This week, we talked with Erika Fiola, who works for the Regional Arts Commision. The Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis (RAC) is at the forefront of efforts to transform St. Louis into a more vibrant, creative, and economically thriving community by elevating the vitality, value, and visibility of the arts and culture. It is the largest annual funder of nonprofit arts in the region, and was founded in 1985.
Erika also talks to us about the CAT program. The Community Arts Training (CAT) Institute is an innovative program centered on the belief that art has the power to be an agent for positive social change. The CAT Institute, founded in 1997, is a five-month training that fosters successful partnerships between artists of all disciplines, social workers, educators, community and social activists, and policy-makers with the goal of creating relevant, impactful arts programs particularly in under-resourced community settings