North Carolina: Arts Across NC Podcast

As part of its 50th-anniversary celebration, the North Carolina Arts Council (NCAC) created a podcast highlighting and honoring the rich history of the arts in North Carolina, which have shaped the state’s identity and vitality since its founding. Arts Across NC features artists and arts leaders who talk about their personal connections to the arts in North Carolina as well as about their perceptions of the public value of the arts. Since its launch this August, the NCAC has produced 7 episodes. Highlights include interviews with two influential artists who grew up in Raleigh, author and humorist David Sedaris and one of the world’s foremost teachers and choreographers of African dance—and founder of North Carolina’s African American Dance Ensemble—Charles R. “Chuck” Davis. Other episodes have focused on the story of the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park, how NCAC’s Artist Fellowship Program has energized the state’s arts community since its first award in 1980, and why ongoing support for folk art and traditions will benefit future generations of North Carolinians. Details about the program and its future are available from NCAC Content Strategist Sandra Davidson, who hosts and produces Arts Across NC.