Wayne Martin Hired to Direct North Carolina Arts Foundation
The North Carolina Arts Foundation announces the appointment of Wayne Martin as its executive director. In this role, Martin will work with the organization’s board of directors to expand the reach and impact of the foundation as it supports the North Carolina Arts Council to develop and sustain the arts across all 100 counties.
Martin served as executive director of the North Carolina Arts Council from 2012 to 2021. During his tenure he advocated with the Governor and state legislators to bring significant increases to the grants budget of the Arts Council, including $25.4 million to assist arts organizations and artists during the pandemic. As a strong advocate for the Arts Council’s founding mission of “arts for all people,” he has focused on creating greater equity within the non-profit arts sector through increased funding of arts organizations in rural counties and in communities of color.
Prior to his work as executive director, he was instrumental in developing and implementing creative placemaking projects including Blue Ridge Music Trails, African American Music Trails, and the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park. His leadership also helped secure a 2003 Congressional designation of western North Carolina as the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area. Martin is the producer of several noted sound recordings of North Carolina traditional musicians and helped found and lead the Piedmont Council of Traditional Music (PineCone) during its early years.
“We are fortunate to have the benefit of a leader with such deep knowledge and experience in the arts,” said John Willingham, president of the foundation. “In addition, Wayne is known and admired by artists and arts organizations across the state for his integrity and his commitment to championing the arts to improve the lives of our state’s residents and their communities.”
Martin said he’s looking forward to finding increased support for the state’s arts sector. “The public value of the arts is more apparent than ever,” he noted. “The arts benefit the individual who participates, they add measurably to our state’s economy, they improve student performance when integrated into the classroom curriculum, and they are increasingly used to heal in our hospitals and veterans’ programs. We in North Carolina need the arts more than ever for our well-being, and I look forward to helping the North Carolina Arts Foundation grow.”
About the North Carolina Arts Foundation
The North Carolina Arts Foundation promotes and supports the growth, progress, and general welfare of the arts across the state. We seek resources that sustain North Carolina’s artists and arts organizations and increase opportunities for all people to participate in the arts. Since 2015 the Arts Foundation has received private-sector support for A+ Schools of North Carolina, the SmART Communities Initiative, Traditional Arts Programs for Students (TAPS) and Keys for Kids, among other programs and projects.
For more information, please contact admin@ncartsfoundation.org.