50 Years of Dare Arts – A Retrospective of the Community Foundation’s Support

By Tatum Clements

When you look back on the last 50 years of Dare Arts, you see a small grassroots organization that has continuously grown, adapted, and evolved into the thriving, vibrant nonprofit that it is today. 

With all of the exhibitions, workshops, installations, special events, and long-standing programs that Dare Arts is hosting in 2025, it is hard to believe the organization’s humble beginnings. 

In 1975, a small group of people gathered at Mollie A. Fearing’s house to start an arts organization that would bring cultural arts programming to Dare County. In October of that year, the Sea and Sounds Arts Council was established, and Mollie was its first president. 

“My mom was worried that the children were not getting enough exposure to music in the schools, so she invited people over to our house and they started the Sea & Sounds Arts Council,” said Mollie Fearing’s daughter, Grizelle Fearing. “They went on to bring the symphony to the schools and then The Nutcracker.”

Over time, the organization evolved, and it became the Dare County Arts Council, the official Designated County Partner under the North Carolina Arts Council, with a mission to encourage the arts in Dare County through advocacy, enrichment, and opportunity. 

While Dare County Arts Council was growing, so was its need for a physical space to call home. 

Twenty years after being founded, Dare County Arts Council received its first grants from the Outer Banks Community Foundation (OBCF) in 1995. One of the grants enabled the nonprofit to bring the North Carolina Symphony to the Outer Banks, and the other grant set the wheels in motion for an office space.  

In 1996, Dare Council Arts Council opened its first office in the Central Square complex in Nags Head and hired its first employee, which was a major milestone for the nonprofit. And then in 1999, they moved to a small space in Manteo that enabled them to host workshops and sell works by local artists. 

From 1998 to 2009, Dare County Arts Council received 15 different grants from the Community Foundation that helped bring unique arts programming into the community and propelled the nonprofit’s expansion. The grants supported multiple artist residencies in Dare County schools, including a Shakespeare Festival, Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience, and the New York Chinese Folk Dance Company. Essential items like establishing a website, a digital community arts calendar, and other art programs were also supported by these grants. 

A grant from the Charles H. and Dorothy S. Luedemann Fund at OBCF provided support for a turning point in Dare County Arts Council’s history. In 2009, the grant supported a feasibility study to see if the vacant 1904 Courthouse in downtown Manteo would be a suitable home for Dare County Arts Council. 

The study proved worthwhile because in July of 2010 Dare County Arts Council relocated to the historic Dare County Courthouse in downtown Manteo. The move was a pivotal moment for Dare County Arts Council.

“When we moved into the historic Courthouse, a vision of the people who started the nonprofit came to life,” said Dare Arts Second Vice President Ginny Flowers, who has served on the board in different capacities for over 15 years. “The Courthouse gave us so much more space, which enabled us to expand our offerings, but most importantly, it secured a home for the organization. Before the Courthouse, people thought of us for events like the Artrageous Kids Art Festival, but the new space made Dare County Arts Council a more accessible, professional entity, opening up a plethora of opportunities.”

After moving into the Courthouse, Dare County Arts Council was able to focus on expanding its educational arts programming, including a Community Music School, which provided free music lessons and instruments for children, the Southern Circuit Film Tour, and The Parchment Hour- A cARTwheels Program, which were all supported by OBCF grants. 

The Outer Banks Veterans Writing Workshop was started by Dare County Arts Council in 2012. A grant from OBCF enabled the nonprofit to bring North Carolina’s seventh Poet Laureate, Joseph Bathanti, to the Outer Banks to lead the free writing workshop. In a full circle moment, 13 years later, Bathanti is returning to the Outer Banks to lead the Veterans Writing Workshop again this November. 

With the support of a Community Enrichment Grant from OBCF, Dare County Arts Council founded their Power of Art program in 2015, which is still thriving today. The Power of Art’s objective is to serve special groups in need or with limited access to arts programming and education, including older adults, those with dementia/cognitive decline, adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities, and those affected by cancer.

