American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)

DAC’s “Culture and Arts: Invest to Restart” program will provide grants and training programs for arts and cultural organizations, businesses, and individual artists.  Following DAC’s 2-year successful advocacy effort, we are so excited to make this vital support available for arts and culture in Durham!  Stay tuned for program launch.  We are grateful to the City of Durham for this funding which was approved by Durham City Council on April 3, 2023. 

Arts and Culture are a key part of Durham’s identity and pride in its community, and a significant economic driver in this region.  Durham’s arts and cultural assets have helped to make it a top creative-class hub in the United States.  Pre-pandemic, Durham’s non-profit arts and cultural sector contributed $154.2 million annually to Durham’s economy and supported 5,722 FTE jobs. More info here.  

Durham currently has 129 non-profit arts and cultural organizations, over 4,400 working artists & creative sector professionals, and dozens of for-profit arts and cultural businesses and venues – All were drastically impacted and financially devastated by two years of pandemic closures and limited programming.  Our arts and cultural sector came to a grinding halt in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Revenue losses caused by the pandemic exceeded $21 million in the non-profits alone.  

This American Rescue Plan Act support from the City of Durham comes at a crucial time when arts and culture are emerging from the pandemic and when most Covid relief funding and Payroll Protection federal relief programs have ended.   

Durham arts and cultural organizations, venues, artists and creative sector producers need this financial support to successfully emerge from the pandemic, rebuild organizations, build capacity, and restart arts and cultural programming and events that will once again attract visitors, residents and strong economic activity for Durham.