Saturday, November 9, 2024

Community college rebrands and expands arts initiative

“Hello Arts!” continues to offer free tickets to underserved populations and will boost funding to subsidize student tickets, while also training students who want to learn about various careers within the entertainment industry. (Port City Daily/File)

WILMINGTON — Cape Fear Community College’s Wilson Center is boosting what was once known as Broadway for a Better World.

The arts center announced “Hello Arts!” would become the new name, which continues to offer free tickets to underserved populations. The program also will boost funding to subsidize student tickets and will begin training students who want to learn about various careers within the entertainment industry.

Currently, nonprofits and tax-exempt organizations apply for free-of-charge tickets to any Wilson Center show. Student tickets will also be $15 to any of its soon-to-be-announced “Family Series.” The low price will be for any seat in the state-of-the-art theater.  

Funding is also being added to train CFCC students and staff via on-site industry practices across every department; this includes sponsoring industry-specific certifications. Student interns and employees are paid to work in tandem with mentors and see firsthand what it takes to scale performances of all sizes. This gives real-world and interactive experience in venue management. CFCC students also will gain access to collaborative workshops with touring artists. 

“As a former working musician myself, I learned very quickly that sometimes success in the arts doesn’t always mean being a performer; it can also mean having a very fulfilling and exciting career in managing an arts venue,” Zachary Pluer, executive director of CFCC’s Wilson Center, said in a release. “From truck drivers and riggers to marketing and hospitality professionals, the arts provide jobs to thousands of people in our region. Hello Arts! allows us to bolster those efforts and prepare the next generation of arts professionals.”  

To learn more about Hello Arts!, click here.


Want to read more from PCD? Subscribe now and then sign up for our newsletter, Wilmington Wire, and get the headlines delivered to your inbox every morning.

Shea Carver
Shea Carver
Shea Carver is the editor in chief at Port City Daily. A UNCW alumna, Shea worked in the print media business in Wilmington for 22 years before joining the PCD team in October 2020. She specializes in arts coverage — music, film, literature, theatre — the dining scene, and can often be tapped on where to go, what to do and who to see in Wilmington. When she isn’t hanging with her pup, Shadow Wolf, tending the garden or spinning vinyl, she’s attending concerts and live theater.

Related Articles