About the Hickory Playground

The Hickory Playground is an arts advocacy non-profit with a mission to invest in the artists of tomorrow by nurturing artists and offering financial support to arts departments in public education. The organization is now in its seventh year of operation and earned its 501(c)(3) status in 2018. Since its inception in 2016, the company has granted more than $69,000 to 18 different public schools in Catawba County and beyond, from pre-school to high school. The support Hickory Playground receives is directly reinvested back into emerging artists and public school arts departments to lift up the diverse voices of the artists and activists of tomorrow. 

The organization was founded to promote arts activism and awareness generally, and specifically in Catawba County, North Carolina. We advocate for students in public education, often victimized by budget cuts, by providing independent earmarked funding for arts in our schools. 

HPG also provides a platform to emerging artists by producing an annual forty-eight-hour play festival. Through the years, the organization has worked with and compensated over 200 artists spanning across multiple disciplines including theatre, film, visual arts, music, dance, creative writing, and podcasting.

HPG is a safe place for artists of all kinds and experience levels to thrive.

Hickory Playground was created by Dylan Tashjian, Jordan Makant, and Robert Fuller when they were 19, in an effort to make the arts accessible to all of the communities in Catawba County. HPG believes that every person has a unique story, and we want to be a united community platform that practices active listening and inclusion. We believe that starts in our public schools.

Hickory Playground received the Friends of the Arts Award by the North Carolina Arts Educators Association in 2019. The award is given to organizations with an exemplary record of supporting the arts in public education in North Carolina.

Mission, Vision, & Programming

The MISSION of Hickory Playground is to invest in the artists of tomorrow by supporting new work from up-and-coming creators around the world in addition to raising funds and distributing financial support to arts departments in public schools in Catawba County, North Carolina, and beyond.

The VISION of Hickory Playground is to engage communities around the world by facilitating the creation of new art, supporting new artists, and providing a platform to share original stories. Our goal is to build an international network of artists to share ideas and work while investing in the artists, activists, and leaders of tomorrow by making an annual $15,000 donation to arts departments in public schools in Catawba County, North Carolina, and beyond.

HPG hopes to act as a model and blueprint for arts activism in communities around the state, nation, and world. If you are interested in putting on your own Playground, please contact us, and we can help get you started.