by Catherine Frank

In 1985, the Board of County Commissioners created the Orange County Arts Commission "to promote the artistic and cultural development of Orange County, North Carolina." The commission, a governmental agency that encourages the arts in our communities, has recently hired its first full-time director, Martha Shannon, who has been on the job since April.

Shannon believes that by strengthening the position of director, the Arts Commission can increase the number of programs it makes available as well as create and foster new programs. According to Shannon, both the citizens and the politicians in Orange County have shown a consistent support for the arts that will help the commission weather difficult economic times and the possibility of cuts in funding from the state.

Shannon comes to the job with almost 20 years of experience in arts management, including work as the executive director for the arts councils of Davidson, Surry and Chatham counties, and, most recently, the City of Raleigh Arts Commission. Shannon holds a master of fine art degree in theater, with a concentration in directing, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The job of directing a play and directing an organization are similar, Shannon believes, since both involve bringing people together to work for a creative end. For the last 20 years, she has studied and performed Middle Eastern dance "with a passion." Her experience as an artist and as a manager of artists has given her an affinity for the concerns of everyone involved in a public arts program.

One of Shannon's goals as director of the Orange County Arts Commission is to train artists to find funding for their programs. The commission offers two annual cycles of grants to fund organizations and professionals in the county who wish to create diverse, high-quality programs.

Shannon is working on a number of ways to encourage artists throughout the county to view the arts commission as a resource. She has improved the commission's Web site, which is now easier to navigate. There is a faster search engine to make it easier to learn more about the more than 2,500 artists listed as part of the database. Shannon wants to make it possible to download and submit grant applications on-line. She also wants to make all the commission's materials available at traditional sites like public libraries and the commission offices at 110 E. King St. in Hillsborough.

In addition to high-tech methods to create greater visibility and accessibility for the arts, the commission is sponsoring a series of Artists Salons, gatherings designed to build a better environment for all Orange County artists. The next salon will be held at the ArtsCenter in Carrboro: Guest speaker Jeffrey York, the director of Public Art and Community Design for the N.C. Arts Council, will speak on "How Artists Can Get Involved in Public Art." The programs are free and provide an excellent opportunity for artists "to meet and network."

The Arts Commission will meet in early August to set goals and priorities for the coming year. Shannon sets a high priority on reaching out to all parts of this large county, in addition to continuing to foster the established and active arts scene in Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Hillsborough. She looks forward to accepting new projects in the commission's Arts Incubator Program that has fostered the growth of the Orange County Arts Guild and their annual open studio tour.

Shannon encourages anyone interested in the arts to volunteer with the Arts Commission. The commission includes an 11-member citizen advisory board; applications are available on the commission's Web site or from the clerk of the Board of Orange County Commissioners. The commission also needs volunteers to help in the office and with special projects. Shannon notes that there is an immediate need for help with the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of Orange County. The Arts Commission sees this celebration as a great opportunity to coordinate the efforts of a variety of organizations and to work together to celebrate the unique history of our large and varied community.

As we enter the 21st century and the second 250 years of our county, we look to administrators like Martha Shannon and groups like the Orange County Arts Commission and the Cultural Arts Group to help us find ways to make the arts inclusive and accessible and to remind us of the importance of the arts in nurturing community understanding.

Catherine Frank is executive director of the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill.