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FRVNK <br /> 109 East Franklin Street <br /> Chapel Hill, NC 27514 <br /> 919-636-4135 <br /> info@frankisart.com <br /> www.frankisart.com <br /> Our Mission <br /> The mission of the Franklin Street Arts Collective is to support the arts community <br /> of Chapel MU and the region,strengthen community appreciation of the arts <br /> through educational outreach,and promote the Town of Chapel Hill and North <br /> Carolina as a major Arts Destination. <br /> Background <br /> FRANK,Arts Advocates and Franklin Street Arts Collective are a single entity.The full <br /> legal name is"Arts Advocates AKA Franklin Street Arts Collective DBA FRANK <br /> gallery". Arts Advocates(originally Arts Center Advocates)was established in 2005 by <br /> Mary Harley Kruter and Sandra.Israelson as a 501(c)(3)non-profit. The Franklin Street <br /> Arts Collective formed in 2009. Because the mission of F.S A.C.closely matched the <br /> mission of A.A.,FSAC merged with AA establishing the co-op gallery that ultimately <br /> was named FRANK. The registered agent,principal office and by-laws of Arts <br /> Advocates were all changed and new Board established. FRANK opened for business on <br /> April 9,2010. <br /> Dwight Bassett(Economic Development Director for the Town of Chapel Hill),Jim <br /> Norton (director of the Chapel Nil Downtown Partnership)along with Michael Brader- <br /> Araje (property owner),Martha Shannon(Orange County Arts Commission)and Laurie <br /> Paolicelli (Executive Director of the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau)met <br /> with artists proposing a co-op style,artist-run gallery in the current central location on <br /> Franklin Street in the heart of Chapel Nil. The main vision for the gallery was to bring a <br /> revitalizing presence to the downtown,recognizing the value of arts businesses to the <br /> economic health of any location. FSAC ultimately received a low interest loan(the first <br /> of its kind)of$40,000 from the Town of Chapel Hill designed to encourage art <br /> businesses to locate in the downtown area. A leadership committee of about a dozen <br /> artists began discussions about the gallery and eventually,out of that group,a steering <br /> committee of seven artists was formed to establish the gallery. <br /> Working with advisors,the steering committee(the gallery's first working Board)put <br /> together operational and procedural structures,arranged for the selection of Member and <br /> Consignment artists,designed a business plan,raised capital and hired staff(Gallery <br /> Director). With the Membership in place,the gallery space was designed and outfitted, <br /> stocked and supplied and opened it's doors to the first customers in a little under a year <br /> from the initial meeting with interested parties.FRANK has continued to evolve and <br /> thrive. <br />