Arts Across NC

As we wrap up this season, we introduce you to Piedmont Opera and Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center--- two arts organizations that had contrasting experiences during the pandemic. One was forced to shut down almost completely because of its location and the vulnerable aging population it serves, while the other was the only opera company in NC to produce during the state-mandated lockdown. Fast forward to today, both organizations are thriving. Their calendars are filled and most importantly, they are serving their communities. If there is one thing we've learned over the past two years, it's that “post-pandemic” is a term that doesn't quite accurately capture our global reality. We also know that we've been navigating and adjusting to a new normal. Vitality, fellowship, and healing are the qualities the arts spark, and they are what has helped North Carolina rebuild and emerge resiliently from the pandemic! Here in North Carolina, the arts are Back!

What do ArtsTogether in Raleigh and DREAMs center for arts education in Wilmington have in common? Besides being amazing safe spaces where young people can thrive, the two arts organizations are committed to serving disadvantaged communities. In this episode, we speak with Nikki Turner, dance instructor and preschool teacher at Arts Together, and Liz Wells, program director at DREAMs center for arts education. The experiences of Nikki, Liz, and their respective arts organizations reveal the importance of taking a practical approach when engaging traditionally underserved populations. Arts Together and Dreams center for the arts are genuinely committed to their communities and demonstrate that the arts are an essential component to revitalizing, building, and empowering a community. Arts Together's Website: https://www.artstogether.org/ DREAMs Center for the Arts' Wesbite: https://givetodreams.org/

Beyond the material struggles artists and arts organizations have faced over the last two years, there was also an ever-present and less explored existential struggle. Being an artist, specifically a teaching artist, isn't just a career. It's an identity. And when you can't do the job that makes you who you are anymore, well, who are you? In this episode of Arts Across NC we talked with two teaching artists – Alfredo Hurtado, an Army veteran, actor, and professional dancer with Black Box Dance Theatre in Raleigh, and Lakeetha Blakeney a theatre educator and writer from Concord, North Carolina. Alfredo and Lakeetha both spent time reflecting on what a personal loss they felt when their creative avenues were shut off suddenly, how the virtual alternatives didn't quite fill in for that missing piece, and the joy and fulfillment they have felt as we cautiously return to a sense of normalcy. You can learn more about Lakeetha Blakeney's work at KeethaB.org. Alfredo Hurtado is a founding member of Black Box Dance Theatre, a modern dance company that uses dance as “a catalyst for meaningful human interactions, powerful storytelling, and transformative art-making”. Learn more about their work at BlackBoxDanceTheatre.org. This June, Alfredo will perform in Raleigh Little Theatre's presentation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony Award-winning musical, In The Heights.

In 2019, Laura Way became the president and CEO of ArtsGreensboro, one of our state's local arts councils, and immediately began implementing changes. North Carolina has one of the most highly developed networks of local arts councils in the country. For over half a century, we have provided funding and technical assistance to encourage arts organizations to deliver multiple ways to broaden, deepen and diversify participation in the arts in local communities. The larger local arts councils in the state are grant-makers, providing Grassroots Arts Funds along with additional sources of funding to support and strengthen arts activities in their counties. Laura's previous experience as Executive Director of GreenHill Center for North Carolina Art, a funded partner of ArtsGreensboro, gave her a unique outsider perspective. She was well aware of the inequities in grant funding and was committed to implementing change. Her commitment to DEAI work began earlier in her career, but during the pandemic, Laura and her staff took that commitment to a new level by redistributing grant funds with the goal of addressing structural inequities and increasing philanthropic overall support for BIPOC artists and arts organizations.

