Arts Council Northeast

Lee Koch is president of the Arts Council Northeast. The nonprofit provides artistic, cultural and educational events to 450,000 residents in 16 cities in northern Tarrant and southern Denton counties.

What has changed over the past several years for the organization?

After the economic downturn, funding for the arts took a huge hit, but now things are getting better. Our 2014 Summer Arts College sessions were full with waiting lists for the first time since the late 1990s. We revamped Taste of Northeast and moved it to the fall and have a permanent venue at Hurst Conference Center after moving around from hotels, Northeast Mall to NYTX [Sports Centre]. We've also made gift vendors a big part of the mix. In 2012 we added the Triple Crown Affair fundraiser, which has been a huge success. We are raising awareness for the Arts Council with the addition of a marketing specialist.What is the Arts League? How did it get started?

The Arts League is the fundraising arm of the Arts Council. It is comprised of a great group of ladies who put on the Shining Stars event in October, honoring local volunteers and raising money for Arts Council. They also have fun, including several excursions throughout the year to museums and art galleries. Many people confuse the two organizations, but each has separate memberships–although when you choose to join at one of the higher levels for the Arts Council, you also become a member of Arts League.

Why is the council so important to the community?

Our board members act as emcees, and they very frequently hear that if it weren't for us, audience members wouldn't be able to attend concerts as it would be cost-prohibitive. The bands we work with have tremendous followings and include Emerald City, Vocal Trash, The Les Elgart Orchestra, Havana NRG and North Central Ballet, to name a few. There are also children's programs that are well-attended, so there is something for every age group. Arts Council helps make the arts accessible to all in our community, not just a privileged few.

What are some significant or notable events/programs that the council provides?

Other programs we provide are the three one-week Summer Arts College sessions. We provide full or partial scholarships to children whose parents cannot afford to send them. In addition, this summer, we added two weeks of camp for the children served by Community Enrichment Center, one week for the children at GRACE [Grapevine Relief and Community Exchange] and also a session for the Community Storehouse summer program featuring blues history performer Mike Dyson, aka Mr. Blue Shoes of the Blueshoe Project. Also, we raise funds to provide grants to small art groups and individual artists totaling close to $1.5 million in conjunction with the Texas Commission on the Arts. We put on two fun fundraising events. The first is Taste of Northeast, which is in its 16th year. The other fun event is Triple Crown Affair at Lone Star Park that is held on the day of the Kentucky Derby.