Culturalyst Central Louisiana (cenla.culturalyst.com) is being launched by the Arts Council of Central Louisiana to serve as a digital resource that makes it easy to find artists, organizations, opportunities, and events in Central Louisiana and in a network of other cities.
“Arts Organizations, Artists and musicians from across the eight-parish region can improve their discovery by creating a free profile listed in the Central Louisiana directory. They can also use the resource to connect to opportunities for funding, residencies, relief aid, and more,” said Matt Henry, Executive Director of the Arts Council of Central Louisiana. The eight-parish region served by the Arts Council of Central Louisiana includes Avoyelles, Catahoula, Concordia, Grant, LaSalle, Rapides, Vernon, and Winn.
COVID-19 exposed a lack of support networks for artists and arts organizations globally. Across Louisiana, arts councils stepped up in a big way to serve their constituents, but without a centralized hub for information, it was difficult to let artists and organizations across the state know about resources, opportunities, and relief.
“Local culture is so valuable to our communities and yet it’s hard to find and support the real people creating and sustaining it. Our goal with launching Culturalyst was to elevate and serve those people – local artists, makers, arts organizers. Whether you’re a tourist looking to get to the source of local culture, an artist trying to find applicable grants, or an organization offering relief aid, Culturalyst helps connect the dots” said Sam Bowler, founder of Culturalyst.
Through a partnership with Louisiana Division of the Arts and Louisiana’s Regional Arts Councils, all nine of Louisiana’s cultural districts will share Culturalyst’s digital infrastructure.
Rather than having each individual city manage siloed technology, an expensive and laborious undertaking, the statewide rollout will allow easy discovery of artists, organizations, opportunities, and events across Louisiana. It will also provide the LDOA and Arts Councils
with a backend cultural data dashboard that can offer insight and context to inform programmatic decisions.
To view the directory of local artists, organizations, and opportunities, to sign up for an artist profile or to learn more about Culturalyst, visit cenla.culturalyst.com or e-mail Kate@louisiana-arts.org for more info.
Visit the Art Council of Central Louisiana Website: http://www.louisiana-arts.org/
