2020-2021 Mid Atlantic Tours Grants Announced Over $148,000 Awarded for 59 Engagements
Baltimore, MD – July 27, 2020 – Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation (MAAF) has awarded $148,520 in grants supporting 59 performing arts engagements through its 2020-2021 Mid Atlantic Tours program. The grants, awarded directly to presenting organizations, will support engagements in MAAF’s partner states and jurisdictions. Mid Atlantic Tours is a curated roster program of performing artists and ensembles chosen to tour throughout the mid-Atlantic region. The roster of artists changes annually but maintains a programmatic commitment to a diversity of performance genres, international cultural exchange, and engaging communities underserved by the arts. All engagements include public or virtual performances and activities designed to foster greater appreciation for artists’ work and offer meaningful exchanges between artists and the public.
MAAF is working with all of our grantees to be as flexible as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time of this press release, Mid Atlantic Tours presenters and artists were working together to select engagement dates while taking into account the necessary health precautions to ensure a successful partnership. For more information on a particular engagement, please contact the venue directly.
The 2020-2021 Mid Atlantic Tours are:
Acrobuffos, NY, USA
Acrobuffos’ AIR PLAY is a visual poem using no words. It lives on the edge of definition: part comedy, part sculpture, part circus, part theater. The creation of husband & wife team Seth Bloom and Christina Gelsone, AIR PLAY merges their circus and street theater performance art with the sculptural artistry of Daniel Wurtzel.
Acrobuffos will be presented by:
- Bucknell University – Weis Center for the Performing Arts, Lewisburg, PA
- City of Frederick – Weinberg Center for the Arts, Frederick, MD
- Emory & Henry College – Woodrow W. McGlothlin Center for the Arts, Emory, VA
- Frostburg State University – FSU Cultural Events Series, Frostburg, MD
- George Mason University Foundation – Hylton Performing Arts Center, Manassas, VA
- Lehigh University – Zoellner Arts Center, Bethlehem, PA
- University of Richmond – Modlin Center for the Arts, Richmond, VA
Ak Dan Gwang Chil, Seoul, South Korea
Ak Dan Gwang Chil (ADG7) is a multi-award winning Korean traditional music group, featuring six Korean traditional musicians and three powerhouse female folk singers. ADG7 performs repertoire from the sacred, shamanic, and secular gut (ritual music) and minyo (folk song) traditions of the Hwanghae-do region, a western province of North Korea.
Ak Dan Gwang Chil will be presented by:
- Arden Concert Gild, Wilmington, DE
- Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY
- Frostburg State University – FSU Cultural Events Series, Frostburg, MD
- Lafayette College – Williams Center for the Arts, Easton, PA
- Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York, NY
- Philadelphia Folksong Society, Philadelphia, PA
- Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD
- University of Maryland College Park – Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, College Park, MD
*One project was cancelled due to COVID-19 and is not listed above.
Choir!Choir!Choir!, Ontario, Canada
A Toronto-based singing group led by creative directors Nobu Adilman and Daveed Goldman. The duo takes a non-traditional approach; there are no auditions, and the audience is the choir. Just show up and they’ll teach you an original arrangement to a song you love.
Choir!Choir!Choir! will be presented by:
- Appell Center for the Performing Arts, York, PA
- Chuck Mathena Center, Princeton, WV
- The Freeman Stage at Bayside, Selbyville, DE
- Guild Hall, East Hampton, NY
- Proctors, Schenectady, NY
- Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD
- Shenandoah Valley Music Festival, Woodstock, VA
- Smith Opera House, Geneva, NY
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University – Moss Arts Center, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
- William Paterson University of New Jersey, Wayne, NJ
*Two projects were cancelled due to COVID-19 and are not listed above.
The Honey Dewdrops, MD, USA
Americana duo The Honey Dewdrops – Laura Wortman and Kagey Parrish– has long felt the push-and-pull between their original roots in the Appalachian Mountains and their current home in urban Baltimore. You’ll hear it in their harmony soaked songs and the mastery of their instruments’ acoustic tones, but also in their songwriting, which reflects the hard realities of today.
