Installation view, “Nhớ” by Phượng-Duyên Hải Nguyễn, Welcome Gallery, 2024

Help Shape the Future Arts Council for the Charlottesville Area

Charlottesville, Albemarle, and the surrounding counties have a robust arts and culture sector but lack a centralized, coordinated structure to support its creative communities.
A collaborative, community-led effort is now underway to explore the creation of a future Arts Council for the Charlottesville area—one that is equitable, accessible, and focused on making it possible for artists to live, work, and thrive here.
To ensure this work is shaped by the people the Arts Council would serve, we are forming a Steering Committee that will guide the planning process, review findings, and co-create recommendations.
This 7-month study is facilitated by an outside consultant, Ruby Lopez Harper, who was responsible for supporting 4,500 local arts agencies with tools, training, and resources during her time at Americans for the Arts prior to her current role as the Executive Director of the Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+).
This is a unique opportunity to co-create the vision for the future of our region's arts and culture ecosystem. Let’s build it together—with intention, imagination, and care.
Artists, arts workers, cultural organizers, arts educators, arts supporters, and arts grantmakers from Charlottesville and the surrounding counties can learn more about how to get involved below.

Charlottesville, Albemarle, and the surrounding counties have a robust arts and culture sector but lack a centralized, coordinated structure to support its creative communities. A collaborative, community-led effort is now underway to explore the creation of a future Arts Council for the Charlottesville area—one that is equitable, accessible, and focused on making it possible for artists to live, work, and thrive here.

This process is being facilitated by an independent consultant, Ruby Lopez Harper. New City Arts Initiative is the administrative home for this 7-month Arts Council Feasibility Study, which is supported by UVA Arts, the City of Charlottesville, The FUNd at CACF, the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau (CACVB), and the Anne & Gene Worrell Foundation.

Steering Committee

To ensure this work is shaped by the people the Arts Council would serve, we are forming a Steering Committee that will guide the planning process, review findings, and co-create recommendations. We invite artists, cultural workers, organizers, educators, and community members to self-nominate and take part.

To acknowledge their time and contributions, steering committee members will receive a $500 honorarium.

The Steering Committee serves as a core advisory group for a community-driven effort to explore and establish a future Arts Council for the Charlottesville area. The Steering Committee will:
- Offer insights and feedback throughout the planning process
- Help shape the vision, values, and proposed structure of a future Arts Council
- Elevate community needs and ideas through collaborative discussion
All responsibilities can be found in the Steering Committee Charter here.
We’re seeking artists, arts workers, cultural organizers, community members, arts supporters, and arts grantmakers who live or work in the Charlottesville area region including the surrounding counties; are involved in or deeply care about the arts, culture, and creative communities; represent a range of disciplines, identities, and experiences; and believe in and practice equity, collaboration, and community-centered leadership.
The Steering Committee will operate with the following values:
- Equity & Inclusion: Centering underrepresented voices and cultural traditions.
- Community-Led: Prioritizing the expertise and lived experience of Charlottesville’s arts and culture community.
- Transparency: Encouraging open communication and shared understanding.
- Collaboration: Fostering collective decision-making and co-creation.
- Imagination & Sustainability: Building toward a future that is visionary, adaptive, and grounded in community needs.
- Term: August 2025 – January 2026
- Meetings: Up to 6 virtual meetings + optional participation in listening sessions
- Time Estimate: Up to 4 hours a month

I'D LIKE TO BE ON THE STEERING COMMITTEE

Participate

Interested in supporting the exploration of an Arts Council serving Charlottesville and the surrounding region? Lending your space for a community listening session? Volunteering? Just staying in the loop? Let us know! You do not need to be affiliated with an organization or institution.

COMMUNITY INTEREST & SUPPORT FORM