Photo courtesy Meredith Connelly

Aug. 7. Cornelius artist Meredith Connelly has landed a five-figure grant from the Arts & Sciences Council which has invested $4.3 million in Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s creative sector in FY 2023-24, including nearly $1.5 million to support the creative individuals and artists whose work is “strengthening the cultural community.”

Connelly received $11,000 to support a community-centric curated exhibition facilitating an exploration of bodily autonomy, the right to make decisions about one’s own body.

Connelly lives down Torrence Chapel with three children and husband Mike Zak and has a studio overlooking Lake Norman. You may have seen her  fiberglass mushrooms lighting up the trails of the National Whitewater Center.

ASC is the chief advocate, resource hub and steward for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region’s cultural community. Core functions include advocacy, cultural education programs, cultural planning, fundraising, grant making, public art and workshops and training for the cultural community.

Other local grants include:

—Friends of the Arts at Davidson College—$20,000 to support the Common Thread Theatre Collective, a professional theatre on Davidson College’s campus.

—Music at St. Alban’s—$20,000 to support programs that enrich, educate and entertain the North Mecklenburg community.

—North Carolina Baroque Orchestra—$20,000 to support “The Glorious Orchestral Music of JS Bach and his Contemporaries,” celebratory works by Bach, Vivaldi, Telemann and Veracini performed on period instruments.

Background

The investments were made possible by funding from Mecklenburg County and the City of Charlotte via the Infusion Fund and its generous donors. Funding from the North Carolina Arts Council, the towns of Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, Matthews, Mint Hill and Pineville, and individual donors.

Details

FY 2023-24—which closed June 30—included five emerging artists receiving $10,000 ASC Emerging Creators Fellowships, which support creatives with 2-10 years’ experience pursuing their creative practice as their primary occupation.

Five mid-career creatives received $15,000 ASC Creative Renewal Fellowships, awarded to vocational creatives who have been pursuing a career in their discipline for at least 10 years.

Eight local creatives received a combined $24,000 in SEED Grants, which support Mecklenburg County creatives with opportunities for mentorship or are awarded to recognize the quality of their creative work. Each recipient was nominated by an ASC Fellow and will receive $3,000.

Twenty-eight creative individuals and groups received a combined $432,000 in Cultural Vision Grants, which respond to the community’s interest in arts, science, history and heritage programming. The awards support arts and culture projects presented within Charlotte-Mecklenburg by Mecklenburg County-based individuals or nonprofits.

In detail

The FY24 ASC Emerging Creators Fellowship recipients are:

• Cindy Clemens. The writer will strengthen and expand her writing, networking and presentation skills through participation in national workshops and conferences.
• Nicole Driscoll. The photographer and videographer will attend a residency at the Walkaway House in North Adams, MA, to create a photography/video series.
• Jennifer Geyer. The dancer will use the fellowship to support the development and mastery of Afro-Cuban folkloric dance forms by serving as an apprentice with master instructor Marisol Blanco from Cuba.
• Melvin D. Nix. The visual artist will use the fellowship to participate in drawing and oil painting classes through the North Carolina Academy of Art.
• Quisol. With the fellowship, the music artist will establish Queens Collective as a songwriting and music production group to record new music with Charlotte artists.

The FY24 ASC Creative Renewal Fellowship recipients are:

• de’Angelo DIA. DIA plans to use the award to learn a new creative expression and creative renewal, as a means of humanizing hope, through workshops with Penland School of Craft, the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies and Charlotte Lit.
• Sarah Hayes Harkins. The dancer plans to explore Argentine tango by training with world-class tango dancers and traveling to global tango destinations.
• Abel Jackson. The visual artist will use the fellowship to travel to Kenya to participate in an immersive exchange program which combines cultural exchange, community involvement, wildlife exploration and relaxation.
• Herman Nicholson. The photographer plans to use the fellowship to immerse himself in learning the wet plate collodion process, a historic photographic technique.
• Sir Hodge. The multidisciplinary creative director and producer will participate in an apprenticeship program under creative director Oghalé Alex, based in London.

