A Vision for Artistic Excellence in Wake County

The Plan

In partnership with consultants, data from community members, Board, and staff was collected and analyzed, and teams of people connected to work through opportunities and challenges for United Arts.

Goals below have been aligned into our two large service areas of Community Support and Arts Education. The intent is for these strategic goals to inform operational goals and measurable milestones to be reached en route to completion.  We are looking to identify competitive advantages, long-term objectives, and organizational strategies for success.

The questions we have asked and are looking to solve: Who are we now? Who do we want to be in the community in the future? How does this plan get us further down that road?

The Community

On a high level, the community we support is all residents of Wake County as the designated local arts agency for the County government. We do this by engaging and collaborating with diverse partners to be responsive to the needs of County residents.

On a micro-level, we focus through an arts and culture lens. In this section, we define how we support the Wake County-based arts community through grant-making, marketing, and professional development.

We use a broad definition of arts and culture. The definition includes music, theater, visual art, dance, and literary arts, and also creative expressions as traditional, ethnic, and folk art, culturally specific heritage initiatives, and historic preservation. The goal is for our definition of arts and culture to encompass our community’s customs, beliefs, and traditions.

By supporting and advocating for local artists and arts organizations we are growing the creative economy and economic impact from the arts for the broader community.

Click here to read an abridged version of the FY 25-27 Strategic Plan. Below find real-time updates on our strategic plan.