“The heart of the Power of Art program is engagement with various community groups and their members through creativity,” said Barbara Hanft, who is one of the Power of Art program’s founders and teachers. “With support from generous sponsors and community partners, we have been able to expand the program and are now able to pay the instructors and cover costs for supplies. Our artists select projects for each group that incorporate basic principles of color and technique to promote self expression while engaging in a group project. Our focus is on creativity (I did this!) and interaction (Look what we did together!).”

From 2017 to today, multiple OBCF grants have been made to The Courtyard project, which is a multipurpose outdoor art space located behind the nonprofit’s gallery. The Courtyard’s groundbreaking ceremony was held on March 3, 2020, and it opened to the public in October of 2021. 

“The Courtyard is an accessible outdoor arts space, which has further expanded Dare Arts’ programming while accommodating the exhibition of ever-changing large-scale works and presenting the diverse creative expressions of performers and makers,” said OBCF donor Dawn Enochs. “The Courtyard has succeeded as a place where people of all ages have joyfully gathered to explore and participate in both unique and familiar, and at times thought-provoking, artistic expressions in all their variety and magnificence. Without the generous support of the Outer Banks Community Foundation, the Percy and Elizabeth Meekins Charitable Trust, numerous other foundations, corporate underwriters and individual donors this vision would not have been possible. We are thankful to them all for their trust and investment in the arts.”

In the spring of 2020, the Dare County Arts Council adapted and found a way to keep the arts alive and accessible throughout the pandemic. The Courthouse Sessions, a digital platform for the literary and performing arts, was born in the height of the pandemic to bring the arts into people’s homes and ensure that artists were still making a living. This program was supported by two Covid Rapid Response Grants from the Community Foundation. 

Dare County Arts Council was rebranded to Dare Arts in 2022, as the organization began planning for its 50th anniversary in 2025. 

When the 50th anniversary year arrived, Dare Arts set forth to commemorate this important milestone by weaving a celebration of their past, present, and future into their programming, events, and exhibitions.

During Dare Arts’ 50th anniversary year, which was also supported by grants from OBCF, longstanding programs and events have been elevated and new art experiences have been brought into the community, including a writing workshop with North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green, a residency with the Saakumu Dance Troupe from Ghana, a seven foot mosaic installation of Fifi the French Bulldog, and the Fresh From The Outer Banks Plein Air Event. Dare Arts’ final event of their 50th anniversary year will be two holiday jazz performances by the renowned Eric Mintel Quartet in December. 

Dare Arts Executive Director Jessica Sands credits sponsors, donors, community partners, artists, volunteers, and organizations like the Outer Banks Community Foundation for the nonprofit’s growth and success. 

“The arts are not extra, they’re essential,” said Dare Arts Executive Director Jessica Sands. “They make our community more vibrant, resilient, and connected. And we’re grateful that organizations like the Outer Banks Community Foundation understand this. It’s through support like theirs that Dare Arts has grown, evolved, and flourished for 50 years. Here’s to many more decades of supporting the arts and the artists of Dare County!”

Throughout Dare Arts’ history, the Outer Banks Community Foundation has awarded $510,000 in grants to the nonprofit, proving OBCF’s strong commitment to the arts and the cultural opportunities that Dare Arts provides.

“Over the years, the Outer Banks Community Foundation has been proud to support Dare Arts through numerous grants made possible by our generous donors,” said OBCF President & CEO Chris Sawin. “In a place so rich with artistic talent and creativity, it’s only natural that the arts have become a cornerstone of our community. Our donors understand that the arts aren’t just a luxury — they’re essential to the fabric of life here.”

About the Outer Banks Community Foundation: The Outer Banks Community Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization committed to fostering philanthropy and supporting local causes. Through its charitable funds and grant programs, the Foundation strives to enrich the quality of life for residents of the Outer Banks.