Talk Artsy to Me
February may be the official month of love, but let’s be honest. Real love shows up after the flowers fade and the candy is gone.
Real love stays.
So as we step into March, I want to talk a little about what it means to love on the arts, and more importantly, how to love the organization working every day to keep Augusta creative, connected, and culturally alive.
Let me clear something up first.
The Greater Augusta Arts Council does not have a secret money tree growing behind the office. There is no hidden vault. No festival profits quietly stacking up somewhere waiting for a rainy day.
I wish.
Most people know us because of Arts in the Heart of Augusta. You see the crowds, the sponsors, the vendors, the music, the energy downtown and somewhere along the way people start hearing cash registers in their heads.
Cha-ching.
But here’s the reality.
Arts in the Heart is almost entirely pass-through money. Every dollar that comes in goes right back out to produce the next festival. Stages, sound, safety, permits, artists, logistics, insurance, infrastructure. It takes every dollar and then some to bring tens of thousands of people together safely and beautifully in our downtown.
Without sponsorships and revenue, the festival could not happen.
And without this year’s festival… next year’s festival could not happen. This is heart work.
The hard work. If we’re counting bodies coming through the gates, we also have to count the value walking back out the door through performances, volunteer opportunities, cultural access, and families experiencing the arts at little or no cost.
The Greater Augusta Arts Council is the engine that push-starts Arts in the Heart of Augusta Festival.
The festival doesn’t sustain the Arts Council.
The Arts Council sustains the festival.
And long after September ends, the work continues.
We advocate for artists.
We manage public art across Augusta.
We connect creatives to opportunities.
We provide shared equipment, computers, scanners, production tools, and creative resources through our Creative Collaboration Resource Hub.
We help artists, nonprofits, musicians, designers, writers, and makers bring ideas to life.
Many of you volunteer with us each year. Perform on our stages. Borrow resources. Call asking for guidance, collaboration, fiscal sponsorship, or help amplifying your projects.
And we truly love being able to say yes.
But here’s the honest part.
Nonprofits don’t run on appreciation alone. We operate on soft funding. Grants change. Sponsorships evolve. Some months are strong. Some months require careful stewardship just to keep momentum moving. Membership is the fuel.
Recently, I toured arts organizations doing comparable, and sometimes less, community work than we are doing here in Augusta. The difference wasn’t creativity.
It was membership support.
Their communities understood that if you benefit from the arts organization, you belong to it.
Love for the arts cannot live only during festival season.
Love shows up year-round.
Love looks like membership.
And March happens to be a beautiful time to make that commitment. Because one of the ways we celebrate our members is coming up soon. Our Wet Paint Party, happening March 13th, is our annual art-inspired celebration where creativity, community, music, and local art collide.
Arts Council members receive complimentary access. So if you’ve been meaning to join, this is your moment. Join the Arts Council, support the work that supports Augusta’s creative community, and come celebrate with us.
The truth is simple.
If you’ve volunteered, performed, attended events, borrowed resources, asked for support, or simply enjoyed living in a city where creativity is visible and thriving…
You’re already part of what we do.
Now help us grow it.
Love on the Greater Augusta Arts Council this March.
Because Augusta belongs to the arts.
And the arts belong to all of us.
Thank you for reading and thank you for remembering to Talk Artsy to Me!
