who we are
About the Arts Council
We serve as a resource for Augusta’s arts community and help connect arts lovers to the events and programs they are passionate about. Founded in 1968 by the Greater Augusta Chamber of Commerce, the Augusta Junior Woman’s Club, and the Junior League of Augusta to serve as an umbrella organization for the arts in Augusta, we have taken an active role in supporting Augusta’s cultural identity. We currently act as Augusta’s Public Art Agency, and also administer grant arts funds from the City of Augusta through the City Arts Grants Program.
We organize opportunities and events for both artists and art lovers, including the Arts in the Heart of Augusta Festival, a 2 1/2 day celebration of the varied arts and cultural diversity that make up Augusta. Other events and outreach programs we produce are: Aspirations workshop series, the annual Wet Paint Party and Sale, and the annual Augusta Arts Awards.
We have an active Facebook page, a compressive arts calendar and three websites with community arts resources: AugustaArts.com, ArtsintheHeart.com and AugustaSculptureTrail.com
The River region’s nonprofit arts
A $44.2 MILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY
The nonprofit arts and culture sector is a $44.2 million industry in the Greater Augusta Area—one that supports 1,616 full-time equivalent jobs and generates $3.9 million in local and state government revenue.
Nonprofit arts and cultural organizations are businesses in their own right. They spent $17.5 million during fical year 2015 to employ people locally, purchase goods and services from local establishments, and attract tourists. They also leveraged a remarkable $26.6 million in additional spending by cultural audiences—spending that pumps vital revenue into restaurants, hotels, retail stores, parking garages, and other local businesses.
Full reports, provided by Americans for the Arts.
• AT-A-GLANCE REPORT – GREATER AUGUSTA AREA
• FULL REPORT – GREATER AUGUSTA AREA
• The National findings from Americans for the Arts at artsusa.org
where we are going
Mission
The mission of the Greater Augusta Arts Council is to enrich the quality of life for citizens and visitors by advancing vibrant cultural arts.
The Greater Augusta Arts Council exists to support the arts and artists of the Augusta River Region of Georgia. In 2012, the Greater Augusta Arts Council was named the Public Art Agency for the City of Augusta. We also administer the Augusta Richmond County City Arts Grant program, which benefits local arts nonprofits, and we produce the Arts in the Heart of Augusta Festival.
Here on AugustaArts.com, you’ll find calls for artists, Augusta arts scene news, an arts events calendar, artist resources, and more. Contact us if you have any questions on getting involved in the arts community or have ideas for art in Augusta, Georgia.
STATEMENT ON CULTURAL EQUALITY
To support a full creative life for all, Greater Augusta Arts Council commits to championing policies and practices of cultural equity that empower a just, inclusive, equitable nation.
DEFINITION OF CULTURAL EQUITY
Cultural equity embodies the values, policies, and practices that ensure that all people—including but not limited to those who have been historically underrepresented based on race/ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, socioeconomic status, geography, citizenship status, or religion—are represented in the development of arts policy; the support of artists; the nurturing of accessible, thriving venues for expression; and the fair distribution of programmatic, financial, and informational resources.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & AFFIRMATIONS
- In the United States, there are systems of power that grant privilege and access unequally such that inequity and injustice result, and that must be continuously addressed and changed.
- Cultural equity is critical to the long-term viability of the arts sector.
- We must all hold ourselves accountable, because acknowledging and challenging our inequities and working in partnership is how we will make change happen.
- Everyone deserves equal access to a full, vibrant creative life, which is essential to a healthy and democratic society.
- The prominent presence of artists challenges inequities and encourages alternatives.
MODELING THROUGH ACTION
To provide informed, authentic leadership for cultural equity, we strive to…
- Pursue cultural consciousness throughout our organization through substantive learning and formal, transparent policies.
- Acknowledge and dismantle any inequities within our policies, systems, programs, and services, and report organization progress.
- Commit time and resources to expand more diverse leadership within our board, staff, and advisory bodies.
FUELING FIELD PROGRESS
To pursue needed systemic change related to equity, we strive to…
- Encourage substantive learning to build cultural consciousness and to proliferate pro-equity policies and practices by all of our constituencies and audiences.
- Improve the cultural leadership pipeline by creating and supporting programs and policies that foster leadership that reflects the full breadth of American society.
- Generate and aggregate quantitative and qualitative research related to equity to make incremental, measurable progress towards cultural equity more visible.
- Advocate for public and private-sector policy that promotes cultural equity.