By: Linda A. Carlisle, Secretary, N.C. Department of Cultural Resources
At the age of 93, the legendary cellist Pablo Casals was asked by a student, “Master, why do you practice three hours a day?” His reply never fails to delight me. “I’m beginning to notice some improvement.” Here in North Carolina, we know that his words ring true. The arts keep our citizens engaged and growing at any age!
The North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources has a great story to tell. We serve more than 19 million people each year through three major areas: the Arts, the State Library, and Archives and History.
Education K-12 Life Long Learners
Education is key to the mission of the Department of Cultural Resources.
Last year we reached 3,960,932 students through field trips, arts workshops, after school and summer reading programs, summer camps, living history demonstrations, re-enactments or symphony education concerts.
But education doesn’t stop at the schoolhouse door. Genealogists, researchers, lifelong learners and the general public can access digital collections and primary documents and places where they can get their hands on history. In fact, 2.6 million people visited our museums, sites and search rooms in 2010.
Arts and Business… A Team
Now, more than ever, arts and business are a cohesive team. Jobs and economic development are, and should be, a big part of our message. What is more, arts and culture build communities and futures for people of all ages.
Volunteers are key to the creative industry, as well as to us here at Cultural Resources. Senior citizens make up a large part of our volunteer force – whether it is docents at the Museums of Art and History, guides at Historic Sites like the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum, readers at the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, or researchers in our State Archives.
Cultural Tourism Builds Local Economies
The $17 billion state tourism industry relies on cultural travelers – up to 40 percent of all leisure travel is cultural and heritage travel, according to a study from Appalachian State University. Seniors love to travel, and shop, and North Carolina has arts and culture around every bend, in urban and rural areas.
In these tight economic times, the work of Cultural Resources is critical to North Carolina’s success. The stakes are high. Just think of the downtowns in Triangle communities if they didn’t have the energy and promise that arts and culture provide.
The word culture is from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning “to cultivate.” We are focused on continuing to protect and cultivate our core programs. The next time you eat an apple, take a look at the core, and think about the seeds for the future that lay inside. Working together, we can plant those seeds and grow North Carolina into the very best place to live, work, and raise a family.