Triangle ArtWorks, Inc., a newly formed nonprofit organization, recently announced the launch of its website and a series of events to link the creative community of the Triangle area and the public. Triangle ArtWorks’ website is a virtual platform to educate and connect the artistic and creative community in the Triangle region, their supporters and the public via discussion forums, articles, blogs, and a clearinghouse for regional resources. The organization is hosting several launch events in the Triangle during the month of August to promote regional networking and collaboration.

Triangle ArtWorks’ charitable and educational mission is to provide services, support and resources to cultivate a vibrant creative community in the Triangle region of North Carolina. From large corporate campuses in Research Triangle Park, to artist cooperatives in Chatham County, the Triangle region has attracted creative talent from across the nation. In fact, the Triangle’s success in attracting artists and creative people has garnered national praise and attention. Yet, the region has lacked a central resource for artists to come together for support, resources and education, for supporters to have an easier way to connect with and support artists and arts groups, and to promote the importance of this community to our region.

Former Raleigh Arts Commissioner, Beth Yerxa, founded Triangle ArtWorks to “create a sense of cohesion for the Triangle’s creative community and its supporters.” Yerxa explained, “The Triangle is made up of many separate towns and cities, with multiple arts councils, different governments, and different priorities for supporting the arts and the creative community. The idea for the website is to have a regional resource for information, education and discussion about what matters to the creative community of the Triangle. We need a better way to connect this community across disciplines and county lines.”

Triangle ArtWorks website includes opportunities to connect via discussion forums and blogs, as well as a directory of Triangle-area arts organizations and links to services and resources. Triangleartworks.org plans to monitor and report on the economic and political news and activities that affect the creative community on both a regional and national level. Local arts organizations will also have a place to connect and post topics for discussion among regional arts patrons, supporters and volunteers.

Launching the website is the virtual beginning of Triangle Artworks. Yerxa has been meeting with members of the Triangle arts community for the last year to lay the foundation for the organization. She has been able to build the framework for the organization from this direct feedback and from researching similar organizations like New York Foundation for the Arts, Artists Trust in Washington state and Springboard for the Arts in Minnesota. Yerxa states, “ I saw the impact these organizations were having on their arts communities, and their regions as a whole, and believe our strong regional arts community would benefit from a similar organization.”

Michael Lowder, executive director of Artsplosure, Raleigh’s downtown arts festival, added, “I think Triangle ArtWorks could be the kind of resource that turns casual audience members into informed partners in advocating and supporting the arts in the Triangle. "The organization may also help the arts community think regionally in planning and programming, which will be a good thing."

Triangle ArtWorks is sponsoring a series of public launch events throughout the Triangle in the month of August. In Raleigh, a launch party will be hosted by Visual Art Exchange from 6-9pm on Friday, August 6 ^th, to coincide with the monthly First Friday Artwalk in downtown Raleigh. In Durham, Golden Belt will host a gathering on August 20 ^th from 6-9pm during that City’s Third Friday Artwalk. The FRANK gallery in Chapel Hill will also be hosting an event in August, but the date has not been set.