Entrepreneurship grant to support local arts community

Junior Jeremy Bass wanted to build a community of artists.

So — with the help of a grant from the UNC minor in entrepreneurship — he started Students Benefiting the Fine Arts.

Bass, an entrepreneurship minor, won the $3,500 grant as a recipient of a JNO Award in Entrepreneurial Studies.

The project focuses on enlarging the local arts community and uses the UNC art department as a base, Bass said.

“It works as a liaison between faculty and students,” he said.

The JNO Awards were established by Jason Norris, a 2003 UNC alumnus, to cover startup costs for students in the entrepreneurship minor.

“The awards provide no strings attached funding for student ventures,” said Lizzy Hazeltine, the internship director of the entrepreneurship minor.

She said that when Bass came to her in January with his idea, she was impressed by his initiative.

“What he pitched was as much about community and growth as it was about its major events,” she said.

“I was intrigued because he’d already started mustering the resources and building the relationships that he needed to pull it off.”

Students Benefiting the Fine Arts will focus on two main projects for the year, Bass said.

The first is an art supplies exchange system in the basement of the Hanes Art Center.

Students — art majors or otherwise — can exchange supplies as needed for their projects, Bass said.

The second project is a mid-April art show in University Square called “The Grand Show: Bring Us Your Best.”

The event, a silent auction fundraiser, will feature work from emerging artists, UNC art professors and community artists, Bass said.

“Our main goal is to showcase these emerging artists and bridge the gap between the art department and the community, ultimately creating an ongoing dialogue,” he said.

Beth Grabowski, a UNC art professor, said Bass’s efforts are an important development in the art department.

“He’s interested in developing community not just among art majors, but among any of the students who spend a lot of time in the art building,” she said.

Bass said that he hopes his project will eventually grow into a community center for the arts.

“The goal is that it becomes a permanent fixture in the arts community,” he said.

Contact the Arts Editor at arts@dailytarheel.com.