Orange County NC Website
39 <br /> led to closure of the Mill starting July 7, but several signature programs continued <br /> until the flood: <br /> ■ Eicholz Foundation 2025 BIPOC Artist in Residence Program featuring <br /> Kathy Burnside and Neysa Rojas <br /> ■ Monthly Weave & Spin Open Mic offering a featured spoken <br /> word/poetry artists and open mic for underrepresented voices. <br /> ■ Free LGBTQ+ Teen Arts Collective, which has grown to an average of <br /> 25 nonbinary and/or neurodivergent teens per session, made possible <br /> by a private funder. Thanks to increased funding, we were able to <br /> expand this program for Tweens in 2025. <br /> ■ Orange County Juneteenth Celebration in partnership with the <br /> Department Equity and Civil Rights <br /> ■ The artist studios saw six new artists in 2025 and maintained at <br /> minimum of 30% tenants who identified as a member of a <br /> underrepresented communities (50% identified as BIPOC and/or <br /> LGBTQ tenants at time of closure) <br /> ■ We finished our second year of"Studio Be" — a grant-funded project to <br /> help underrepresented youth find community through the arts. Projects <br /> included cartoon drawing, mural making, sewing, and creative writing. <br /> ■ We hosted 70 young artists through our summer camp program and, <br /> with the assistance of Orange County, were able to offer $11,000 in <br /> scholarship assistance to low-income families. Forty-one, or 59%, of <br /> summer campers received scholarship assistance. We continued to be <br /> the place for children who don't thrive in typical summer camps thanks <br /> to our nurturing approach, especially with children of differing needs <br /> and abilities. <br /> o New programs included: <br /> o Seven new exhibits, focusing on community partnerships and providing <br /> critical space for artists to show and sell their work: <br /> ■ January Coalesce 2025 <br /> ■ February 2024 BIPOC Artist in Residence Tyamica Mabry, <br /> Transcendence group exhibition <br /> ■ March Makala Ayana's To See is to Be Seen group <br /> exhibition. <br /> ■ April Rekindling: Voices of Restoration and Resilience, a <br /> showcase of art and poetry by incarcerated people, in <br /> partnership with 12 community organizations. <br /> ■ May Hidden Voices' How the Light Gets Gold, a multi <br /> media exhibit focused on survivors of domestic <br /> violence <br /> ■ June Tiffney Marley's Liberation group exhibition, in honor <br /> of Juneteenth <br /> • July Focal Point: Orange community photography exhibit, <br /> featuring the people and places of Orange County <br /> o Two sold-out dance performances in the gallery, in connection with Coalesce <br />