The UNC Charlotte College of Arts + Architecture will receive a $10,000 National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) Challenge America grant to support programming by the Projective Eye Gallery for the “KEEPING WATCH on WATER: City of Creeks” project. The NEA received 347 eligible Challenge America applications and will award 163 grants for a total of $1.63 million.
Organized by the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and the UNC Charlotte College of Arts + Architecture, KEEPING WATCH is a three-year initiative designed to foster collaboration across disciplines and interest groups to engage the public in local environmental issues. Through the work of artists, historians, writers, environmental experts and scientists, KEEPING WATCH is connecting community partners and projects to raise awareness and inspire action around three concerns: plastic waste and recycling (2014), water quality and urban streams (2015) and air quality and the value of trees (2016).
The goal of KEEPING WATCH is to educate and activate diverse communities in Charlotte, to inspire “citizen scientists,” through a wide range of integrated programs and presentations: contemporary arts, narrative nonfiction, photography and video, public exhibitions, film screenings, lectures and panel discussions, neighborhood-based events, and K-12 curricular activities. The focus for 2015 is water quality and in particular, urban streams. With some 80 named creeks, most of which originate in Mecklenburg County, Charlotte is indeed a “City of Creeks.” These waterways have shaped the development of the city and have played important roles in the lives of its citizens.
The $10,000 NEA Challenge America Grant will fund temporary, outdoor, site-specific art installations and outreach activities in diverse Charlotte neighborhoods, as well as a gallery exhibition of works inspired by Mecklenburg County’s creek sheds. The Challenge America category supports projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability. Participating artists include Stacy Levy and Lauren Rosenthal. Their work will be created in early 2015 and will be on view beginning in late March.