ArtsCenter highlighting benefits to UNC students

Class registration may have been a disappointment for students with a casual interest in the arts.

With most of UNC’s arts classes closed to non-majors, some find it nearly impossible to pursue a newfound passion for art.

But the ArtsCenter of Carrboro is offering another solution. Its recently launched membership drive emphasizes the benefits of an ArtsClub membership to students.

Though located less than a mile from campus, the center is virtually unknown to UNC students.

This concerned Executive Director Ed Camp.

“They’re not aware that we’re here,” said Camp, who has been the director since 2009.

After a steep decrease in active members — from 1,500 nearly 14 years ago to a mere 200 today — the ArtsCenter is refocusing its efforts to attract new ArtsClub participants.

The ArtsClub offers various incentives — like early seating and discount ticket prices for productions — to members paying dues of $75 per year.

Through ArtsClub, students are also eligible for discounts on classes, which may provide a sufficient alternative to University art courses.

Offered through the center’s ArtSchool, classes range from glass bead making to ethnic vegetarian cooking. ArtsCenter classes hold strong appeal for students who would like to hone their creative talents without majoring in the arts, Camp said.

“Our mission is really to inspire creativity,” Camp said.

He said that rather than trying to train working artists, the ArtsCenter is a place for people “from age 2 to 92” to connect with their inner artist.

“One of our purposes is to incubate talent and to inspire people to reconnect to a part of their creative core that they’ve forgotten about,” Camp said.

Senior Alex Hill, who has been a volunteer since her sophomore year, said the center has a lot to offer to students.

“The staff and the heads of the programs here are so passionate about what they’re doing,” she said. “It’s inspirational seeing them work together and work so hard to connect people in our community to the arts.”

Jeri Lynn Schulke, director of the center’s theater program, ArtsCenter Stage, describes the push to involve the University community as being consistent with the ArtsCenter’s long-standing goals.

“I think the main mission as a theater is to represent the community,” Schulke said.

Schulke said that the ArtsCenter is trying to work more directly with students. Two UNC students, Zach Alexander and Sam Smith, aided in the ArtsCenter’s upcoming production of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

Camp said he knows that most students cannot easily afford to contribute to arts programs.

“The student population of UNC is not aware that they sit in one of the largest art communities in the country,” Camp said.

He said he hopes to soon create a membership option for students.

“Always, if students really want to do something, they need to give me a call or an e-mail,” he said.

Staff writer Hillary Rose Owens contributed reporting.

Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.