Hailing from New Orleans, the birthplace of Jazz, husband and wife duo Lonnie and Ocie Davis relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina after the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina dislocated them. With no intentions of starting an arts non-profit, when they arrived in Charlotte, the two Jazz musicians saw an opportunity to curate a thriving Jazz community, thus, in 2010, JazzArts Charlotte was born. In this episode, we learn how the pandemic expanded the organization's audience and enhanced their technical and digital skills.

Audio Credit: JazzArts Charlotte is BACK [mini-documentary] via YouTube

How the Pandemic Expanded JazzArts Audience

In this episode, we head to Wendell, NC, just east of Raleigh, where Neal Thomas has been making white oak baskets for more than half a century.

Neal and his brothers learned to make traditional white oak baskets from a man in Johnston County named Herman Holder, but today he is one of very few basket makers left who still harvests his own wood from trees and prepares each splint by hand.

Get more information about the May 31 award ceremony here: https://pinecone.org/event/2023-north-carolina-heritage-awards/

Be sure to like and subscribe to Arts Across NC wherever you get your podcasts!

Meet 2023 Heritage Award Honoree Neal Thomas

This week we go to Bakersville, up in Mitchell County, where Rhonda Gouge has been teaching music since the 1970s. 

Steeped in the faith and traditions of the Toe River Valley, Rhonda’s life’s work has been to give the gift of music back to her community, her congregation, and the students who come from miles around to learn from her.

Get more information about the May 31 award ceremony here: https://pinecone.org/event/2023-north-carolina-heritage-awards/

Be sure to like and subscribe to Arts Across NC wherever you get your podcasts!

Meet 2023 Heritage Award Honoree Rhonda Gouge

In this episode, we head West to the Qualla Boundary, the land of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, where Luther “Butch” Goings and Lydia Louise Goings share a life of dedication to craft and culture.

Butch was a student of the renowned carver Amanda Crowe, who received the North Carolina Heritage Award in the year 2000. Louise was taught by her mother, the white oak basketmaker Emma Taylor, who was among the first to receive the award in 1989.

Today the couple are known for their mastery and teaching of Cherokee carving and basket making traditions, and for their steady, humble, commitment to service in their community.

Get more information about the May 31 award ceremony here: https://pinecone.org/event/2023-north-carolina-heritage-awards/

Be sure to like and subscribe to Arts Across NC wherever you get your podcasts!

Meet 2023 Heritage Award Honorees Butch and Louise Goings

Born in Ararat, Virginia, and residing in Mount Airy, North Carolina, Richard Bowman has lived his life on both sides of the state line. Richard was inspired to teach himself the fiddle the first time he heard Tommy Jarrell playing on the Merry Go Round, a long-running old-time music program on Mount Airy’s famed radio station, WPAQ. Fifty years later, he is one of the region’s most beloved fiddlers at dances and conventions, carrying on the tunes he learned from just beyond his front door.

Get more information about the May 31 award ceremony here: https://pinecone.org/event/2023-north-carolina-heritage-awards/

Be sure to like and subscribe to Arts Across NC wherever you get your podcasts!

Meet 2023 Heritage Award Honoree Richard Bowman

**This episode is presented with translated voiceovers**

In our final episode before the North Carolina Heritage Award ceremony, we speak with painter and muralist Cornelio Campos. Born in Cheran, in the highlands of Michoacan, Mexico, Cornelio grew up surrounded by the traditions of his indigenous Purépecha heritage. 

After years of migrant labor in the United States, Cornelio settled in Durham and gained recognition as a visual storyteller for North Carolinians with immigration experiences of their own.

Get more information about the May 31 award ceremony here: https://pinecone.org/event/2023-north-carolina-heritage-awards/

Be sure to like and subscribe to Arts Across NC wherever you get your podcasts!

Meet 2023 Heritage Award Honoree Cornelio Campos (English Voiceover)

**This episode is presented in both Spanish and English, as spoken directly by Cornelio Campos**

In our final episode before the North Carolina Heritage Award ceremony, we speak with painter and muralist Cornelio Campos. Born in Cheran, in the highlands of Michoacan, Mexico, Cornelio grew up surrounded by the traditions of his indigenous Purépecha heritage. 

After years of migrant labor in the United States, Cornelio settled in Durham and gained recognition as a visual storyteller for North Carolinians with immigration experiences of their own.

Get more information about the May 31 award ceremony here: https://pinecone.org/event/2023-north-carolina-heritage-awards/

Be sure to like and subscribe to Arts Across NC wherever you get your podcasts!

Meet 2023 Heritage Award Honoree Cornelio Campos (Spanish and English Language)

In preparation for this year’s Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disabilities (LEAD) Conference, we spoke with Jamie Katz Court, the Arts Council’s accessibility coordinator, and Eileen Bagnall, the executive director of Arts Access Inc, about what this year’s LEAD cohort can expect from the conference, what accessibility in the arts means, and why it’s so important in achieving our agency’s goal of arts for all.

The Kennedy Center will make some of the LEAD sessions on August 27–29 available online. All sessions will take place on Zoom and will have ASL interpretation and human captioners. Get more information and register at the following link: https://web.cvent.com/event/b9934ccc-de45-4f41-9e34-b96eade5bd06/websitePage:cd7c9ef1-8949-4eb8-a621-8ded00ca6828.

Be sure to like and subscribe to Arts Across NC wherever you get your podcasts!

Accessibility in the Arts with Jamie Katz Court and Eileen Bagnall

Since 1989, the North Carolina Heritage Awards have honored artists statewide for their contributions to the cultural lives of their communities. The Folklife program of the North Carolina Arts Council is pleased to announce the five artists/groups who will be presented with the 2025 awards on June 7, at a public ceremony in Raleigh. The honorees for 2025 are: Round Peak Guitarist, Chester McMillian; Lumbee traditional artisans, Herman and Loretta Oxendine; North Indian classical musician, Gaurang Doshi; Brasstown Woodcarver, Helen Gibson; and Gospel Quartet, The Glorifying Vines Sisters. For tickets and more information, visit pinecone.org.

Introduction music performed by Etta Baker.
Arts Across NC is a podcast by and about the North Carolina Arts Council.

The North Carolina Heritage Awards are back!

Since 1989, the North Carolina Heritage Awards have honored artists statewide for their contributions to the cultural lives of their communities. The Folklife program of the North Carolina Arts Council is pleased to spotlight the five artists/groups who will be presented with the 2025 awards on June 7, at a public ceremony in Raleigh. 

In this episode, we head to the Round Peak community of Surry County, where Chester McMillian has been playing and teaching guitar alongside the musical legends of that region.

The honorees for 2025 are: Round Peak Guitarist, Chester McMillian; Lumbee traditional artisans, Herman and Loretta Oxendine; North Indian classical musician, Gaurang Doshi; Brasstown Woodcarver, Helen Gibson; and Gospel Quartet, The Glorifying Vines Sisters. For tickets and more information, visit pinecone.org.

Introduction music performed by Etta Baker.
Arts Across NC is a podcast by and about the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, a state agency.


Meet 2025 North Carolina Heritage Awards Honoree Chester McMillian

Arts Across NC is a podcast by and about the North Carolina Arts Council. Founded in 1967 with the democratic vision of "arts for all citizens," the North Carolina Arts Council sustains and grows the arts for the benefit of North Carolinians and their communities. Join us as we celebrate the rich history of the arts across North Carolina.

How the Pandemic Expanded JazzArts Audience

Arts Across NC

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