Hailing from New Orleans, the birthplace of Jazz, husband and wife duo Lonnie and Ocie Davis relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina after the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina dislocated them. With no intentions of starting an arts non-profit, when they arrived in Charlotte, the two Jazz musicians saw an opportunity to curate a thriving Jazz community, thus, in 2010, JazzArts Charlotte was born. In this episode, we learn how the pandemic expanded the organization's audience and enhanced their technical and digital skills. Audio Credit: JazzArts Charlotte is BACK [mini-documentary] via YouTube

During the pandemic, performance venues and organizations were stuck on hold, hoping for a sign of normalcy that would allow for live audiences and actors on stage once again. In March of 2020, like many theaters across the United States, Children's Theatre of Charlotte (CTC) was forced to stop all production. Due to social distancing requirements and closure of venues, curtailing not only public performances but also rehearsals, the theatre was forced to end production on their performance of “GRIMMZ,” a hip-hop fairytale. However, over the following year and a half, Children's Theatre of Charlotte's decision to pivot to digital production led to a surprising Drama League Awards nomination, proving their ability to imagine new ways to engage with the idea of live-ness and community through a digital landscape. In this episode, we speak with artistic director Adam Burke, professional actors Isabel Gonzalez and Isa Long, and community programs manager, Mary Katherine Smith.

Did you know that on average, a dancer's performance career tends to end around the age of 35? Dancers' retirement comes for a multitude of reasons: physical injuries, a slowing down of the body, the decision to have children, or just a desire to try something new in their 20s or 30s after the intense dedication given since early childhood--and a pandemic. The pandemic has put many of our social and professional activities on hold, including temporarily closing many dance studios and gyms, forcing dancers to practice at home without proper space and equipment. In this episode, Doug Singleton, Executive Director of Charlotte Ballet, and professional dancers Alessandra James Ball and Amelia Sturt-Dilley discuss the pandemic's impact on the performing arts dance sector.

Arts Across NC Podcast is back with a new season! Join us as we look back on the pandemic and its impact on North Carolina's arts sector over the last two years. With the help of artists, arts organizations, and arts leaders from all across North Carolina, we are telling the stories of mental struggles, canceled performances, and difficult decisions. The past two years also include stories about innovation, hope, and moments of profound connection.

Today, February 18, 2020, marks the one-year anniversary of the official induction of Jaki Shelton Green as North Carolina’s first African American poet laureate. In this episode of Arts Across NC, host Sandra Davidson interviews Jaki Shelton Green about her time as our state’s ninth poet laureate. During the show Jaki discusses the impact and public reception of her historic appointment and reflects on her experiences meeting countless North Carolinians during her tenure as poet laureate. Born and raised in Efland, North Carolina, Jaki Shelton Green has been active in our state’s literary and teaching community for more than 40 years. She’s written eight books of poetry and a play, and she co-edited two anthologies of poetry. The American Academy of Poet Laureates awarded her a $75,000 fellowship last April. --- Arts Across NC is a podcast by and about the North Carolina Arts Council. This episode featured music by The Blue Dot Sessions. Find out if Jaki Shelton Green is making an appearance near you at www.NCarts.org. Facebook: @ncarts Twitter: @ncartscouncil Instagram: @ncartscouncil | @ncartsfolklife

Full of Riches takes listeners into the world of Seagrove, N.C. where TAPS students are taught the region’s celebrated pottery tradition by master artist and N.C. Heritage Award recipient Sid Luck. The North Carolina Arts Council created TAPS, a statewide network of after school programs, in response to community requests for traditional arts education taught locally, knee-to-knee, and across generations. TAPS is an intergenerational story. It's a story about community and pride in place. It’s a story about the role the N.C. Arts Council plays in helping North Carolinians use their artistic traditions to thrive as individuals and as communities. From pottery to bluegrass to the arts and crafts of the Haliwa-Saponi tribe, TAPS programs across the state represent the diversity of North Carolina’s cultural life and heritage. Each program is uniquely shaped by the community, but all share three core values: Programs are affordable, and often free. Students learn the traditional arts of their own region, from teachers within their community. Music is taught by ear, and crafts are taught by hand. Through field recordings and interviews collected by N.C. Arts Council staff, this episode is the first of three in a new season of Arts Across NC that highlights the diverse TAPS programs across the state. This episode featured field recordings from Haliwa-Saponi TAPS class and Pow wows. Learn more about the program at www.ncarts.org. _____ Arts Across NC is a podcast by and about the North Carolina Arts Council. Facebook: @ncarts Twitter: @ncartscouncil Instagram: @ncartscouncil | @ncartsfolklife

