Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Arts Culture topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Annapolis Arts District leaders ask council for more resources and a broader citywide role
Summary
Leaders of the Annapolis Arts District (proposing to rebrand as Annapolis Arts) told the council they need a stronger board, full-time staff and updated resources to support citywide arts activity and asked for help accessing funding and partnering on a repurposable-spaces database.
Representatives of the Annapolis Arts District briefed the Annapolis City Council on July 16 and asked for support to expand the organization's role across the city.
Carol Denny, vice president, introduced Holly Hendrickson, the new executive director, and Laura Price, the organization's president. Hendrickson said the group is considering a name change to "Annapolis Arts" to reflect an expanded mission of supporting artists and arts organizations citywide rather than only within the statutorily designated district.
Hendrickson framed the request around tourism and economic impact numbers: she said Anne Arundel County hosted about 7.2 million visitors in 2024 who spent $4.3 billion locally, and argued that arts and culture help attract and retain those visitors.
"When creatives are successful, the city benefits twice, culturally and economically," Hendrickson told the council, and she asked for investment to hire full-time staff, diversify and expand the board, develop volunteers and ambassadors, and create marketing and technical supports for local arts groups.
Council members asked how the Arts District would relate to the reformed Arts & Public Places Commission (AIPPC) and whether the group has a business or revenue plan. Presenters said they intend to partner with commission leaders where appropriate, clarified that the District is not primarily an event producer but a convener and supporter of other arts organizations, and said they have received some financial help from the commission previously.
Councilmembers also discussed policy tools and implementation options including a "percent for arts" requirement for certain real-estate development projects and a database of repurposable spaces for artists. Presenters said other cities use a portion-of-development approach to fund public art and that the Arts District maintains listings of available spaces but that the database needs updating.
Members of the council raised concerns that expanding mission and coverage could dilute the benefit offered to organizations physically inside the state-designated Arts District. Presenters responded that expansion would not remove district responsibilities and could allow the organization to support more arts organizations that currently fall outside the district boundaries.
The presenters asked for continued collaboration as the city reviews reforms to the Arts & Public Places Commission; council members noted the ordinance and commission updates are scheduled for committee consideration on July 27 and that the commission itself must be reformed by mid-August under the city timeline. The mayor and council thanked the presenters and asked staff to follow up on ways to coordinate and share contact information for local arts organizations.
No vote was taken during the presentation.
