Piedmont Council of the Arts: Increasing Community-Wide Access to the Arts

The Piedmont Council of the Arts (PCA) continued its Creative Conversation Series on April 21, 2009 with a discussion between artists, art professionals and local officials about how expand the reach of the arts across all of Charlottesville’s many populations. The goal of the program is to bring artists, organizations, educators, and business and community leaders together to develop strategies for strengthening arts and cultural life in the Charlottesville area.

Previous conversations have dealt with Arts Education and Marketing the Arts in Charlottesville.

Participants in the forum included:

Bruce Boucher UVA Art Museum
Jane Fisher Charlottesville Community Design Center
Gary Funston Charlottesville Jazz Society
Harold Folley Virginia Organizing Project
Damani Harrison Music Resource Center
Holly Hatcher Charlottesville-Area Community Foundation
Rose Hill-Jones From Inside Out
Ronda Hewitt Live Arts Theater
Sibley Johns Music Resource Center
Bree Luck Light House Studio
Ken Moore Region Ten Consumer Advocate
Christine Nardi Center for Nonprofit Excellence
Emily Nelson UVA Art Student Society
Dave Norris Charlottesville City Council
Sherrika Nowell Urban Vision
Rydell Payne Abundant Life Ministries
Martin Phillips Charlottesville Jazz Society
Gloria Rockhold Albemarle Public Schools – Latino Relations
Joel Rubin UVA Department of Music
George Sampson UVA Arts Administration
Sherri Smith Artisans Center of Virginia
Mildred Spicer VSAarts Charlottesville-Albemarle
Jessica Thayer Artist Services
Karen Waters Quality Community Council
Annie Yoder Abundant Life Ministries

PCA Creative Conversation: Arts Education and Our Community

On September 30, 2008, the Piedmont Council of the Arts held the first in a series of Creative Conversations. The CitySpace meeting room on the Downtown Mall was packed with participants eager to discuss the future of arts education. Some of the topics discussed include:

  • How do people learn about and experience arts and culture today?
  • How does our community provide citizens with learning opportunities in the arts?
  • What are the strengths and weaknesses of our community in terms of arts education? Are there untapped opportunities or important concerns?
  • How, if at all, do arts education opportunities differ for young people and adults in our community? How do they differ according to economic ability? Geographic location? Racial or cultural background?
  • How collaborative is our community in educating through the arts? Are there ways to streamline efforts and work more closely together?