The Arts Empowerment Project to host annual fundraiser
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – The Arts Empowerment Project invites the community to attend the organization’s largest fundraiser, Shine 2023, on October 12. The program will host sponsors, constituents of the program, and interested community members at the Mint Museum-Uptown, starting at 6:00 p.m.
The event goal is to raise $50,000, which will be used to continue to offer programming to Charlotte-area youth, in addition to helping to expand the reach of the program to more participants. In alignment with the program’s research, they are focused on ensuring that youth can be exposed to art, which has been identified as a contributor to improved academic achievement, increased success in achieving a bachelor’s degree, and a decrease in the number of students that drop out of high school.
This year’s event will feature local entertainment, a silent and live auction and commissioned poetry from nationally acclaimed poet, Boris “Bluz” Rogers. The event emcee, local news anchor Alicia Barnes, will also serve as the auctioneer for the live auction.
The program will honor two innovative artists and native Charlotteans, Marcus Kiser and Jason Woodberry, with the Outstanding Leadership in the Arts Award They are collaborators on Intergalactic Soul, a traveling multi-media afro-futurism art exhibit displayed in Charlotte’s Gantt Center, Mint Museum, and nationally at Art Basel in Miami, Florida. The co-honorees have also hosted gang prevention programs for youth and many workshops aligned with youth empowerment. Rubie Britt-Height will be honored as the Outstanding Community Leader and recognized for her extensive work in the community as well as her education and public relations expertise as Director of Community Relations at the Mint Museum. The Outstanding Corporate Leadership Award will be presented to Malcolmb Coley for his unparalleled contributions to the community – most notably his leadership of the Mayor’s Racial Equity Task Force.
Tickets to attend the event can be purchased on The Arts Empowerment Project website, www.theartsempowermentproject.org. Sponsorship opportunities are still available; interested parties should contact Natalie Frazier-Allen Natalie@theartsempowermentproject.org).
The Arts Empowerment Project
Natasha Witherspoon
Media Relations Consultant
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The Arts Empowerment Project, a 501c3 nonprofit, provides funding to support youth by
breaking the cycles of violence by using the arts as a vehicle to inspire, heal, and increase access to new opportunities. The Annual Fundraiser unites the community in order to support at-risk children and teens interested in pursuing private study, special training, and personal advancement in an arts-related field.