CHARLOTTE ARTS AND CULTURE PLAN

Charlotte-Mecklenburg is one of the fastest growing communities in the nation. Home to the country’s 16th largest city, the area hosts major headquarters for banking, fintech and other industry giants as well as multiple higher education institutions. It is an increasingly diverse community with growing Asian, multiracial and Hispanic populations throughout the area. Charlotte-Mecklenburg's creative ecosystem includes many layers, each of which rely on and support each other.  As it has done with its successful business and community development planning, Charlotte-Mecklenburg seeks to harness its strengths in the arts and culture sector to grapple with its challenges.

The City of Charlotte engaged Lord Cultural Resources in 2022 to create the Charlotte Arts and Culture Plan, at a moment of significant transition for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region. The model that funded the Charlotte-Mecklenburg arts and culture sector for many years, which included robust workplace giving, no longer provides sufficient funding, in line with broader national funding trends.  This trend is expected to continue due to what many economists believe to be an impending recession. The 2008 economic downturn exacerbated funding challenges for the sector, as has the COVID-19 pandemic, and audiences are still not at pre-pandemic levels.

The Charlotte Arts and Culture Plan is creating a roadmap for a path forward to ensure a vibrant, equitable, and inclusive arts and culture landscape for all in the area. Over 3,240 have been engaged in the planning process, which is set to conclude in the Fall of 2023. The plan is built around eight priorities, all in service of a vision where all people in the community are valued and supported through arts and culture.