Arts 2 People, the Asheville-based nonprofit that brought us the Lexington Avenue Arts and Fun Festival, announced this week that it had received funding to create an Artist Resource Center in downtown Asheville. The ARC will be based in the YMI Cultural Center on Market Street in downtown Asheville, a location with a rich history of promoting cultural and economic well-being in the Western North Carolina community.
The unveiling of the ARC marks a crucial turning point for Asheville’s art scene and a major development for the artists that help make Asheville what it is: gorgeous, funky, original and overflowing with creativity.
Arts 2 People Executive Director Kitty Love hopes that the ARC will provide artists them with the skills and tools they need to thrive and make their craft economically sustainable. The new center, she says, is of pivotal importance for Asheville’s aspiring creative professionals. What’s more, it will stimulate Asheville’s economy as a whole, she suggests. “Asheville thrives off of its art scene,” Love says. “The ARC offers tools to help facilitate and nurture artists in business. This creates a symbiotic relationship between cultural creatives and the greater community.”
What the ARC means for the economy of Asheville, a city with a brisk tourist economy based in no small part on its thriving arts scene, should not be underestimated, she continues.
“If our local artist-entrepreneurs manage to build businesses and take advantage of the opportunities that exist here, it will benefit everyone as it solidifies economic success and increases the culture of creativity we already enjoy,” Love says.
The ARC will feature workshops and classes specifically geared toward local creative professionals whose unique situations often make it difficult for them to access and utilize the resources available to make their talents into a self-sustaining venture. The ARC is, essentially, a career center where creative people can hone business management and other practical skills.
Tools offered at the ARC include classes on grant-writing, Web marketing, book-keeping and strategic approaches to launching a productive career. The ARC also provides a means for artists to connect with a supportive network of peers, one of the most essential yet overlooked pathways to success.
The ARC is also developing an online network to offer a means for creative professionals to link to resources and each other. It will also serve as a virtual marketplace where artists can broker their work, creative services or studio spaces.
The ARC will be located at 39 S. Market St. The target launch date for the ARC is mid-February. Arts2People is currently seeking Instructors. For more information, and to submit a class proposal form, visit arts2people.org or email kitty@arts2people.org.
Funding for the ARC was made possible by The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, a nonprofit organization that serves the 18 county mountain region by professionally managing charitable funds created by individuals and families, and by using those funds to make grants to local nonprofit organizations. The ARC is also funded, in part, by a Grassroots Arts Program Grant of the North Carolina Arts Council, a state agency, and the Asheville Area Arts Council.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.