After more than two years of planning, meeting and gathering information on the local arts and cultural resources, a steering committee and the North Carolina Arts Council have announced their recommendation for a new local arts council to be formed over the next 12 to 18 months.

Although New Hanover County is one of the 10 most populous counties in the state, it is the only one of its size that does not have a local arts council. The previous Arts Council of the Lower Cape Fear closed in 2002. That absence has cost arts organizations, artists and the creative economy.

“There are new opportunities being promoted by the National Endowment for the Arts that we think New Hanover County could take advantage of,” said Nancy Trovillion, deputy director of the North Carolina Arts Council. Every dollar the North Carolina Arts Council invests generates $17 from foundations, businesses and local governments, the state organization reports.

The steering committee is in the process of looking for local funds to augment the $75,566 the North Carolina Arts Council has committed to the local effort. “I think we are really focused on trying to get some commitments of funding,” Trovillion said. The group has been in conversations with the mayor and plans to give a formal presentation to the Wilmington City Council by early next year. Another step may be forming a separate resource development group to identify people in the community to leverage financial support, she said.

To work on these next steps, the North Carolina Arts Council has contracted a professional arts organization consultant to work with the steering committee beginning this month.

What would be the state’s newest arts council and one of a handful built with North Carolina Arts Council support from the start, presents an opportunity for the region to stand out.

“[N.C. State’s] Institute of Emerging Issues is keenly aware of this arts council and is really interested to see what we do with it,” said Dan Brawley, Cucalorus film festival director and steering committee member. “We have to bring all of the resources and expertise we have on this together because it’s going to represent Wilmington all over the state and the southeast. To me, this is an opportunity for someone to create a legacy.”

A new model

The arts council movement in the U.S. began about 40 years ago. However, the arts councils of generations past may not look or feel like today’s.

“The role of the arts council now is less about getting a fledgling arts industry up and running to now partnering with other segments in a community,” said Nello McDaniel, director of Brooklyn-based ARTS Action Research, who will facilitate about five sessions with the steering committee over the next year. He likens today’s relationship between an arts council, business community or local governments as an investment partnership.

“The fortunes of a community such as economic health and awareness are tied to the health and well-being of the arts community,” he said.

Gone are the days where arts councils were like charities with outstretched palms and broad board of directors made general assessments on taste, he said. Nowadays, strong arts council boards are comprised of arts professionals, who have a solid knowledge base, are integral to the community and are prepared to be activists, he said.

Square one

Right now artists in New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties have to go to the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County to apply for $500 to $2,500 regional artists project grants. Once formed, an arts council closer to home would be able to award local artists these grants from the state with matching funds from all three counties. An additional $5,000 in state funds could be available.

Each year arts organizations in New Hanover County are eligible for per capita arts funds appropriated by the General Assembly and distributed through the North Carolina Arts Council’s Grassroots Arts Program. Without an arts council, various organizations including the Cape Fear Museum act as the fiscal sponsor to disburse these funds to local arts organizations, said Philip Gerard, UNCW Creative Writing professor and steering committee member. But, a new arts council would be able to assume that role and manage the grants. For fiscal year 2010-2011, New Hanover County will receive $50,566, which is $0.24 per capita, from state appropriated funds for the arts.

The steering committee recommends growing the local grant fund to at least $150,000 within the next two years from government support and private sources. It also recommends hiring a full-time executive director at $90,000 including benefits and a half-time office administrator at $24,000 including benefits to manage an annual budget of $201,366. The state arts council will contribute a one-time salary assistance of $25,000 to start the organization, said Rebecca Moore, senior program director for marketing, N.C. Arts Council.

It also recommends that the arts council work with the Cape Fear Coast Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and local chambers of commerce to represent local arts events, artists and organizations in publications and marketing materials for the region.