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What's Happening This Month?

Hello ,

We want to wish you a happy Spring. We hope you've been enjoying the nice weather as much as we have! We combined artist opportunities with this monthly newsletter so click the button at the bottom of the screen to expand the entire email if it is cut off..

Grants Season: It is the grant-writing season! In addition to the annual NC Arts Council and other operational grants, we have been seeking funds to expand some of our Art in the Outdoors projects. We are currently working on an application to the National Endowment for the Arts to create a large-scale public art installation/monument honoring our residents' ingenuity, perseverance, and resilience by preserving a structure that withstood the 1940s and Helene floods. We are partnering with the Blue Ridge Conservancy to install the structure in the new Boone Gorge Park on the Greenway. Wish us luck!

Sad News: Funding for the NC Artist Support Grant has been cut in half to $6500 for a four-county region. These micro-grants are transformative for professional artists. Please let us know if you want to help us increase the amount we can award.

ART CLASSES

Learn More and Register

WAC HAPPENINGS

A Successful Arts Leadership Meeting!

Thank you to Common Good Co. for hosting our inaugural Arts Leadership Meeting last Friday! This long-awaited gathering was a great success, and we're thrilled to have brought together business owners, individual artists, and arts nonprofit leaders.

We had a productive discussion about the vital role of the arts in Watauga County. We explored ways to increase awareness of our rich art scene and ensure the arts have a seat at the table of community leadership meetings during this crucial recovery period. We aim to continue making the arts an integral part of the High Country and are excited to keep the momentum going.

This meeting was just the beginning, and we are planning the next one for May. If you want to be included in the next one, reach out to us—we want to continue expanding our network!

We recorded the meeting. If you want to watch or listen to it, please contact us, and we will send you the links.

JOIN US
March 25th
5 -9 pm
Drink and Draw a Local's Label. Help us design a beer label. Add your personal touch to this label and you may just see it on a beer in the near future! This is a family friendly event with additional crafts for kids. Donations welcome!
Appalachian Mountain Brewery Pint Night
AMB will donate $1 for ANY beer poured that evening!

A big thank you to Appalachian Mountain Brewery, for making WAC a Brewin’ Good partner this month!

🎨✨ AMB will donate $1 to WAC for every pour of Slippin’ Into Darkness, our Czech Dark Lager. Stop by the taproom this month to sip a pint that makes a difference in our Boone community 🍻

April's First Friday Art Crawl

April 4th is First Friday Art Crawl with an Earth Day theme!

We expect this event to be one of the larger art crawls of the year, so don't miss it!

Call for Art! We would love to have a scavenger hunt with earth-themed Art, which will be placed at participating galleries and businesses. Please submit poems or images of artwork you created of endangered plants or animals or their habitats. We will put them in various places around town for the hunt. We will share the images on social media with the artist's name, and they will be clearly marked with the artwork and on the scavenger sheets. Please submit by March 28th.

Youth Art Crawl: Last month, we asked Turchin Center to provide a tour which was a raging success. This month, we will do the scavenger hunt. Be on the lookout for more each month!

Art Vending: If you want to sell Art or perform, please register as a First Friday Art Crawl Artist. We are willing to open up spaces for tent vending on this special night, for an additional fee of $20. Email us with interest: admin@watauga-arts.org.

Enhance First Friday Art Crawls: As the designated partner, we are looking for more ways to enhance this special evening with the arts. If you have ANY ideas of things you would like to see or do, please let us know! We can use this special evening as a chance to engage our creative community.

Submit Here!

WAC has been implementing a new software system to manage its database, so a lot of our important forms are switching over. Due to this, there is a new form for parents to fill out for their youth makers!

Youth Makers Markets are designed to provide opportunities for kids to grow as makers and entrepreneurs. Does your creative kid want to get involved? Sign them up as a Youth Maker using the new form! Registering puts your name on our list of those to contact regarding opportunities for our young artists.
Fifty-Five youth makers participated last year!

We are expanding this program to include more market opportunities in addition to Saturday Farmers Markets. We would love to provide additional training to youth to teach them marketable artistic mediums and entrepreneurial concepts.
If you are interested in helping, please let us know!

You can find a policies here to learn more about the different Youth Makers events that happen throughout the year.

We have an info-session coming up on March 31st. Please contact Krista admin@watauga-arts.org for questions or offers for help.

FIND THE NEW FORM HERE!

To Buskers Fest or Not to Buskers Fest, THAT is the question...

We want your input and help! We were considering not doing Buskers Fest this year, however we received feedback from our creative community asking us to do it. We want your input! Please respond to this quick survey letting us know your thoughts about Buskers Fest 2025.

Please take the 5 question survey to help us figure out the next steps! It will only take a few minutes.

Give Feedback!

OTHER NEWS

Join Mountain BizWorks for Craft Your Commerce Connect, a monthly gathering designed for artists, craftspeople, and creative entrepreneurs. This new learning series provides a space to connect with peers, exchange insights, and grow your business skills in an inspiring, supportive environment.

Their next meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 19 from 2-4 pm via Zoom. Register below using the button, and click here to see more upcoming meetings and events being hosted!

SUPPORT RESOURCES

South Arts Recovery Fund will be opening its applications on March 19th for those who have been impacted by Helene. The Recovery Fund initiative provides $2,000 grants for individual artists to replace lost supplies and equipment because of the hurricanes. North Carolina based artists are now eligible for the Recovery Fund, in addition to artists from Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Click below to find out more information!

LEARN MORE

High Country Business Resiliency Disaster Grant - Round 3

Do you represent a business located in Watauga, Ashe, and/or Avery County that has been impacted by the effects of Hurricane Helene? Apply for the High Country Business Resiliency Disaster Grant, brought to you by the Boone Chamber of Commerce. Eligible businesses may receive support to recoup losses caused by last year's storm.

APPLY TODAY

ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES

The Coal Miner's Daughter is looking for new vendors for their shop in Blowing Rock! Click the button below for a full flyer with more details, and please contact info@thecoalminersdaughterbr.com if you wish to apply. When you reach out, mention that WAC sent you to be considered for a discount!

LEARN MORE!

The Maria V. Howard Arts Center of the Imperial Centre for Arts & Sciences of Rocky Mount, NC proudly announces that they are accepting entries for their 2025 Juried Art Show!

There is NO ENTRY FEE FOR SUBMISSIONS.
The deadline for entries is April 14, 2025.

Various awards will be given out, in amounts as high as $1,500

For more guidelines and information, click the button below!

LEARN MORE!

Cary Photographic Artists (CPA) is hosting its annual juried digital photography exhibition. Each artist may submit up to three images--there is no theme. Jamie Konarski Davidson and Matt Payne, nationally known photographers and educators, will serve as jurors for this year's exhibit. CPA will host an online awards ceremony and discussion with the jurors on May 10th, 2025 at 7:00 pm EDT.

The entry fee is $40, and the deadline to apply is April 15th.

For more information and to apply, click below!

APPLY TODAY!

Please Consider a Monthly Donation

We are doing a lot of work creating systemic change for the arts in our community while also creating space for creatives to gather, work, and learn.

We keep a tight budget, but there are real costs of doing business and our need for paid staff continues to grow as our mission and impact grows.

Please consider a monthly donation to ensure we can continue the good work that has begun. We need "Friends of the Arts".

Your contributions allow us to advocate, educate, engage, and inspire Art within our community.

Become a sustaining donor to help continue WAC's growth and successes!

All gifts are tax-deductible and are so appreciated.

D O N A T E

Watauga Arts Council

377 Shadowline Dr, Boone
NC 28607 United States

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