Our 2007 Website Survey is currently open and we need your input to make our site more user friendly! We ask that you please take five minutes of your time to fill out the simple survey at the link below. We do incorporate many suggestions into out website updates and are always looking for new ways to connect with our audience. Feel free to pass the survey link along to other Mid Atlantic website users!

Mark your calendars and read the guidelines - the first deadline for USArtists International (USAI) applications is fast approaching.

USAI provides support for U.S. dance and music ensembles that have been invited to participate in international festivals in the European Union, Russia and Ukraine. Grants are available to ensembles invited to perform in the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

January 7, 2008 marks the application deadline for engagements taking place between March 15, 2008 and February 28, 2009. May 5, 2008 is the deadline for projects taking place July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009. For guidelines and more detailed information, click here.

2007 USAI grant recipient Shen Wei Dance Arts. Photo: Briana Blasko

Monday, December 3, 2007 is the deadline for applications to the 2008-2009 round of the Artists & Communities program.

Artists & Communities supports long-term residencies by individual artists from the District of Columbia, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania at nonprofit organizations in the nine states and jurisdictions served by the Foundation. The program is designed to support the creation of new work, engage the public directly in the creative process, and encourage regional exchange of community-based arts practice.

The upcoming December deadline is for projects taking place between April 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009. For detailed program guidelines, please click here. Questions concerning applications should be directed to Heidi Warren at 215-339-0606 or heidi@midatlanticarts.org.

2007 Artists & Communities artist Myung Jin Choi works in the studio at Baltimore Clayworks.

Special fee support grants are available while supplies last to presenters booking artists on Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation's 2008-2009 American Masterpieces and Mid Atlantic Tour rosters. Artists on the American Masterpieces: Rhythm & Roots Tour roster include Jimmy Heath, McCoy Tyner, The Dixie Hummingbirds and Ralph Stanley. Mid Atlantic Tours roster artists include The Acting Company, Cephas & Wiggins, Christian McBride, Inbal Pinto Dance Company, and Simon Shaheen. Don't be the last one on your block to learn about these funds only to find they're all gone. Find out more about these artists and how to access these funds by clicking here.

Jimmy Heath is featured on the 2008-2009 American Masterpieces: Rhythm & Roots Tour

PennPAT Roster Artist Rennie Harris Awarded United States Artists Fellowship

United States Artists (USA) has awarded Philadelphia- based choreographer Rennie Harris a $50,000 USA Fellowship. Now in its second year, the national USA Fellows Program annually provides direct unrestricted grants for 50 living artists. The program honors artists working in eight artistic disciplines and at all stages of their careers from emerging artists to mid-career to those who have achieved master status in their fields. Harris' company, Rennie Harris Puremovement, was founded in 1992 and has been part of the PennPAT Artist Roster since the program's inception in 1997. His work encompasses rich and diverse African- American traditions of the past while simultaneously presenting the voice of a new generation. Harris was recently honored along with several other 2007 Fellows at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, California. To read the full press release, click here. For additional information, contact Rennie Harris Puremovement.

PennPAT Fee-Support and New Directions Grants

Upcoming Deadlines:

February 15, 2008: For projects scheduled between June 1, 2008 and May 31, 2010. Applications must be submitted on the 2008 application form, available in late October 2007.

For more info and to apply, click here .

North Carolina:
A limited amount of support is available to North Carolina presenting organizations at the February 15, 2008 deadline. This funding is made possible through a partnership with the North Carolina Arts Council.

2008 PennPAT Artist Roster

Following a rigorous panel review, 15 artists have been added to the roster for 2008. For a list of the new artists, click here.

The 2008 roster book including all 155 artists as well as the guidelines and application forms for presenters will be published and mailed in early December 2007. If you would like to receive a copy, please contact PennPAT at info@pennpat.org and request to be added to the presenter mailing list.

New PennPAT Staff

Chrissie M. DiAngelus has accepted the position of PennPAT Program Associate - Marketing and Artist Services, effective November 12, 2007. She has served as Communications Manager for American Pie & Abode Gallery in Philadelphia, and was an artist representative for Baylin Artists Management. In addition, she has experience in marketing and sales for several technology firms. Recently, Chrissie formed her own marketing firm and has been consulting with artists and cultural organizations. We are pleased to have her join the PennPAT staff.

Photo: dance theatre x/Charles O. Anderson. Photo Credit: Gabriel Bienczycki

The 2008 guidelines are now available for the 2008/2009 cycle of ArtsCONNECT, a program that supports performing arts tours through presenter consortia and partnerships in the mid-Atlantic region.

ArtsCONNECT provides access to live performing arts engagements of excellence to audiences across the mid-Atlantic region and a deeper understanding of artists' work through support of public performances and activities that enhance the concert experience. Participating presenting organizations must be located in the Foundation's service area of Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Presenter consortia must include at least three presenting organizations from a minimum of two mid- Atlantic states. Applications that include presenting organizations from three or more states within the region served by the Foundation will be given priority consideration.

For guidelines, click here. The deadline for the program is March 24, 2008 for projects taking place between July 1,2008 - June 30, 2009. The Foundation will be launching a new eGRANT application for the upcoming round. Stay tuned for more information and instructions about the eGRANT process.

Desperately Seeking - ArtsCONNECT Application Partners?

Several consortia projects are currently in formation and the Foundation is working to facilitate information exchange about such projects to those interested in submitting an ArtsCONNECT application in the upcoming round.

If you are a presenter in the region planning a consortium project, looking for partners for a consortium project, or interested in joining a project in development, please contact Krista Bradley, Program Officer of Performing Arts, by December 14 at krista@midatlanticarts.org.

Ragamala Music and Dance Theater is touring during the 2007-208 ArtsCONNECT season.