February 2026 Art Matters Podcast

March 2026 Art Matters Podcast

Find out what is happening across North Carolina in the arts. Art Matters is the monthly newsletter featuring news about the arts, happenings at the Arts Council and more! Listen to the podcast to get a quick peek into the content of this month's newsletter. Check out this month's issue: Behind the scenes: NC Arts Council grants: https://www.ncarts.org/blog/2026/03/17/behind-scenes-nc-arts-council-grants Keys open doors: "crescendo!" and early piano education in McDowell County: https://www.ncarts.org/blog/2026/03/17/keys-open-doors A+ Fellows—teaching the teachers: https://www.ncarts.org/blog/2026/03/17/fellows-teaching-teachers

February 2026 Art Matters Podcast

Find out what is happening across North Carolina in the arts. Art Matters is the monthly newsletter featuring news about the arts, happenings at the Arts Council and more! Listen to the podcast to get a quick peek into the content of this month's newsletter. Check out this month's issue: https://mailchi.mp/dncr/ncac-art-matters-feb-2026?e=0c44c20f18 African American Cultural Celebration marks 25 years: https://www.ncarts.org/blog/2026/02/17/african-american-cultural-celebration-marks-25-years Colleagues celebrate Michelle Burrows—champion of arts in education: https://www.ncarts.org/blog/2026/02/17/colleagues-celebrate-michelle-burrows-champion-arts-education Igniting creativity: How A+ Schools spread to Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana: https://www.ncarts.org/blog/2026/02/17/igniting-creativity-how-schools-spread-oklahoma-arkansas-and-louisiana Show less

October Art Matters Podcast

Find out what is happening across North Carolina in the arts. Art Matters is the monthly newsletter featuring news about the arts, happenings at the Arts Council and more! Listen to the podcast to get a quick peek into the content of this month's newsletter. Check out this month's issue: https://mailchi.mp/dncr/ncac-art-matters-oct-2025 Madison County: Ballad Swaps and Resilient Roots: https://www.ncarts.org/blog/2025/10/17/madison-county-ballad-swaps-and-resilient-roots Meet the A+ Schools of North Carolina staff: https://www.ncarts.org/blog/2025/10/18/meet-schools-north-carolina-staff A+ Schools of North Carolina Director Michelle Burrows announces retirement: https://www.ncarts.org/blog/2025/10/20/schools-north-carolina-director-michelle-burrows-announces-retirement 2025 Holiday Markets in North Carolina: https://www.ncarts.org/blog/2025/10/20/2025-holiday-markets-north-carolina To subscribe to Art Matters: https://ncarts.us20.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=45b22d67647d91668f54c663e&id=142d18a935

Meet 2025 North Carolina Heritage Award Honorees The Glorifying Vines Sisters

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 take a trip to Pitt County to spend time with Alice Vines, who reminisces about The Glorifying Vines Sisters, one of North Carolina’s longest-established quartet-style gospel groups. The four original Vines Sisters—Alice, Dorothy, Mattie, and Audrey—came from a large family with deep roots in Pitt County and sprawling artistic talent. Alice, the group’s manager, carries on her family’s legacy, often accompanied by Audrey and younger family members. Alice Vines’s influence reaches beyond the Vines Sisters, as she has become a major voice in eastern North Carolina’s gospel scene, a spiritual leader through her own church, and an active organizer of gospel programs. 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 Heritage Award honoree Helen Gibson

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 far western end of North Carolina to the community of Brasstown, to chat with Helen Gibson, who grew up among the storied Brasstown Carvers at the John C. Campbell Folk School. Helen began carving at age 11 under the teaching of her mother, Dot McClure, and Murrial “Murray” Martin, the Folk School’s craft teacher, to whom the early growth of the Brasstown Carvers one hundred years ago can be credited. Best known for her detailed nativity scene carvings, she has been the Folk School’s resident carver since 1990, a mentor to apprentice carvers, and a teacher at home and through the Tri-County Community College. 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.