The North Carolina Arts Council is pleased to announce the opening of its grant application period for the fiscal year 2025–2026. Starting January 6, 2025, arts organizations and artists across the state are invited to apply for funding to support projects that enhance the cultural landscape of North Carolina.

All applications must be submitted electronically by the deadline (Monday, March 3, 2025) unless otherwise specified in the grant guidelines. It’s important to note that applications will undergo a preliminary review by Arts Council staff; incomplete submissions or those not meeting evaluation criteria will not be considered for funding.

Funding Period:
For most grants, the funded activities should occur between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026. Applicants should be aware that award notifications may be delayed until the state budget is approved.

Eligibility Requirements:
To qualify for funding, organizations must:
* Be a nonprofit in good standing with the state of North Carolina or have applied for nonprofit status using a fiscal agent.
* Have been producing quality arts programs for at least two consecutive years.
* Have prior-year organizational cash operating expenses of at least $20,000.

Additionally, all applicants are required to have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number, which can be obtained through Sam.gov.

Grant Categories:

The Arts Council offers a variety of grant opportunities, including:
* Grants for Organizations: Supporting arts organizations in delivering programs that engage audiences and reflect their communities.
* Grants for Artists: Providing project grants to individual artists to pursue projects that further their artistic and professional development.

Applicants are encouraged to review the specific guidelines and eligibility criteria for each grant category to determine the best fit for their projects.

Application Assistance:
Prospective applicants are encouraged to begin the application process early to ensure all materials are completed and submitted by the March 3 deadline.

For more information and to access the online application portal, visit the North Carolina Arts Council’s official website.

The North Carolina Arts Council is dedicated to supporting the state’s vibrant arts community and looks forward to funding projects that contribute to the cultural enrichment of North Carolina.

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North Carolina Humanities’ award-winning statewide book club, North Carolina Reads, is returning for its fourth year starting next month (February 2025). North Carolina Reads annually features five books that explore issues of racial, social, and gender equity and the history and culture of North Carolina.

From February – June 2025, NC Humanities will host free, virtual, monthly book club discussion events where participants will hear from guest speakers, including book authors and topic experts. Libraries, community groups, and individuals across North Carolina are encouraged to read along with NC Humanities, attend North Carolina Reads book club discussion events, and then host their own local book discussions to further conversation, camaraderie, and community.

In 2025, North Carolina Reads Will Feature:

February 2025: The American Queen by Vanessa Miller

Fiction. In 1869 a kingdom rose in the South. And Louella was its queen. When the honorable Reverend William finally listens to Louella’s pleas and leads the formerly enslaved people out of their plantation, Louella begins to feel hope. Soon, William and Louella become the appointed king and queen of their self-proclaimed Kingdom of the Happy Land. And though they are still surrounded by opposition, they continue to share a message of joy and goodness–and fight for the freedom and dignity of all. Transformative and breathtakingly honest, The American Queen is based on actual events that occurred between 1865 – 1889 and shares the unsung history of a Black woman who built a kingdom in Appalachia as a refuge for the courageous people who dared to dream of a different way of life. | Bookshop | Amazon

March 2025: On the Swamp: Fighting for Indigenous Environmental Justice by Ryan Emanuel

Nonfiction. Environmental scientist Ryan E. Emanuel, a member of the Lumbee tribe, shares stories from North Carolina about Indigenous survival and resilience in the face of radical environmental changes. Addressing issues from the loss of wetlands to the arrival of gas pipelines, these stories connect the dots between historic patterns of Indigenous oppression and present-day efforts to promote environmental justice and Indigenous rights on the swamp. Emanuel’s scientific insight and deeply personal connections to his home blend together in a book that is both a heartfelt and an analytical call to acknowledge and protect sacred places. | Bookshop | Amazon

April 2025: Hungry Roots: How Food Communicates Appalachia’s Search for Resilience by Ashli Quesinberry Stokes and Wendy Atkins-Sayre

Nonfiction. Depictions of Appalachian food culture and practices often romanticize people in the region as good, simple, and, often, white. These stereotypes are harmful to the actual people they are meant to describe as well as to those they exclude. In Hungry Roots: How Food Communicates Appalachia’s Search for Resilience, Ashli Quesinberry Stokes and Wendy Atkins-Sayre tell a more complicated story. The authors embark on a cultural tour through food and drinking establishments to investigate regional resilience in and through the plurality of traditions and communities that form the foodways of Southern Appalachia. | Bookshop | Amazon

