2021-621-E-Arts Commission-UNC Chapel Hill-Ackland Art Museum-Restart the Arts

Browse Search

adv ocates and supporters in Chapel Hill and the broader area and creating a forum for interesting and v ibrant discussion about the arts, the community and the Ackland’s role in both. Please explain your intended use of a Restart the Arts Grant, if awarded. The Ackland would use a Restart the Arts Grant from the Orange County Arts Commission to support the salary and benefits of the Museum’s Head of Public Programs, Dr. Allison Portnow Lathrop. Dr. Lathrop has designed, managed, and implemented the Ackland’s div erse set of public programs for the past twelv e years. She has experience collaborating with partner organizations from the community and UNC campus and working with them to identify new audiences and plan for sustainable audience growth. She has a background in teaching and program planning for young audiences, college students, and adults and holds degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill (MA/PhD in Musicology) and McGill Univ ersity (BA in Music). Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Dr. Lathrop began finding ways for the Ackland to continue acting as a connection between people and art despite a shutdown of the physical building. Short-term, offering v irtual programs allowed the Ackland to continue to engage audience while doors were closed, but long-term, ev en now that the Museum has reopened, we hav e found that this platform has remained (and will continue to be) important. Virtual programs can be taken adv antage of by v isitors who might not otherwise be able to come to the Museum for programs (don’t driv e at night, challenged immune systems, work and/or childcare during open hours, etc.), prov ing to be necessary to serv e the needs of our audience going forward. Dr. Lathrop and her staff will continue to explore ways to be as accessible and inclusiv e as possible, to connect with potential on- site v isitors who aren’t yet in the habit of v isiting, and design programs that function as both stand-alone experiences and as experiences that complement an in-person v isit. Dr. Lathrop’s position at the Ackland is partially state-funded. W ith our state budget cut 7% last year and 7% this year due to Univ ersity deficits caused by the pandemic, the Museum would apply a Restart the Arts grant from the Orange County Arts Commission to the cost of Dr. Lathrop’s salary and benefits in FY22, helping to ensure her position’s stability and enabling the Ackland to continue to bring v alued art programming to indiv iduals and families in our state and beyond. Dr. Lathrop’s annual salary is $64,500; total costs of the position after benefits and taxes is expected to be $87,710. A Restart the Arts grant would help reliev e some of the Ackland’s ov erhead and support general operating costs associated with our public programs, for which the principal expense is staff time. DocuSign Envelope ID: C76FE3AA-6B83-4813-90F1-C0DF2DD97E47