Arts Council leaving downtown

The Arts Council of Wayne County has been officially notified that it will no longer be housed at the corner of Walnut and John — and if a lease extension is not granted by its landlord, the downtown Goldsboro fixture will be gone Aug. 31.

Executive Director Georgia Dees said the organization has asked for an extension “through at least the end of the year,” but has come to terms with the fact that its future lies in a different location.

“We will not have the opportunity to renew our lease,” Dees said. “While moving may take a great deal of effort and money, our board of directors and staff believe this will prove to be a step in a new, positive direction for our organization, and we’re looking forward to what this next chapter will bring.”

The Arts Council, which will celebrate its 60^th anniversary in 2023, has called the corner of Walnut and John home since 2011.

At the time, city officials believed moving the organization to the city’s core was a critical piece in efforts to revitalize downtown.

Several years ago, when reflecting on the Arts Council’s significance, former Downtown Goldsboro Development Corp. Executive Director Julie Metz said the organization helped downtown develop its identity.

“It helped create that interesting vibe that we wanted downtown to be known for — a hipsterish, artistic, interesting, fun place where you could really get yourself involved and make things happen aesthetically and socially,” Metz said then.

That same day, former Mayor Chuck Allen added that having the Arts Council on the corner of Walnut and John was a “hugely important thing for the city.”

But financial constraints have been a factor in the years since.

In 2019, Dees told the New Old North that the non-profit’s $4,000 monthly rent bill — and the fact that only a small percentage of its operating budget was covered by the city and county governments — was “getting us to a point where it’s no longer financially viable for us to stay downtown.”

Just where the Arts Council will end up — and how it will accomplish a move by the end of the month if its lease is not extended — is unclear.

But Dees said the decision will come down to what’s best for the non-profit and the community it serves.

“Ultimately, we will need to do what is best for our budget and our current operational needs,” she said. “Wherever we land, we will continue to be an integral part of Wayne County and an organization the community can count on to help make this a better place to live.”