The Honey Dewdrops will be presented by:
- Bedford Public Library, Bedford, VA
- Bucknell University – Weis Center for the Performing Arts, Lewisburg, PA
- Carnegie Hall, Lewisburg, WV
- Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY
- The Freeman Stage at Bayside, Selbyville, DE
- Huntington Arts Council, Huntington, NY
- The Milton Theatre, Milton, DE
- New Jersey City University Center for the Arts, Jersey City, NJ
- Norwood Village Green Concert Series, Norwood, NY
- Ocean County College – The Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts, Toms River, NJ
- Shady Side Academy – Hillman Center for Performing Arts, Pittsburgh, PA
- Smith Opera House, Geneva, NY
- Woodbridge Arts Alliance, Avenel, NJ
*One project was cancelled due to COVID-19 and is not listed above.
Rare Essence, DC, USA
Rare Essence, Washington’s premier Go-Go band for more than four decades, is a D.C. institution that has built a devoted fan base that spans multiple generations. Drawn to the indigenous funk sired in the mid -70’s by the late Godfather of Go-Go, Chuck Brown, Rare Essence would be one of Brown’s earliest, and have remained his most enduring, progeny.
Rare Essence will be presented by:
- The August Wilson Center, Pittsburgh, PA
- BlackRock Center for the Arts, Germantown, MD
- Columbia Festival of the Arts, Columbia, MD
- National Council for the Traditional Arts, Silver Spring, MD
Sonia De Los Santos, NJ, USA
Nominated for Best Latin Children’s Album at the 20th Annual Latin Grammy Award (2019), Sonia De Los Santos is one of the brightest voices in bilingual children’s music. Sonia’s concerts delve into her experiences growing up in Mexico. Songs in Spanish and English are inspired by various Latin American rhythms including son jarocho and cumbia, as well as the North American folk traditions from the United States.
Sonia De Los Santos will be presented by:
- ArtsLink, New Martinsville, WV
- Bucknell University – Weis Center for the Performing Arts, Lewisburg, PA
- Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY
- The Freeman Stage at Bayside, Selbyville, DE
- Huntington Arts Council, Huntington, NY
- Shady Side Academy – Hillman Center for Performing Arts, Pittsburgh, PA
- University of Richmond – Modlin Center for the Arts, Richmond, VA
- West Kortright Centre, East Meredith, NY
Tentacle Tribe, Quebec, Canada
Tentacle Tribe dance company presents their unique brand of conceptual hip–hop, experimenting with intricate partnering, refined musicality, and a saturated dose of physical choreography. Co-founders Lê Phan and Höglund have redefined their b-boying and b-girling practices into an innovative aesthetic that transcends style boundaries and expresses the embodiment of music beyond technique.
Tentacle Tribe will be presented by:
- Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences of West Virginia, Charleston, WV
- Jewish Community Center of Baltimore – Gordon Center for Performing Arts, Owings Mills, MD
- Rutgers University – Dance Department at Mason Gross School of the Arts, New Brunswick, NJ
*One project was cancelled due to COVID-19 and is not listed above.
Mid Atlantic Tours is made possible through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Regional Touring Program with additional funding provided by the Delaware Division of the Arts.
About Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation develops partnerships and programs that reinforce artists’ capacity to create and present work and advance access to and participation in the arts. The Foundation was created in 1979 and is a private non-profit organization that is closely allied with the region’s state arts councils and the National Endowment for the Arts. It combines funding from state and federal resources with private support from corporations, foundations, and individuals to address needs in the arts from a regional, national, and international perspective. To learn more about MAAF, its programs and services, visit our website at www.midatlanticarts.org.
Contact:
Karen Newell
Director, External Affairs
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
karen@midatlanticarts.org