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Culture champ PRIYA SIRCAR, THE CITY’S FIRST ARTS AND CULTURE OFFICER, WILL SPEARHEAD DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW PLAN FOR SUPPORTING THE ARTS IN CHARLOTTE. by Michael J. Solender
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decades working in philanthropy and nonprofit management and consulting. Her background includes developing cultural plans for cities such as Dallas, Houston, and Louisville, Ky. SouthPark Magazine sat down with Sircar in early December. Her responses are lightly edited for length and clarity. WHY WAS THIS NEW ROLE ESTABLISHED FOR THE CITY?
United Arts Funds like ASC (Charlotte Arts & Science Council) across the country have been on a long trajectory of declining support. Workplace giving has been in decline, not just in the arts and culture sector but in other areas as well. The city felt that model was not working well. The city wanted to try something different and is engaging in a public-private partnership model in collaboration with the Foundation For The Carolinas. WHAT IS YOUR MANDATE?
My mandate coming in is to oversee an inclusive citywide arts and cultural planning process and work with the newly appointed arts and culture advisory board. Part of those responsibilities include advising on funding allocations from the newly established Infusion Fund. I’ll also work to support my city and my colleagues in other areas outside of this process such as city placemaking, transit and public art. … This role is a dream and a confluence of my passions and expertise in bringing together many things I know how to do and care about deeply.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY CITY OF CHARLOTTE
ate last summer when the city of Charlotte announced the appointment of Priya Sircar as arts and culture officer, City Manager Marcus Jones used the moment to emphasize the cultural community’s role in helping shape a more vibrant Charlotte. “A thriving arts community is a priority for the City of Charlotte,” Jones said in a news release. “[The city looks to] ensure that the next chapter for artists and arts organizations here in Charlotte is the most successful one yet.” Arts and cultural organizations have been hit particularly hard during the pandemic as venues were shuttered and creatives were left without performance or exhibition space or viable markets for their work, along with strained philanthropic support. Sircar was brought on to lead the creation of a new cultural plan for the city. The plan, crafted through a collaborative public-private partnership, defines a new chapter in the city’s funding relationship with the arts community. It represents a shift away from the nonprofit Arts & Science Council as the primary fundraiser and grant-maker for the local arts community. Sircar serves as liaison with a new 18-member advisory board, which will oversee public investment of $18 million, matched by an additional $18 million-plus in private-sector funds over the next three years. Six board members are appointed by the City Council, three by the mayor, eight by Foundation For The Carolinas and one by the ASC. Before coming to Charlotte, Sircar served as the director of arts for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in Miami. An artist herself (she’s a dancer and choreographer), Sircar has spent two