May 2025: The Girls We Sent Away by Meagan Church

Fiction. It’s the 1960s in North Carolina and Lorraine Delford has it all – an upstanding family, a perfect boyfriend, and an idyllic home complete with a white picket fence. Yet every time she looks through her father’s telescope, she dreams of leaving it all behind to go to space. But when this darling girl-next-door gets pregnant, she’s forced to learn firsthand the realities that keep women grounded. To hide their daughter’s secret shame, the Delfords send Lorraine to a maternity home for wayward girls. But this is no safe haven – it’s a house with dark secrets and suffocating rules. And as Lorraine begins to piece together a new vision for her life, she must decide if she has the power to fight for the future she wants or if she must submit to the rules of a society she once admired. | Bookshop | Amazon

June 2025: Doc Watson: A Life in Music by Eddie Huffman

Nonfiction. A musician’s musician, Doc grew up on a subsistence farm in the North Carolina mountains during the Depression, soaking up traditional music and learning to play guitar even though he was blind. Rising to fame in the 1960s as part of the burgeoning folk revival scene, Doc became the face of traditional music for many listeners, racking up multiple Grammys and releasing dozens of albums over the course of his long career. Eddie Huffman tells the story of Doc’s life and legacy, drawing on extensive interviews and hundreds of hours of archival research. Full of fascinating stories—from Doc’s first banjo made from his grandmother’s cat to the founding of MerleFest—this promises to be the definitive biography of the man and how he came to be synonymous with roots music in America and shows how his influence is still felt in music today. | Bookshop | Amazon

Source: NC Humanities

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Artists, community leaders, and familiar faces gathered inside The Fruit in Durham on a Sunday afternoon to catch a sneak peek of a documentary focused on local quilter, Jereann King Johnson.

In the 10-minute preview of “Not I, But OUR: Jereann King Johnson, a Life of Art, Activism, and Community Building,” the video featured Johnson hosting the Warren County Schools New Staff and Teachers tour, arriving at the Kindred Spirits Quilt Conference, and in her element, piecing together a quilt.

Following the film trailer, director Courtney Reid-Eaton spoke with the star in an informative yet lighthearted Q&A.

For more information about the documentary, read “Jereann King Johnson the Focus of Forthcoming Documentary.”

This film project is being made possible by the Resource Center for Women and Ministry in the South, Inc.

To donate to the project, visit RCWMS.org/donate and click “Jereann King Johnson Film Project” in the dropdown menu.

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For over four decades, Jereann King Johnson has woven various fabrics with intricate details into her quilted works to share stories and traditions with the world.

Now, her own life story is being told in an upcoming documentary.

The Resource Center for Women and Ministry and the Black Feminist Film School are producing, “Not I, But OUR: Jereann King Johnson, a Life of Art, Activism, and Community Building,” (working title) a documentary film that will tell the story of the life and work of African American quilter, educator, and community organizer Jereann King Johnson.

A long-time Warren County resident, Johnson pieces together people, organizations, and resources into racial and social justice. For Johnson, quilting is a dynamic metaphor for living, community development, and creative expression; quilting involves putting together often-discarded pieces to make something new.

Using archival footage and interviews with Johnson and her colleagues and friends, they will create and distribute a one-hour (56:46) documentary film. Rafael Samanez and Leilani Clark of Elevate Media Films are working their magic as the filmmakers and producers.

When asked, Johnson stated that she “felt honored” that the women in her circle saw something in her that merited time and resources to tell a story. She continued. “And the story is more than just my story, it’s the story of many black women who emerged from strong communities that show them a way to muster up the courage to try and build better communities for everybody. I hope that my story reflects the stories of countless women who are inspired by the work of their hands and in my case, quilting and textile arts to step out of the box and work for social change.”

Jereann King Johnson has a legacy of artistic creation and working for equality. She assisted in launching two quilting groups: African American Quilt Circle in Durham and the Heritage Quilters in Warrenton, NC.

Johnson and her fellow quilters work to preserve and highlight African American quilting traditions; they also speak to the present moment by creating quilts that artistically portray historic and current events. One such quilt of Johnson’s is called “Hope in Impossible Odds.” Made with black and white cotton and red linen, it depicts a figure behind bars against a swirling black-and-white background.

In addition to quilting, the Heritage Quilters work directly in the community by leading community tours, working with the schools, and organizing a giving circle that funds scholarships and youth field trips.

In the film, the producers will document the many ways that Johnson has been a pivotal figure in her community and beyond, and show the ways she connects people, encourages artistic expression, preserves and contributes to a fiber arts tradition, and works for justice.

The Resource Center for Women and Ministry is hosting an exclusive sneak peek of the forthcoming documentary on Sunday, August 25, from 3-5 pm at The Fruit in Durham. Alongside Johnson, attendees will meet director Courtney Reid-Eaton and film editor Tamar Rachkovsky. To donate or for more information, visit rcwms.org.

The Fruit is located at 305 S. Dillard Street in Durham, NC.

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Our homegrown radio station, WARR 1520-103.5 celebrated their 50th anniversary with the best in Southern Soul and R&B on July 6th at Seven Springs Farm and Vineyard in Norlina.

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