<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=361mSR_0vjcGRFY00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=361mSR_0vjcGRFY00" width="625" height="381" ></figure>ALBEMARLE — The Stanly County Arts Council has nearly $50,000 in state funding coming its way to benefit arts programs and administrative support for the 2024-25 fiscal year.Last month, the North Carolina Arts Council announced $11.5 million in grants across all 100 counties in the state to benefit nonprofit arts organizations, schools, after-school programs, municipalities, and artists.With 366 grants ranging from $5,000 to $338,000, Stanly’s arts council received $47,385 in the Grassroots Art Program category.“The arts benefit North Carolinians of all ages,” Gov. Roy Cooper said in a press release. “These grants will enrich our communities as well as grow their economies throughout all one hundred counties.”The N.C. Arts Council is aiming to use $11.5 million in funding to prioritize five key missions: community outreach and audience engagement; improve organizational capacity and capabilities; connect K–12 students with artists in a range of disciplines; foster public-private partnerships that leverage state and federal funding with local support; and provide outreach to military service men and women, veterans, and their families.As part of its funding process, the agency brought in panels of reviewers with knowledge of different arts disciplines and community-building expertise.“The record number of applications we received this grant cycle signals that artists are inspiring audiences and producing arts experiences that make our state a wonderful place to live, work, and visit,” said Jeff Bell, executive director for the N.C. Arts Council. “I thank Gov. Cooper and the General Assembly for championing our arts and culture sector. The arts deliver more than $2 billion in economic impact annually to our state and are a powerful tool to uplift entire communities.”Each year, the Stanly County Arts Council (SCAC) receives a Grassroots Grant from the state’s arts council, with 20% of the grant going to support the key operations of the SCAC, and the remaining 80% going directly back into the community via Subgrants to support arts programs.For the 2023-2024 fiscal year, Stanly County received $79,946 in total from the state’s $16 million.The SPAC was awarded $47,261 for a Grassroots Arts Program — as well as $29,185 in a Grassroots Arts Program Special Appropriation — while the remaining $3,500 given to the county was for Monarch in the Technical Assistance category.Stanly had 11 Grassroot Grant recipients for this past fiscal year: the Albemarle Downtown Development Corporation; Friends of the Agri-Civic Center; Pfeiffer University; Stanly Arts Guild; Stanly County Chorale; Stanly County Concert Association; Stanly County Concert Band; Stanly County Partnership for Children; Stanly County Schools; Stanly County Senior Center; and Uwharrie Players.This past spring, SPAC commemorated its 50th anniversary last week with a grand opening of a new retrospective exhibit at the Stanly County History Center.Since April 1, 1974, the council has served a mission to encourage and promote cultural and educational activities in the arts throughout the county.“The arts are woven into the fabric of our state’s identity, and as I travel across North Carolina, I see firsthand how much the creative sector contributes to the cultural and economic vibrancy of cities, towns, and regions. When the arts flourish, communities flourish,” said Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Secretary Reid Wilson.</div></body>

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Stanly County Arts Council receives state funding for art programs

ALBEMARLE — The Stanly County Arts Council has nearly $50,000 in state funding coming its way to benefit arts programs and administrative support for the 2024-25 fiscal year. Last month, the North Carolina Arts Council announced $11.5 million in grants across all 100 counties in the state to benefit...