Children and parents learn together at the Haliwa-Saponi Traditional Arts Program for Students (TAPS). Gathering families and intergenerational groups for tribal culture and tradition classes is important in a rural place like Hollister, N.C. where the program is based. We learn why in this new episode of Arts Across NC. The North Carolina Arts Council created TAPS, a statewide network of after school programs, in response to community requests for traditional arts education taught locally, knee-to-knee, and across generations. TAPS is an intergenerational story. It's a story about community and pride in place. It’s a story about the role the N.C. Arts Council plays in helping North Carolinians use their artistic traditions to thrive as individuals and as communities. From pottery to bluegrass to the arts and crafts of the Haliwa-Saponi tribe, TAPS programs across the state represent the diversity of North Carolina’s cultural life and heritage. Each program is uniquely shaped by the community, but all share three core values: Programs are affordable, and often free. Students learn the traditional arts of their own region, from teachers within their community. Music is taught by ear, and crafts are taught by hand. Through field recordings and interviews collected by N.C. Arts Council staff, this episode is the first of three in a new season of Arts Across NC that highlights the diverse TAPS programs across the state. This episode featured field recordings from Haliwa-Saponi TAPS class and Pow wows. Learn more about the program at www.ncarts.org. _____ Arts Across NC is a podcast by and about the North Carolina Arts Council. Facebook: @ncarts Twitter: @ncartscouncil Instagram: @ncartscouncil | @ncartsfolklife

Call and Response chronicles the origin story of TAPS, the Traditional Arts Program for Students. The North Carolina Arts Council created TAPS, a statewide network of after school programs, in response to community requests for traditional arts education taught locally, knee-to-knee, and across generations. TAPS is an intergenerational story. It's a story about community and pride in place. It’s a story about the role the N.C. Arts Council plays in helping North Carolinians use their artistic traditions to thrive as individuals and as communities. From pottery to bluegrass to the arts and crafts of the Haliwa Saponi tribe, TAPS programs across the state represent the diversity of North Carolina’s cultural life and heritage. Each program is uniquely shaped by the community, but all share three core values: Programs are affordable, and often free. Students learn the traditional arts of their own region, from teachers within their community. Music is taught by ear, and crafts are taught by hand. Through field recordings and interviews collected by N.C. Arts Council staff, this episode is the first of three in a new season of Arts Across NC that highlights the diverse TAPS programs across the state. This episode featured music from Phil Cook, the Camp Creek Boys and Madison Shepard. Learn more about the program at www.ncarts.org. _____ Arts Across NC is a podcast by and about the North Carolina Arts Council. Facebook: @ncarts Twitter: @ncartscouncil Instagram: @ncartscouncil | @ncartsfolklife

Lauchlin Shaw was a Harnett County-based fiddler whose family was a part of the 18th and 19th century wave of Scottish immigration to North Carolina. “His great-grandfather had come from the Isle of Jura off Scotland’s coast up through the Cape Fear River Valley,” says Wayne Martin. “That’s a really important story for North Carolina that we don’t hear about so much now.” Shaw’s grandfather and father spoke Gaelic and he went to church services in Harnett County that were given in Gaelic. The many fiddle tunes he performed were passed down through generations of fiddle players in his family. In our final installment of Director’s Cut, Wayne Martin shares a field recording of “Sally With The Run Down Shoes,” a traditional dance tune performed by Lauchlin Shaw and Chatham County banjoist A.C. Overton. Photograph of Lauchlin Shaw and A.C. Overton by Mary Anne McDonald ________ Director's Cut is a special music themed season of Arts Across NC, curated in celebration of Come Hear North Carolina, a campaign for the 2019 North Carolina Year of Music. In each episode NC Arts Council Director Wayne Martin will unearth a field recording from the archive he built during his 30+ year tenure with our agency. Each song represents a different region of North Carolina. "These pieces that I've chosen are part of the fabric of who we are as a people," says Wayne. "They are pieces that tell the story of North Carolina. Arts Across NC is a podcast by and about the North Carolina Arts Council.

