WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – The Arts Council of Wilmington & New Hanover County awarded $430,000 in grants to support 43 arts and culture organizations throughout New Hanover County.
The Endowment, in partnership with the Arts Council, launched an enhanced Arts & Culture Grants Program for 2026, building on the success of its 2025 pilot program.
“The arts are vital to our community’s identity, economy, and quality of life,” said Rhonda Bellamy, president and CEO of the Arts Council of Wilmington & New Hanover County. “Thanks to The Endowment, we can invest in our anchor arts institutions as well as numerous volunteer-led organizations that bring creativity, inspiration, and cultural enrichment to Wilmington and beyond.”
The 43 grant recipients, selected and awarded by the Arts Council, represent disciplines including theater, music, dance and literary arts. Funding will support programs ranging from educational initiatives to public performances, exhibitions and community engagement projects.
2026 grant recipients
- Big Dawg Theater, $15,000
- Black Arts Alliance, $5,000
- Brooklyn Arts Music Academy, $15,000
- Cameron Art Museum, $15,000
- Cape Fear Chorale, $5,000
- Cape Fear Cultural Association of India, $5,000
- Cape Fear Swing Dance Society, $5,000
- Carolina Beach Mural Project, $5,000
- Chamber Music Wilmington, $15,000
- Children’s Museum of Wilmington, $1,000
- Cinema Sisters, $5,000
- Cucalorus Film Foundation, $15,000
- Dance Cooperative, $5,000
- Dreams, $15,000
- FlowILM, $5,000
- Harrington Repertory, $4,575
- Island Arts Council, $5,000
- Mouths of Babes, $15,000
- Music on Market, $5,000
- Narrative Arts, $15,000
- NC Jazz Festival, $15,000
- Opera House Theatre, $15,000
- Opera Wilmington, $15,000
- Panache, $5,000
- Performance Club Theatre Company, $5,000
- Port City Playwrights, $4,425
- Preservation NC (Bellamy), $15,000
- Soaring as Eagles, $5,000
- Thalian Association, $15,000
- Thalian Hall, $15,000
- Theater For All, $15,000
- Turning the Wheel, $15,000
- WHQR, $15,000
- Willis Richardson Players, $5,000
- Wilmington School of the Arts, $15,000
- Wilmington Symphonic Winds, $5,000
- Wilmington Symphony Orchestra, $15,000
- Wilmington Virtuosi Brass, $5,000
- Wilmington Voices, $5,000
- Wilson Center, $15,000
- Working Films, $15,000
- Wrightsville Beach Museum, $15,000
- Youth Choir of Wilmington, $5,000
The Arts Council stated that the grants were made possible by funding from The Endowment, which provided a grant to the Arts Council to manage the 2026 Arts and Culture Grants Program.
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