About Hickory Playground

Hickory Playground is a 501(c)(3) 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. Since the inaugural Hickory Playground in 2016, we have been able to grant more than $75,000 to 18 different public schools in Catawba County and beyond, from pre-school to high school.

Hickory Playground 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, Robert Fuller, and Jordan Makant when they were 19, in an effort to help make the arts accessible to all of the communities in Catawba County.

Hickory Playground received the Friends of the Arts Award by the North Carolina Arts Education Association in 2019.