The FY24 SEED grant recipients are:

• Emily Avery —To purchase supplies and materials to update home studio.
• Davis DeNeer—To support the “Sowing seeds” project to share creative inspiration and knowledge with youth.
• Parker Duncan— To support the “Dear Future Single Mother” project.
• Junior Gomez —To enhance creative business technology.
• Milagros Urgueto—To support “Celebrating Afro-Diasporic Rhythms” through dancing and storytelling.
• Zechariah Lange—To support work focused on queer love and relationships in the South.
• Anna Mains—To support continued education and growth of artistic and technical skills in dance.
• xavia-margrith miles—To support writing workshops, a spirit and dance-centered practice retreat and a laptop.

The latest ASC Cultural Vision Grant recipients are:

• Meredith Connelly—$11,000 to support a community-centric curated exhibition facilitating an exploration of bodily autonomy.
• ArtsPlus—$12,000 to support the Do Greater Charlotte’s Creative Lab in fall 2024.
• Blumenthal Arts—$10,000 to support Charlotte Live! Teens, which provides an environment for 6-12 grades students to develop talents and arts appreciation.
• BNS Productions—$20,000 to support its 2024-25 season opening performance of “Clyde’s” by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Lynn Nottage.
• BreatheInk—$16,000 to support a summer youth poetry project for undocumented and first-generation immigrant students between the ages of 12-16 years old.
• Cine Casual—$20,000 to support the second edition of the Charlotte Latino Film Festival in spring 2025.
• Dance Artist Alliance CLT—$9,000 to support Converge, a two-pronged project including a studio subsidy program at five studios and a showcase and master class series to support the development of new works.
• Durag Festival—$20,000 to support an inclusive and transformative Juneteenth celebration.
• First Baptist Church West Community Services Association—$20,000 to support fine arts classes for students at the First Baptist Church-West Clara H. Jones Summer Institute.
• Friends of the Arts at Davidson College—$20,000 to support the Common Thread Theatre Collective, a professional theatre on Davidson College’s campus.
• Dionne Hunter—$10,000 to support the building of community by nurturing, celebrating and supporting creative expressions from community minded artists.
• India Association of Charlotte—$15,000 to support the 28th annual Festival of India.
• JazzArts Charlotte—$17,000 to support Nuestro Tiempo Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble.
• Jinna Kim—$2,000 to produce an Asian American Film Festival and Short Film Screening.
• Lorien Academy of the Arts—$20,000 to support 15 afterschool art clubs at Title 1 CMS schools in fall 2024.
• Martha Connerton/Kinetic Works—$18,000 to support the third annual NC Choreographer’s Residency Project.
• Kathren Martin—$18,000 to support the creation of “Kudzu,” a new piece of immersive theatre using an ensemble-based, community-led devised theatre technique.
• The Mint Museum— $20,000 to support the museum’s Grier Heights Community Youth Arts Program.
• Music at St. Alban’s—$20,000 to support programs that enrich, educate and entertain the North Mecklenburg community.
• Ashley Nickens—$16,000 to build community around the historical and contemporary narratives of Black women and femmes while supporting their creative expression and holistic healing.
• North Carolina Baroque Orchestra—$20,000 to support “The Glorious Orchestral Music of JS Bach and his Contemporaries,” celebratory works by Bach, Vivaldi, Telemann and Veracini performed on period instruments.
• One Voice—$8,000 to create a fourth concert in the chorus’ mainstage slate.
• Project Scientist—$20,000 to support after-school STEAM (Science, Technology, Education, Art, and Mathematics) Club.
• Queen City Concerts—$20,000 to support a classical re-imaging of the musical “The Secret Garden: From the Page to the Stage,” in November at the Booth Playhouse.
• Queens University—$17,000 to support the presentation of international artists, artist engagement and educational activities by the Gambrell Center for Arts and Civic Engagement at Queens University in October 2024.
• Sol Nation—$2,000 to support the Art & Sol Charlotte Teen Exhibition.
• Sullenberger Aviation Museum—$20,000 to support the museum’s re-opening.
• We Rock Charlotte—$11,000 to support weekly music lessons and band practices for youth at We Rock Charlotte and Festival in the Park.