Maureen Brondyke wanted to major in mathematics in college. She loved her high school calculus class. When she enrolled in a studio art class, everything changed. She really enjoyed workshopping projects with her peers and professors. It was like solving a calculus problem, just  a different kind of equation.

She was hooked. 

Now, Brondyke is the executive director of New City Arts, a nonprofit community arts organization that provides resources to artists and hosts public arts programs, often out of their gallery space on Charlottesville’s downtown mall. 

Brondyke also administers the Charlottesville Area Arts Council Planning Process, which is a collaboration between central Virginia artists, locals who work in the arts and national consultant Ruby Lopez Harper. The project explores the potential impact of an “Arts Council,” a centralized administrative and resource hub for local artists. 

The planning team hopes to help make our region an affordable place where artists can thrive. Local artists often work multiple jobs and don’t have worker protections or benefits like health insurance. That’s not just something happening here. The Mellon Foundation commissioned a study by NORC at the University of Chicago, the National Survey of Artists, which found that artists face similar challenges around the country.

“Artists often opt to move to more affordable towns where they don’t have to struggle to pay rent, unless there are structures in place to support their creative practice,” said Brondyke.

So how do we make central Virginia more accessible for artists? Brondyke has a vision that includes offering low-cost studio space, more affordable housing and direct funding.

“Across the country we’ve seen guaranteed basic income programs for artists produce incredible, incredible structures of support and safety nets,” Brondyke said.

“I don’t want to live in a place where there are no working artists,” Brondyke said. “I’m talking about open mic nights. I’m talking about poetry readings. Those are the things that when I think about my time here, those are the memories where I met my people.”

Videography and editing by Zach Keifer. Produced by Atlee Webber.

The first step to creating our shared future is imagining it.

For Charlottesville Tomorrow’s 20th anniversary, we are inviting central Virginians to share their visions for the next 20 years.

As executive director at New City Arts, Maureen Brondyke works alongside a small team and artist-led board to provide artist grants, increase access to free studio space, support paid artist fellowships and residencies and operate a low-commission gallery. She co-founded Charlottesville’s CreativeMornings chapter and co-chaired the Creative Workers Committee for Charlottesville’s Cultural Plan. She served as a guest juror for The Bridge PAI, Virginians for the Arts and the Shenandoah Valley Art Center. Brondyke is a recent alumna of a National Arts Strategies leadership cohort. Most of her creative energy these days is spent building legos and train tracks with her two kids.