HILLSBOROUGH -- The Orange County Arts Commission, whose mission statement is "To promote & strengthen the artistic and cultural development of Orange County," is celebrating its 25th anniversary as the official, county-wide advisory body on the arts.
Located in Hillsborough, the commission is an agency of Orange County government. It is housed within the Orange County Economic Development Commission. Its sister agency within this department is the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau. The Arts Commission's 15-member citizen Advisory Board meets the 2nd Monday each month (except for July) from 6 to 7:30 p.m., and is appointed by the Board of County Commissioners.
Since 1985 the Orange County Arts Commission has served as a clearinghouse for arts information, granting state and county funds for arts programming by nonprofit agencies and/or artists, facilitating arts program development and advising the Board of County Commissioners on the arts.
In addition to its annual spring and fall grant programs (for schools, arts projects for nonprofit organizations, nonprofit arts organizations, and artists), the Arts Commission's other programs over the years include:
- Public Art Projects at Southern Human Services Center (Chapel Hill), Central Orange Senior Center (Hillsborough), Seymour Center (Chapel Hill), Animal Services Center (Chapel Hill), Link Government Services Center (Hillsborough), Orange County Public Library (Hillsborough), Northern Community Park (Cedar Grove).
- Purchase of Existing Work for Orange County Facilities (Hillsborough, Chapel Hill).
- Annual Fourth U.S. Congressional District High School Art Competition (with Durham Arts Council and United Arts Council of Raleigh Wake County).
- Annual Emerging Artist Program (with Durham Arts Council, Chatham Arts, Granville County Arts Council, and Person County Arts Council).
- Annual Piedmont Laureate Program (with Durham Arts Council, City of Raleigh Arts Commission, United Arts Council of Raleigh Wake County, Alamance County Arts Council and Johnston County Arts Council).
- "Studio Tourism" Workshop (with Chatham Arts).
- "E-Marketing for the Arts Workshop (with Chatham Arts).
- Arts Incubation Program (Orange County Artists Guild, Arts Advocates, Culture Zone).
- FRANK on Franklin -- Artists Collective and Gallery (with Town of Chapel Hill and Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau).
- Public Art 360: Symposium from Seven Perspectives (with Percent for Art Collaborative, N.C. Arts Council, N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, Town of Chapel Hill, S.C. Arts Commission, Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission, Chapel Hill-Orange County Visitors Bureau, Chapel Hill Museum, Cary Visual Art, Public Art Network of Americans for the Arts, University of North Carolina, Ackland Art Museum, Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, etc.).
- Quarterly Artists' Salons (The ArtsCenter in Carrboro).
THE MONEY TREE
Created on Feb. 4, 1985, the Orange County Arts Commission is the nonpartisan, countywide arts agency that provides funding and support for a broad range of high quality arts programs.
From 1985 to 2010, the Arts Commission subgranted $487,129 in state funds to nonprofit organizations sponsoring art projects in Orange County. During that same time period, $64,920 in state funds has been retained by the Arts Commission to help fund the commission's own arts programming.
The total state Grassroots Arts Program allocation from the N.C. Arts Council to the Arts Commission from 1985 to 2010 is $552,049. (This total does not include other state grants from the N.C. Arts Council to the Arts Commission for various purposes such as Arts in Education, Technical Assistance, etc.).
From 1987 to 1996, the Arts Commission subgranted at least $93,042 in county funds to nonprofit organizations sponsoring art projects in Orange County. During this period of time, additional funds were provided to the Arts Commission, primarily for administrative support. Prior to 1996, the Orange County Arts Commission was funded by Orange County as a nondepartmental agency.
From 1997 to 2010, Orange County budgeted $336,660 in county funds to the Arts Commission to subgrant to artists and nonprofit organizations sponsoring art projects in Orange County. Although the Arts Commission has made subgrants using state and/or county funds since its inception, the year 1996 is the first year it was funded by Orange County as a division within Economic Development.