Etta Baker is one of North Carolina’s most famous Piedmont blues guitarist. Born in Caldwell County, she started learning guitar from her father when she was three. Her masterful, emotive pickin’ first appeared in 1956 on the album Instrumental Music from the Southern Appalachians, but it took 35 years before her next recording and first solo record One Dime Blues appeared. That album arose from many years of recording sessions produced by Wayne Martin, our host of “Director’s Cut.” “I felt like she was one of the most extraordinary expressive musicians who I had ever met,” says Wayne Martin. “I remember hearing her play John Henry with a slide and I can remember my thought: I’m in the presence of a musical genius.” Etta Baker’s sound and style influenced the likes of Bob Dylan and Taj Mahal. In this episode of Director's Cut, Wayne Martin shares "Broken Hearted Blues,” a rare recording that features Baker both playing guitar and singing. “Most of the time she would let the guitar do the talking for her,” says Wayne. “But just very occasionally she would sing.” ______ Director's Cut is a special music themed season of Arts Across NC, curated in celebration of Come Hear North Carolina, a campaign for the 2019 North Carolina Year of Music. In each episode NC Arts Council Director Wayne Martin will unearth a field recording from the archive he built during his 30+ year tenure with our agency. Each song represents a different region of North Carolina. "These pieces that I've chosen are part of the fabric of who we are as a people," says Wayne. "They are pieces that tell the story of North Carolina. Arts Across NC is a podcast by and about the North Carolina Arts Council.

One hundred years ago famed folk-song collectors Cecil Sharp and Maud Karpeles visited North Carolina and documented hundreds of ballads and folk songs that had their roots in the British Isles. The epicenter of our state's ballad singing tradition is Madison County, NC. In the second installment of Director's Cut, a special mini-season of Arts Across NC, Wayne Martin shares a "Jack-A-Roe," a ballad performed by Doug Wallin. Doug lived far up a holler in Madison County, and he learned how to sing ballads from his mother Berzilla. He once told Wayne Martin he sung all the time...even when he was falling asleep at night. "Doug himself was an extraordinary ballad singer for two reasons. The texts of his tunes were very full and well developed...plus he was very musical and he was able to put beautiful tunes to the songs themselves," says Wayne. The National Endowment or the Arts awarded Wallin the National Heritage Award in 1990. He passed away in 2000. _____ Director's Cut is a special music themed season of Arts Across NC, curated in celebration of Come Hear North Carolina, a campaign for the 2019 North Carolina Year of Music. In each episode NC Arts Council Director Wayne Martin will unearth a field recording from the archive he built during his 30+ year tenure with our agency. Each song represents a different region of North Carolina. "These pieces that I've chosen are part of the fabric of who we are as a people," says Wayne. "They are pieces that tell the story of North Carolina. Arts Across NC is a podcast by and about the North Carolina Arts Council. The featured image is of Doug Wallin with his brother Jack Wallin made by Rob Amberg.

In celebration of Come Hear North Carolina, a campaign for the 2019 North Carolina Year of Music, we're back with a new music themed season of Arts Across NC called "Director's Cut." Over the next four episodes, NC Arts Council Director Wayne Martin will unearth a field recording from the archive he built during his 30+ year tenure with our agency. Each song represents a different region of North Carolina. "These pieces that I've chosen are part of the fabric of who we are as a people," says Wayne. "They are pieces that tell the story of North Carolina. Up first is the song "Going Back to Weldon," performed by the Menhaden Chanteymen in 1988. There was a time when a stinky, oily fish ruled eastern North Carolina. From the late 1800s through much of the 20th century, menhaden sat at the economic epicenter of Beaufort, North Carolina. Year in and year out, generations of working class men and women caught, processed, packaged and shipped menhaden, also known in North Carolina's Core Sound region as shad. As the town grew alongside the burgeoning industry, so to did a new style of work song developed by African American men who often handled the back-breaking work of hauling in thousands of pounds of fish. These songs, called chanteys, have outlived the industry itself and today we share the story of and a song by the Menhaden Chanteymen. Arts Across NC is a podcast by and about the North Carolina Arts Council. The featured image for this episode is from the State Archives of North Carolina.

