ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023
As the country came out of the worldwide pandemic in our 2022-23 fiscal year (July 1 – June 30), the Arts Council of York County remained committed to our mission of creating programming that encourages education and economic development through unique art experiences that help make York County a regional arts destination.
We returned to a pre-COVID slate of program activities, but with inflation bringing higher prices coupled with reduced public funding from the state (pandemic emergency funds), county (redirection of Hospitality Tax funding) and city (greater competition for funding from sports tourism events), and lower levels of event sponsorships and private donations, we relied on our reserve funds as we began to reenvision the Arts Council’s future in an ever evolving landscape.
The good news is that York County and the City of Rock Hill—where our offices, galleries, and artist studios are located—are growing, and so is the hunger for more arts programming. In the last several years, we’ve seen the rise of new arts nonprofits such as the Rock Hill Symphony Orchestra, the Women’s Art Initiative, the One Word Poetry Festival, Don’t Sweat It, Inc., and the new Arts Center at Fountain Park joining longtime performing groups like the Rock Hill Theatre, Showtime Theatre Company, Ballet of York County, York County Choral Society, and more. As this growth adds to our region’s quality of life, we must ensure that our region’s arts funding infrastructure keeps pace with the times.
It is our vision to create a THRIVING , DIVERSE , & VIBRANT arts community in York County.Family Storytelling with Joyce Morrow Jones Ag + Art Tour of York County “New Ruins” by Jordan Fowler Dalton Gallery Exhibit Blues & Jazz Festival
SIGNATURE PROGRAMMING:
The annual Blues & Jazz Festival returned to its usual timeslot in October, holding singular concerts in Clover and Baxter Village and expanding Rock Hill’s Old Town Crawl across Dave Lyle Boulevard to the Warehouses on White and into University Center. Thirteen performing acts helped us reach audiences numbering more than 1,200. The Underexposed Film Festival yc returned to in-person programming after a two-year hiatus, as we bid farewell to longtime festival director Karen Collins after a ten-year stint. We presented 66 short films from 20+ countries, including an Oscar nominee, and partnered with the York County Library and The Mercantile, as well as Winthrop University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. The annual Ag + Art Tour York County highlighted 27 farms and tour sites with 80+ artisans that attracted thousands of visitors during the second weekend in June.
Monthly showcases of art and music in Old Town’s business venues were rebranded to become First Fridays Rock Hill, as we invite visitors to enjoy South Carolina’s first Cultural District . The Arts Council’s Annual Gala raised much needed funds while taking a crowd of 200 back to the 1980’s and the era of Miami Vice. The Dalton Gallery hosted five major solo or group exhibitions, including a two-week residency by Joyce Morrow Jones of Cleveland, with several class and workshop activities in making corn husk dolls and floral crowns in partnership with the Clinton ConNEXTion, the Emmett Scott Center, the York County Library, FARMacy Community Farm Stop, and The Mercantile. Additional exhibitions included the annual ACYC Members Show, the Teachers’ Choice Youth Art Exhibit, and Vernon Grant’s Santas to coincide with ChristmasVille.
SERVICES:
The Arts Council continued to rent studios at affordable rates to more than two dozen artists, while also renting the spaces at the Center for the Arts and Tom S. Gettys Center for performances by community arts groups, as well as private occasions such as weddings, reunions, proms, and fundraising events. On the education front, we provided art classes for the community and exhibition opportunities for students at local schools.
The Arts Council’s Small Grants Program supported 31 projects by individual artists or small nonprofits throughout York County by dispensing nearly $30,000 in grants in partnership with the South Carolina Arts Commission. From free family concerts, murals, and art supplies to artist fees and travel costs, for 20 years this grants program has funded quality projects and programs that promote artistic excellence while being accessible to diverse community-wide audiences. At the end of this fiscal year, the South Carolina Arts Commission, which has provided half the funds for the program throughout its existence, will sunset its funding. For the upcoming 2023-24 fiscal year, the Small Grants Program will be on pause as we look to replace those funds.
PARTNERSHIPS:
The Arts Council provides its expertise and knowledge of the professional arts world to York County through the involvement of staff in a variety of community endeavors in collaboration with organizations such as the Arts Center at Fountain Park , the Rock Hill Economic Development Corp., ChristmasVille, the Rock Hill Poet Laureate Committee, the Women’s Art Initiative, the Freedom Walkway, Clemson Extension, Visit York County, Winthrop University, Town of Fort Mill, and Clinton College, among others.
“ACYC Members Show” Dalton Gallery Exhibit
Miami Vice Annual Fundraising Gala
Vernon Grant Mural Display
2021-2022 INCOME
2021-2022 EXPENSES
*does not include $36,091 in depreciation
COUNTRIES 4 STATES 28 PEOPLE
56,730 Events produced or funded by ACYC in 2022.
CITIES 156
2022 EVENT ATTENDANCE
2022-2023 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE President
Erica Smith, Rock Hill Symphony Orchestra
Vice President
Dr. Brad Sabelli, Arts Advocate, Educator, Artist Secretary
Michael B. Smith, Morton & Gettys Treasurer
Hali Christopher, Westminster Catawba Christian School
2022-2023 BOARD MEMBERS
Josiah Blevins, RevenFlo
Rebecca Bridges, House of Drennan
Stephen Crotts, Independent Artist
Michelle DiEduardo, Community Volunteer
Matthew L. Dosch, Comporium
Eric D. Eaddy, Atrium Health
Angelo Geter, Rock Hill Poet Laureate
Erika Hogan, New Attitude Performing Arts Center
Kirk H. Irwin, Friday Arts Project
Dr. John Jones, Jr., Rock Hill School District 3
Gerry King, Independent Artist
Jessica Little, Founders Federal Credit Union
Alison Mallard, York County Voter Registration and Elections Office
Gale Y. Teaster, Community Volunteer
Robert Wildman, Winthrop University
Suzie Wright, Community Volunteer
ACYC
STAFF
Lori Robishaw, Executive Director
Melanie Cooper, Director of Programming & Marketing
Barbara McDougald, Office Manager
Devann Gardner, Gallery Manager
Brenda Floyd, Financial Consultant
Christina Melchiorre, Gallery Attendant
CENTER FOR THE ARTS
121 East Main Street | Rock Hill, SC 29730
TOM S. GETTYS CENTER
201 East Main Street | Rock Hill, SC 29730
PHONE (803) 328-2787
YORKCOUNTYARTS.ORG
Underexposed Film Festival yc
Artist Talk at Emmett Scott Center
“Dialing Out” by Dylan Bannister Perimeter Gallery Exhibit
“Dogwood Blossom” by Timothy Werrell Rear of Center for the Arts