First Arts Caucus Meeting of the 2023 Session
On Tuesday, March 28th, the first meeting of the Joint Caucus on the Arts and Arts Education was hosted by the House Chairs Rep. Becky Carney and Rep. Kyle Hall and joined by the Senate Chairs Sen. Vickie Sawyer and Sen. Mike Woodard. Members gathered in a meeting room in the NC Legislative Building to hear from both Jeff Bell, Executive Director of the NC Arts Council and Nate McGaha, Executive Director of Arts North Carolina. Nearly twenty legislators were in attendance, which was a strong turnout considering that both the Republican and Democratic Caucuses had called meetings earlier that day for the exact same time. Arts NC also provided boxed lunches for those in attendance.
Both H497, which would create a recurring annual allocation of $3.5 million for all NC Arts Council grants, and H498, which would direct local school districts to provide both Music and Visual Arts to all elementary school students, were filed on the same day as the Arts Caucus meeting. Jeff Bell expressed his gratitude for the CARES and ARPA funding that enabled the NC Arts Council to be responsive to the needs of the arts industry in recent years. He also shared examples of the rural and underserved arts organizations that did not have a relationship with the NC Arts Council before the pandemic, that have now benefitted from the expanded reach of the state arts agency, as well as the work of A+ Schools of North Carolina.
Nate McGaha gave a brief overview of the organization and then presented Arts North Carolina’s legislative requests for the 2023 NCGA session, which included:
- $3.5 million recurring funding for all NC Arts Council grants in all 100 counties.
- $500,000 to A+ Schools of NC for three years to match a private foundation grant.
- H136: Arts Proficiency High School Diploma Endorsement (already passed House 114-0)
- H498: Music and Visual Art for every K-5 student in North Carolina.
Members also shared ideas about goals they had for the Arts Caucus. There was a great deal of agreement that the legislative buildings need to be adorned with visual art created by North Carolina artists. It was also suggested that there be a NC General Assembly band, chorus, or other musical group so that Members could come together in a nonpartisan way to share in each other’s company and creative expression.
The Arts Caucus was established in 2018 in the NC House of Representatives and in 2019 in the NC Senate. Members from both chambers have learned about the educational, civic, and economic impact the arts have on North Carolina. It has played a vital role in the passage of the NC Arts High School Graduation Requirement and also allocation for arts grants from State CARES Act and ARPA funding as well as recurring increases from the General Fund. Over the last five years Joint Caucus on the Arts and Arts Education Members have become our advocates and the Arts Caucus Chairs have been our champions.