Member Spotlight on the Arts & Science Council

Submitted by SuJ'n on July 1, 2014

During the months of July and August, GIA’s photo banner features artists and projects supported by Arts & Science Council (ASC) of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina.

Culture connects people and strengthens communities. With the public and private sectors investing more than a billion dollars in arts, science, history and heritage since 1977, cultural development has played a significant role in the growth, globalization and long-term economic prosperity of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community and the work of the Arts & Science Council (ASC).

Founded in 1958, ASC is one of only a handful of non-profits in the United States that serve as both a local arts agency and a United Arts Fund. WIth significant support from both the public and private sectors, it invests about $14 million annually to individuals, projects, organizations, and educational efforts in the arts, sciences, heritage, history, and culture.

Committed to exploring the benefits of culture for all, ASC began implementing its fourth countywide Cultural Vision Plan in the organization’s 54-year history. Created during the worst economic crisis in decades and with the participation of more than 1,800 area residents, the plan rethinks how cultural sector can further contribute to community vitality by addressing the following questions:

Are the community’s cultural investment and stewardship policies as far-reaching as they could be, or do they tend to favor the traditional major institutions?
Given Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s demographic change, with non-whites representing 52 percent of the population, is its current definition of the arts and cultural sector comprehensive, accessible and inclusive?
Is the cultural sector as intentional as it could be in assisting with important community agendas?

Katherine Mooring, vice president, cultural & community investment, shares:

Renewed focus on neighborhood development, community building, quality of life, community vitality and identity, education, lifelong learning, economic development and tourism is integral to the future success of arts and cultural programming in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. ASC is excited to illustrate our commitment to this philosophy through our grant making practice.

In continuation of over five decades of work in the community, ASC welcomed Robert Bush as its new president this past spring. Bush was recently awarded the Selina Roberts Ottum Awards for Arts Leadership presented by Americans for the Arts. This award "recognizes an individual working in arts management who has made a meaningful contribution to his or her local community and who exemplifies extraordinary leadership qualities." Prior to becoming president, Bush was ASC's senior vice president, chief innovation officer.