Black Carolina

Black Carolina is a two-pronged initiative aimed at strengthening the ecosystem of Black artists in the Carolinas for transformative collaboration and resounding community impact. It consists of the Black Carolina Collective and the Black Carolina Artist Residency. This initiative is made possible by the generous support of the Wallace Foundation, a national philanthropy that supports organizations around the country to advance well-being in the arts for communities of color.

The Black Carolina Collective

Established in July 2023, the Black Carolina Collective (BCC) is a membership for Black artists in North and South Carolina, designed to support excellent and sustainable arts-based initiatives in our region that are community-centered and artist-led. The collective was founded to give greater power to spaces in which artists intentionally learn, create, and grow together.

Major offerings of the BCC:

• Members are invited to conference and retreat-style events exclusively for the collective, that encourage collaboration, discourse, and expansion.
• Members are able to network and exchange inspiration with like-minded creatives and art leaders. Past event keynotes included LaToya Ruby Frazier, Kimberly Drew, and others.
• Members have professional and creative development opportunities throughout the year, which are primarily yielded by the connections and sharing of resources between members of the collective.
• Members have exclusive access to apply to the Black Carolina Artist Residency.

Two key goals of Black Carolina are to include as many Black artists in the region as possible, and evolve our offerings. To send us information about yourself or an artist to be included the Black Carolina Collective, complete the form below.

The Black Carolina Artist Residency

The Harvey B. Gantt Center's Black Carolina Artist Residency is our strategy to strengthen and sustain the well-being of our organization and community through the growth, dreams, and contributions of artists as community leaders.

The Black Carolina Artist Residency selects a yearly cohort of five diversely talented Black artists from the Black Carolina Collective to be developed during a 6-month residency (January-July). The artists-in-residence learn and create through an equity and social justice lens, and implement in-community projects informed by their work.

The Black Carolina Artist Residency is exclusively available to artists in the Black Carolina Collective. To join the collective and learn how to apply to the residency, send an email to residency@ganttcenter.org with the following information: full name, artist name (if different from your name), bio, any website and social media information, and interest in applying to the residency. You will then receive more details about the residency and how to apply.

The 2024 Black Carolina Artist Residency Cohort