Arvil Freeman likes to say, "I can teach you to play, but how good you’ll be depends on you." He’s talking about fiddling. Arvil Freeman is one of western North Carolina’s most respected fiddlers and fiddle instructors, and he’ll receive the North Carolina Heritage Award on May 23 for his life-long devotion to the region’s traditional music. His long career is full of moments with bluegrass heavy-lifters, but he’s proudest of his work as a fiddle instructor. For him it’s personal. In this special podcast profile, Arvil freeman explains why. This episode features original music from Arvil Freeman. ___ In this special season of Arts Across NC, we feature the 2018 North Carolina Heritage Award recipients who will be celebrated at a performance and ceremony on May 23, 2018 in Raleigh, NC. These artists are being honored for deepening awareness of the stories, music, and artistry that encompass and define North Carolina's diverse cultural traditions. Tickets to the North Carolina Heritage Awards are available at www.pinecone.org. _________ Arts Across NC is a podcast by and about the North Carolina Arts Council. Facebook: @ncarts Twitter: @ncartscouncil Instagram: @ncartscouncil

Dick Knight is a professional musician, retired school teacher, and 2018 North Carolina Heritage Award recipient. He's is one of several excellent soul, R&B and funk musicians with deep ties to eastern North Carolina, but his Kinston story is an unlikely one. In this episode of Arts Across NC, we get the scoop on how Kinston led this music-loving Georgia native to James Brown, and a fulfilling career as an arts educator. Meet Dick Knight. The episode features original music from The Monitors and a clip from James Brown's Grits & Soul album. ____ In this special season of Arts Across NC, we feature the 2018 North Carolina Heritage Award recipients who will be celebrated at a performance and ceremony on May 23, 2018 in Raleigh, NC. These artists are being honored for deepening awareness of the stories, music, and artistry that encompass and define North Carolina's diverse cultural traditions. Tickets to the North Carolina Heritage Awards are available at www.pinecone.org. _________ Arts Across NC is a podcast by and about the North Carolina Arts Council. Facebook: @ncarts Twitter: @ncartscouncil Instagram: @ncartscouncil

Asha Bala is a passionate advocate, instructor, and performer of Bharata Natyam, an ancient South Indian classical dance, that communicates ancient Hindu spiritual stories through intricate hand gestures, facial expressions, and footwork. She first encountered the dance as a young child in Mumbai in the 1950s during an era of national cultural revitalization in a newly independent India. She's performed Bharata Natyam throughout the world, and today she's on a mission to make it a celebrated American dance form. She's used two graduate degrees in dance to teach over 500 North Carolinians about the dance since moving here in the early 2000s. Meet Asha Bala. ____ In this special season of Arts Across NC, we feature the 2018 North Carolina Heritage Award recipients who will be celebrated at a performance and ceremony on May 23, 2018 in Raleigh, NC. These artists are being honored for deepening awareness of the stories, music, and artistry that encompass and define North Carolina's diverse cultural traditions. Tickets to the North Carolina Heritage Awards are available at www.pinecone.org. _________ Arts Across NC is a podcast by and about the North Carolina Arts Council. Facebook: @ncarts Twitter: @ncartscouncil Instagram: @ncartscouncil

