area is represented by a leadership team member, which meets with ArtsAVL staff on a monthly basis. This committee drives ArtsAVL’s policy initiatives, and helps plan the ArtsAVL Town Hall and State of the Arts Brunch events.

In a non-election years, the ArtsAVL Town Hall series will tackle important issues facing the arts community through a series of four quarterly events. After a presentation,  Arts Coalition chairs will moderate breakout groups to collect feedback from the arts community. In an election year, the ArtsAVL Town Hall will focus on three candidate forum events, with a fourth meet and greet event with officials after the election. These events are all free and open to the public.

The State of the Arts Brunch is a ticketed annual event where ArtsAVL presents the latest research on the local creative economy, City and County give an update on how they are supporting the arts in our community, and the John Cram Arts Leadership Award is presented to an individual who has made a large impact on the arts locally.