Charlottesville, Albemarle, and the surrounding counties have a robust arts and culture sector but lack a centralized, coordinated structure to support its creative communities. Here, you’ll find an overview of our 2025-2026 community‑driven planning process exploring whether a coordinated Charlottesville Area Arts Council should be created and the recommendations this study produced for the most feasible model for governance, scope, and scale.

This process was facilitated by an independent consultant, Ruby Lopez Harper, who was responsible for supporting 4,500 local arts agencies with tools, training, and resources during her time at Americans for the Arts.

New City Arts Initiative was the administrative home for this 7-month Arts Council Feasibility Study, which was supported by UVA Arts, the City of Charlottesville, The FUNd at CACF, the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau (CACVB), and the Anne & Gene Worrell Foundation.