In this episode, we meet Tony Williamson, a 2018 North Carolina Heritage Award recipient and mandolin virtuoso, whose musical journey has taken him all over. It’s carried him to stages around the world where he’s played with bluegrass greats like Bill Monroe, Sam Bush, and Ricky Skaggs. It’s transported him into a hospital room where he was told he’d never play music again, and it’s led him to an Ashram in Taiwan, where he sought reinvention through Eastern philosophy. But before the big successes, crippling accidents, and spiritual awakenings, there was his family’s home in rural Randolph county and that’s where it all began. In this special season of Arts Across NC, we meet the 2018 North Carolina Heritage Award recipients who will be celebrated at a performance and ceremony on May 23, 2018 in Raleigh, NC. These artists are being honored for deepening awareness of the stories, music, and artistry that encompass and define North Carolina's diverse cultural traditions. Tickets to the North Carolina Heritage Awards are available at www.pinecone.org. This episode features music by Tony Williamson. _________ Arts Across NC is a podcast by and about the North Carolina Arts Council. Facebook: @ncarts Twitter: @ncartscouncil Instagram: @ncartscouncil

Sawmilling is heritage for Glenn Bolick, a potter, musician, storyteller from Caldwell County. Glenn is a fifth-generation sawmill man, and in this bonus episode, he performs "Sawmill Man," one of his signature songs. Glenn and his wife Lula Bolick will be honored at the 2018 North Carolina Heritage Awards Ceremony on May 23 in downtown Raleigh. Tickets are available at www.pinecone.org. _________ Arts Across NC is a podcast by and about the North Carolina Arts Council. This episode is a part of a special series on the 2018 North Carolina Heritage Award Recipients. Facebook: @ncarts Twitter: @ncartscouncil Instagram: @ncartscouncil

In this special season of Arts Across NC, we meet the 2018 North Carolina Heritage Award recipients who will be celebrated at a performance and ceremony on May 23, 2018 in Raleigh, NC. These artists are being honored for deepening awareness of the stories, music, and artistry that encompass and define North Carolina's diverse cultural traditions. Glenn and Lula Bolick have carried many traditions of North Carolina's mountains and piedmont into the 21st century through the pottery and music they've made together for over 50 years. In this episode Lula, a fifth-generation potter from Seagrove, NC, and Glenn, a fourth-generation sawmill man from Caldwell County, reflect on their lifetime commitment to preserving and sharing their family traditions. Tickets to the North Carolina Heritage Awards are available at www.pinecone.org. This episode features music by Phil Cook, and the Bolick Family. _________ Arts Across NC is a podcast by and about the North Carolina Arts Council. Facebook: @ncarts Twitter: @ncartscouncil Instagram: @ncartscouncil

M.C. Taylor and Phil Cook are two anchors of Durham's indie music community. Phil is known for making music with his band Megafaun and The Guitarheels and for playing in M.C.'s American folk band Hiss Golden Messenger, an outfit widely praised for its genre-blending soul-searching music. In this episode, they reflect on how collaboration, community, and a deep appreciation for North Carolina's music history define their artistry. This episode featured original music created by Phil Cook for the 50 for 50 project, and excerpts from two Hiss Golden Messenger songs: Caledonia and Heart Like a Levee. Learn more at www.ncarts50.org. Facebook: @ncarts Twitter: @ncartscouncil Instagram: @ncartscouncil

Creativity is at the heart of the Freelon family. In an intimate conversation, Phil Freelon, best known for leading the design team of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and his son Pierce Freelon, Durham-based hip-hop artist and professor, open up about how the arts define their family. Catch the full interview at www.ncarts50.org. Arts Across NC is a podcast by and about the North Carolina Arts Council. The show is hosted and produced by Sandra Davidson. It features original music by Phil Cook.

Vollis Simpson may be North Carolina's most famous self-taught artist. His massive, whimsical whirligigs have attracted curious travelers to eastern North Carolina for decades, and they now anchor the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park in historic downtown Wilson. In this episode, we explore how the park came to be, and why it's now a national model for arts driven economic development. *** This episode features music by Phil Cook, and a interview excerpt from a UNC-TV feature on Vollis Simpson. Arts Across NC is a podcast by and about the North Carolina Arts Council. Visit www.ncarts.org to learn more.

