Initially known as Flagstaff Cultural Partners, Flagstaff Arts Council was born from a cultural needs’ assessment sponsored by the Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce in 1996. In 1997, the chamber’s Arts, Business & Culture Committee focused on the formation of a Local Arts Agency. Initially billed as a “United Way for the Arts,” the founding purpose of Flagstaff Cultural Partners shifted and expanded when the Coconino Center for the Arts announced its impending closure in March 1997. Modeled after Arlington Arts Incubator in Arlington, Virginia, FAC’s role as a local arts agency coalesced around the revival of Coconino Center for the Arts as a venue and hub for Flagstaff’s arts community.

Flagstaff Arts Council was formed as a partnership between City of Flagstaff, Coconino County, Northern Arizona University, Coconino Community College, Flagstaff Unified School District, and Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce. Additional partners now include Flagstaff Downtown Business Alliance for ArtWalk FLG and others.

Beginning in 2002, FAC entered into an agreement with the City of Flagstaff to be the official art, science, and culture agency. As part of that agreement, FAC assumed the responsibilities of the Arts & Science Commission, which is now known as the Beautification & Public Art Commission, to issue grants to nonprofit organizations from Bed, Board, and Beverage (BBB) tax funds. Since 2002, more than $6 million in grants have been awarded.

Coconino Center for the Arts is a 12,000 s.f. county-owned facility constructed in the early 1980s on the same plot of land as the since demolished Art Barn which served as an arts education facility since the 1960s. FAC has operated CCA ever since the original nonprofit announced its intent to close the facility in 1997. CCA features a 4,000 s.f. gallery space and a 200-seat theater which serve as the basis for the facility’s programming.

Three Executive Directors have led FAC throughout its history. Cheryl Brock was hired as the founding director in 2000, John Tannous was hired in 2007, and Jonathan Stone was hired in 2019. The organization’s budget has grown from $100,000 in 2000 to $990,000 in 2020. Throughout the 2010s, programming expanded beyond Coconino Center for the Arts including the introduction of Viola Awards and the revitalization of First Friday ArtWalk now known as Artwalk FLG.

Header Image: Hidden Landscapes at Coconino Center for the Arts, 2018

Photography Credits: Coconino Center for the Arts