McDowell Speaks to Task Force Initiatives

Charlotte Litigation Member Valecia McDowell was quoted in The Charlotte Observer’s article “Charlotte’s Cultural Life Task Force to discuss government funding of the arts” on July 14. 

McDowell, who is serving as a co-chair of the Arts & Science Council’s Cultural Life Task Force, states that Charlotte’s cultural sector is on the verge of crisis.  “You can sort of see it coming down the track.  We have a couple of choices.  We can continue to ride the train toward the crisis, or we can try to take some precautionary and intentional steps to keep the train from running off the track,” she said. 

The Task Force will hold its third meeting on Monday, July 15, during which they will review city, county and state funding, and sources designated for public art, capital investments and endowments.  The Arts & Science Council organized the cross-community group to find a long-term solution to the decreasing financial support for arts within the region.  The Task Force is comprised of 21 hand-appointed members who will spend a total of seven months examining arts fundraising in other cities, with the intent of finding a best practice that can be applied in Charlotte.