Public Library Receives Grant to Expand Artist in Residence Program

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Cumberland County Public Library is proud to announce it has been awarded a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant for a second year to support and expand its Creative Collaborations: Artist in Residence at Cumberland County Public Library initiative.

During the inaugural year of the program, textile artist Kia Love provided hands-on arts education, community engagement and creative experiences to patrons of all ages across the county. Over the course of the residency, Love led 20 public programs, offered more than 320 hours of open studio time and presented her culminating exhibit, Woven Connections, which was experienced by nearly 24,000 patrons at Headquarters Library during the month of July.

Strong community partnerships with Cumberland County Schools, the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, Methodist University and Friends of the Cumberland County Public Library, Inc. broadened the initiative’s reach and demonstrated the community’s desire for expanded arts programming. The residency also provided a local artist with a dedicated space to create, teach and share their work with a wide and diverse audience.

Building on the success of the inaugural year, Year Two of Creative Collaborations will expand to include three artists: a visual artist, a muralist and a poet. This growth will increase the initiative’s impact by adding more expert-led, free and accessible arts programming across the library system. Each of Cumberland County Public Library’s eight locations will receive a new community-informed mural, and the addition of a poet will introduce patrons to the literary art of poetry while encouraging personal expression through public programs. The poet will also create an original poem informed by their experiences and interactions with the Library patrons and Cumberland County.

Expanding to three artists also allows Creative Collaborations to reach more students throughout Cumberland County through an enhanced partnership with local art educators in Cumberland County Schools and new partner Capitol Encore Academy.

Creative Collaborations: Artist in Residence at Cumberland County Public Library is Where Creativity Meets Community. The library is currently accepting proposals for all three Artist in Residence positions now through September 30, 2026. For more information, please visit cumberlandcountync.gov/library/artist-in-residence or email questions to creativecollaborations@cumberlandcountync.gov.

This program was supported by grant funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) as administered by the Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (IMLS grant number LS-260837-OLS-26).

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