Founded in October 1962 as a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization, The Arts Council (TAC) keeps its finger on the pulse of the Huntsville/Madison County arts community!
As we look towards our Golden Anniversary (in just a few short years!), our purpose continues to be to produce, promote, coordinate, and advance the arts in order to enrich the quality of life, economic development, and education of the greater Huntsville/Madison County community.
TAC fulfills its mission through five core programs: Arts in Education; Support to our Member Organizations; the annual Panoply Arts Festival; Concerts in the Park; and Community Information Services.
Arts in Education—providing resources and support to arts educators, giving children opportunities to grow, and working to strengthen K-12 education through the arts:
- “Meet the Artist” on Educational Television (ETV)
- ArtVentures!, our summer arts day camp
- Panoply’s Fifth Grade Days, Annual Student Billboard Competition, Student Art Tent, Kid’s Art Yard, and Global Village
- Participation in the annual Black Arts Festival
- Opportunities for student art in our art@TAC Gallery
Community Information Services—promoting information exchanges between the arts and the community at large, including “The Arts in Huntsville” (the annual arts insert in The Huntsville Times), TAC’s website, our brochure racks, the Von Braun Center’s kiosks, participation in meetings with tourism and City-based organizations (including the “Create Huntsville” team), responding to phone, e-mail, and walk-in queries on art “happenings,” and Panoply’s “Arts Central” tent.
Concerts in the Park—our FREE summer “Serenades under the Stars” in downtown’s Big Spring International Park, co-produced with the Community Events Division of the City of Huntsville’s Department of Recreation Services, presents jazz, rock, classical, big band, country, and everything in between…an excellent opportunity for patrons to expose themselves to multiple musical styles while providing a forum for many up-and-coming bands, as well. Furthermore, TAC’s member organizations have the opportunity to volunteer at the concerts while promoting their own events!
Member Services—facilitating the work of our member arts/arts-supporting organizations through ArtsReach grants, technical assistance workshops, presentations, networking (including monthly Assembly Meetings), our galleries (a great opportunity for visual artists), and other information-sharing and collaborative opportunities (dovetailing with community information services).
Panoply Arts Festival—“The South’s Most All-Embracing ARTStravaganza,” an annual three-day outdoor festival held in Big Spring International Park and featuring performances, exhibits, presentations, demonstrations, and FREE make-n-take, “hands-on” activities. Some 2,000+ community volunteers may be involved behind the scenes, while local, area, regional, and national artists participate directly in a very public forum that, in many instances, may be otherwise unavailable or inaccessible.
TAC's programs/projects have been made possible by grants from the
Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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