Presenters in Mid-Atlantic Region Receive $240,000 in Support,
Baltimore, MD – August 3, 2020 – Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation (MAAF) has announced 39 grants through its 2020-2021 ArtsCONNECT touring program. The grants, awarded directly to the presenting organizations, will provide $240,000 in support of tours by nine performing artists and ensembles at 31 different performing arts presenters in the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Supported presenters include six grantees new to the ArtsCONNECT program, and represent a mix of independent, municipal, and university-based organizations from urban, suburban, and rural communities across the mid-Atlantic region.
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, ArtsCONNECT 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.
Tours will visit the following organizations and communities in person or virtually over the next twelve months:
Alarm Will Sound
(NY, USA)
Supporting the tour of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Luther Adams’ Ten Thousand Birds, an outdoor site-specific music cycle that explores connections between nature and music, and an electronica program encompassing music by Aphex Twin, Jlin, Luke Vibert, SOPHIE, and others.
- Artpark, Lewiston, NY
- PS21: Performance Spaces for the 21st Century, Chatham, NY
- Shenandoah University – Shenandoah Conservatory, Winchester, VA
American Patchwork Quartet
(NY, USA)
A new roots music ensemble that reimagines timeless songs from America’s past with four acclaimed musicians that bridges genres and cultural backgrounds.
- Bucknell University – Weis Center for the Performing Arts, Lewisburg, PA
- Centenary Stage Company – Centenary Performing Arts Guild, Hackettstown, NJ
- James Madison University – Forbes Center for the Performing Arts, Harrisonburg, VA
- Montgomery College Foundation – MC Cultural Arts Center, Takoma Park, MD
- Ocean County College – The Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts, Toms River, NJ
- Proctors, Schenectady, NY
- Zeiders American Dream Theater, Virginia Beach, VA
Cirque Kalabante
(Montreal, Canada)
Supporting the tour of Afrique en Cirque, a contemporary circus production that fuses long-established African arts and European circus traditions.
- Lake Placid Center for the Arts, Lake Placid, NY
- Nazareth College Arts Center, Rochester, NY
- SUNY Oswego – ARTSwego Performing Arts Series, Oswego, NY
- University of Pennsylvania – Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Far from the Norm
(Kingston Upon Thames, UK)
Supporting the tour of BLKDOG, inspired by Sally Brampton’s Shoot the Damn Dog: A Memoir of Depression, the work delves into the notions of inner-city coping mechanisms.
- Joyce Theater Foundation, New York, NY
- Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Pittsburgh, PA
- University of Maryland College Park – Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, College Park, MD
Fifth House Ensemble
(IL, USA)
A respected chamber ensemble that specializes in emerging artist training, arts-integrated programming, and civic practice, participating in a series of performance-based residencies throughout our region.
- Boulanger Initiative – Baltimore Safe Haven, Takoma Park, MD
- James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
- Shenandoah University – Shenandoah Conservatory, Winchester, VA
- Binghamton University (SUNY) Department of Music, Binghamton, NY
Jane Comfort and Company
(NY, USA)
Supporting the tour of Unvarnished America, a repertory concert based on the Bessie-Award winning choreographer’s 40th Anniversary Retrospective.
- Dance Place, Washington, DC
- Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY
- University of Rochester – Program of Dance and Movement, Rochester, NY
Kaneza Schaal and Christopher Myers
(NY, USA)
Supporting the tour of CARTOGRAPHY, a new theatrical work for audiences of all ages that explores the commonalities of migration and the concrete and metaphorical mapping at the center of worlds in motion.
- Center for the Arts at George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
- Millersville University of Pennsylvania – The Ware Center, Lancaster, PA
- The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
- Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Pittsburgh, PA
- Shenandoah University – Shenandoah Conservatory, Winchester, VA
- University of Richmond – Modlin Center for the Arts, Richmond, VA
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University – Moss Arts Center, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
Red Sky Performance
(Toronto, Canada)
Supporting the tour of Trace, a highly kinetic contemporary dance work inspired by Indigenous (Anishinaabe) sky and star stories, offering a glimpse into our origin as well as our future evolution.
- Bucknell University – Weis Center for the Performing Arts, Lewisburg, PA
- Dance Place, Washington, DC
- SUNY Oswego – ARTSwego Performing Arts Series, Oswego, NY
- Hamilton College Performing Arts, Clinton, NY
Xenia Franca
(Sao Paolo, Brazil)
A Latin Grammy-nominated singer who honors the roots of African diaspora in Brazil, blending traditional percussion with electronica, jazz, and R&B.
- Bard College – The Fisher Center at Bard, Annandale On Hudson, NY
- PS21: Performance Spaces for the 21st Century, Chatham, NY
- 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.
A complete list of ArtsCONNECT grants, including links to presenters and artists, can be accessed here.
MAAF convened a virtual panel, composed of five artists and arts professionals, on April 27-28, 2020 to review the applications and make recommendations.
ArtsCONNECT increases access to live performing arts engagements across the mid-Atlantic region through support for touring projects proposed by presenter consortia. In addition to public performances, each engagement includes complementary activities designed to foster greater appreciation for artists’ work, and offer meaningful exchanges between artists and the public. The program supports tours of exceptional artists involving all performing arts disciplines, including dance, music, theater, multi-disciplinary work, and folk/traditional arts.
ArtsCONNECT is made possible through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts‘ Regional Touring Program.
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. For more information on the Foundation’s programs and services, please visit: www.midatlanticarts.org
Contact:
Karen Newell
Director, External Affairs
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
karen@midatlanticarts.org
410.539.6656 x104