Art Matters: May 2026
A newsletter from the North Carolina Arts Council
In This Issue
- Giant steps: The Come Hear NC Music Office joins the NC Arts Council
- Orange County Arts Commission: Renewed and ready for the future
- A change on the North Carolina Arts Council board
- Staffing update
Giant steps: The Come Hear NC Music Office joins the NC Arts Council
Shaped by Sound, a mural of Nina Simone, musicians playing instruments and DJ-ing showcase a few of the ways CHNC Music Office supports music in North Carolina.
The NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) is pleased to announce that the Come Hear NC Music Office (CHNCMO) is now a part of the North Carolina Arts Council. This marks a fitting return for Come Hear NC, which began as an NCAC initiative during the 2019 “North Carolina Year of Music.” As a longstanding steward of the mission of arts for all citizens, the NC Arts Council represents a perfect home for CHNCMO. As the Music Office works both to celebrate our state’s rich musical legacy and ensure that legacy’s healthy development, its work matches the NC Arts Council’s commitment to the “intrinsic value of the arts” for the intellectual, emotional, and economic betterment of North Carolinians.
Learn more about the CHNC Music Office
Orange County Arts Commission: Renewed and ready for the future
The flooded exterior of the Orange County Arts Commission building post Tropical Storm Chantal. Photo by Steve Murray.
Last July, the remnants of Tropical Storm Chantal dumped up to 10 inches of rain on Orange County, sending the Eno River surging into the historic Eno River Mill for the first time in its 138-year history. Floodwaters swept through businesses, the Expedition School (K-8), and the Orange County Arts Commission (OCAC) headquarters, leaving wreckage in their wake. When OCAC Executive Director Katie Murray walked into the space, normally alive with events and home to 15 tenant artists, she found devastation instead. Water covering the original hardwood floors plus summer heat triggered instant mold growth.
Katie relied on her community, and people came out in droves to support the commission financially and with muscle.
A change on the North Carolina Arts Council board
Stephen Hill (L) and Sejal Mehta (R)
In April, the North Carolina Arts Council leadership, board, and staff met in Spruce Pine for our annual spring board meeting. There, Stephen Hill, who was appointed the board’s chair by Governor Roy Cooper in 2017, stepped down and welcomed the new chair, Sejal Mehta.
As the chief executive officer of Discovery Insurance Company and co-founder of Mother Earth Brewing, Stephen has played a key role in fostering regional economic growth and cultural revitalization. He will continue as a board member and serve on the executive committee.
Sejal Mehta is the founding director of JLF North Carolina, a public literary festival in the Research Triangle. Before entering the arts sector, she built a legal career as an assistant district attorney at the Queens County District Attorney’s Office, in New York, and later as an attorney at Duke Energy.
We look forward to connecting with you
Follow the North Carolina Arts Council on social and subscribe to the Artist Opportunities newsletter, a compilation of statewide and national opportunities for artists, including grants, residencies, calls for submissions, and more.
Artist opportunities are submitted by members of the community. Each opportunity is managed by the submitting organization and is not administered by the North Carolina Arts Council.
Staffing update
A man with glasses and a blue shirt. Tom Nevels.
We’re excited to announce Tom Nevels as our new A+ Schools network director.
Tom steps into this role after serving as the A+ Schools professional development manager since 2017 and brings nearly two decades of experience in arts education, interdisciplinary learning, and community engagement. He holds a bachelor of fine arts degree in theatre education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a master of arts degree in theatre education from Emerson College.
Tom has served as a theater arts educator and curriculum director in schools across North Carolina. He worked as an A+ coordinator in Wilmington and spent seven years as an A+ fellow delivering arts-integrated training statewide. His experience as a teacher, A+ fellow, and A+ staff member strongly prepares him for this leadership role.
A longtime Durham resident, Tom remains active in local theater and community organizations and enjoys frequent travel. He looks forward to connecting with educators and creative thinkers across the state, and encourages readers to “stay tuned for exciting developments and new opportunities for educators and students on the horizon.”
We are proud to have Tom bring his expertise to this role as we pursue our mission of arts for all.
In case you missed it
André the Giant highway marker
André the Giant highway marker.
Celebrated wrestler and actor André the Giant received a North Carolina Highway Historical Marker on April 23, placed by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources at the intersection of NC 73 and Old NC 220, in Ellerbe, Richmond County. Born André René Roussimoff, the legendary French wrestler bought a 9-acre farm in Ellerbe in 1978 and gradually expanded it into a 194-acre ranch along Big Mountain Creek. He became part of the community, supported local civic efforts, and enjoyed the slower pace of country life. As an actor, André appeared in several film and television roles, most famously portraying Fezzik in the movie The Princess Bride (1987).
Poetry Out Loud National Finals
The 2026 Poetry Out Loud National Finals were held April 27-29 in Washington, DC. We congratulate Caliyah McCall, North Carolina’s Poetry Out Loud champion, who represented our state at the event. Lizz Wells, the NC Arts Council’s arts in education director, and staff from our state partner, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, were also present to cheer on all the talented competitors. Congratulations to Jayda Dawn, of Indiana, for winning the National Champion title.
National Youth Poet Laureate Commencement
Raleigh’s Rishi Janakiraman, the inaugural North Carolina youth poet laureate, was selected as one of four national finalists to compete in the 2025-2026 National Youth Poet Laureate Commencement on April 25, in Omaha, Nebraska. Daniel Somotochukwu Umemezie, of Cedar Valley, Iowa, was named the tenth national youth poet laureate.
The North Carolina Youth Poet Laureate program is shepherded by North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green, in partnership with Davidson College. Kenna Zhang, of Cary, has been chosen as the 2026-2027 North Carolina youth poet laureate.
Congratulations to all the poets.
Dates to know
- July 4: Capitol 250: North Carolina Freedom Fest
- July 31: Deadline for final reports using the GO Smart platform on the Arts Council’s FY25-26 grants
- August 11-14: Kennedy Center’s Leadership Exchange in Arts & Disability (LEAD) Conference, in Philadelphia, PA. Registration is open.
- November 2-4: North Carolina Presenter’s Consortium Arts Market 2026
North Carolina Arts Council
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