North Carolina's Statewide Arts Celebration has officially begun. Arts organizations in all 100 counties have dedicated arts events to the North Carolina Arts Council's 50th Anniversary. The 175+ concerts, exhibits, performances, festivals, and classes that make up the celebration showcase the many ways North Carolinians participate in the arts and create art. In this episode, Wayne Martin, Executive Director of the North Carolina Arts Council, reflects on what the celebration says about the future of the arts in our state. *** To find an arts event near you visit ncarts50.org. Follow the arts council on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Arts Across NC is a podcast by and about the North Carolina Arts Council. Sandra Davidson hosts and produces the show. This episode features original music by Phil cook.

North Carolina is known for its traditional arts, and they are thriving in the hands of millennial artists. This weekend, the diversity and vibrancy of our state's evolving cultural heritage will be celebrated in the NC Folklife Area of the National Folk Festival in Greensboro, NC. In this episode, Sally Peterson, the Folklife Director at the North Carolina Arts Council, makes a compelling case for supporting the next generation of traditional artists, and listeners get a preview of what to expect this weekend at the National Folk Festival. _ Arts Across NC is a podcast by and about the North Carolina Arts Council. It is hosted and produced by Sandra Davidson. This episode features original music by Phil Cook. Learn more about the show by visiting ncarts50.org

David Sedaris moved from Binghamton, NY to Raleigh, NC right before he started the third grade, and one of the first words he learned here was Yankee. Adjusting to life in North Carolina wasn't easy, but David found his place in the arts. In an exclusive interview for the North Carolina Arts Council's 50 for 50 Project, best-selling author David Sedaris shares his North Carolina Arts story. Arts Across NC is a podcast by and about the North Carolina Arts Council. The show is produced and hosted by Sandra Davidson. Our original score was created by Phil Cook. Learn more about the show by visiting www.ncarts50.org and following the North Carolina Arts Council on social media. Twitter: NCArtscouncil Facebook: NCarts Instagram: NCartscouncil

Forty years ago, the American Dance Festival moved to Durham, NC. Every summer since, one of America’s most important dance institutions has attracted choreographers, dancers and audiences from all over the world to the heart of North Carolina for a six week-long modern dance festival. The North Carolina Arts Council was an avid supporter of ADF from the very beginning. In this episode, Nancy Trovillion, the North Carolina Arts Council's Deputy Director, and Jodee Nimerichter, ADF’s Executive Director, reflect on the festival’s roots in North Carolina and its longstanding relationship with the Arts Council. This episode features The Force by The Monitors, a recording ffeatured on the North Carolina Arts Council's African American Music Trails of Eastern North Carolina CD.

Artists matter in North Carolina. As creators, interpreters and educators, they play an instrumental role in the vitality of our state. In 1980, the North Carolina Arts Council solidified the State's commitment to artists by creating the Artist Fellowship Program. Since then, the N.C. Arts Council has awarded over $5 million to hundreds of artists to support artist development and encourage new work. In this episode, Jeff Pettus, Senior Program Director for Artists & Organizations, who oversees the fellowship program, reflects on the mission of the program. Fellowship recipients David Joy, Shirlette Ammons and Daniel Wallace reflect on how receiving the fellowship shaped their careers. This episode features The Force by The Monitors, a recording featured on the North Carolina Arts Council’s African American Music Trails of Eastern North Carolina CD

Raleigh native Charles R. “Chuck” Davis, who became one of the world’s foremost teachers and choreographers of African dance, is being remembered across North Carolina and the country today for his artistry, his contributions to American dance and his ability to use art to promote peace and healing. A distinguished teacher, choreographer, and ambassador for dance, Davis passed away at his home on Sunday, May 14. He founded the Chuck Davis Dance Company in New York in 1968 and, in 1982, returned to his native North Carolina to create the African American Dance Ensemble. Earlier this Spring, Davis was interviewed by Arts Council staff for its 50th Anniversary celebration and recalled his work with the Arts Council. Here’s an excerpt from his conversation.

Founded in 1967, the North Carolina Arts Council grew out of the national statewide arts movement. In the first podcast episode of Arts Across NC, North Carolina Arts Council Executive Director Wayne Martin joins host Sandra Davidson to talk about the council’s early vision, his personal connection to the arts and what’s in store for the North Carolina Arts Council’s 50th Anniversary season.