2024-2025 Folk and Traditional Arts Community Projects Grants Announced

Folk and Traditional Arts Community Projects Grants to Support 21 Organizations in 2024-2025

Baltimore – September 10, 2024 Mid Atlantic Arts has announced over $120,000 in grant support through the 2024-2025 Folk and Traditional Community Projects Grants program. This round of grants will support 21 projects in nine states and jurisdictions in the mid-Atlantic region.

Mid Atlantic Arts’ Folk and Traditional Arts Community Projects grants fund activities that support the vitality of traditional arts and cultural communities in the mid-Atlantic region. Non-profit organizations may apply for $1,000-$7,000 grants for community-based projects that engage folk and traditional artists, practitioners, or culture bearers in community-based projects. Eligible project activities include but are not limited to performances, public art collaborations, workshops, trainings, exhibitions, fieldwork, and artistic collaborations. Projects must include some publicly accessible component, such as a performance, event, exhibit, video, podcast, Q&A session, public interest meeting, archival collection, website, or report. 

The full list of 2024-2025 grantees and projects includes:

District of Columbia  

Atlas Performing Arts Center 
Navidad Flamenca: A Celebration of Hispanic Holiday Traditions 

Sephardic Heritage International 
Monajat and The Nightingale of Iran: A Persian Jewish Performance Event 

Maryland 

Baltimore Blues Society, Baltimore
Baltimore Blues Society Presents Collection of Blues/Blues-Inspired Music by Evan Nicole Bell  

New Jersey  

Hudson Turkish American Cultural Association, Wayne
Explore Turkish Culture in New Jersey 

New York  

ArtsWestchester, White Plains
Legendary Looks: The Art of Effects Design in House Ballroom 

Byrd Hoffman Water Mill Foundation, Water Mill
Ritual Cloths: Elvira Clayton Residency – Workshop and Open Studio 

Community Action Southold Town, Southold
Gregg Klewicki Joins the CAST to Bring Woodcarving to Long Island’s North Fork 

Flower City Folk, Rochester
“What Bonds Us”: A Celebration of Women’s African American Gospel Traditions in Rochester, NY 

Intertwine Arts, New York
Free-Form Weaving with Artists with Disabilities 

Iroquois Indian Museum, Howes Cave
Niá:wen Kerhı́:te (We Greet and Thank the Trees) 

Mind-Builders Creative Arts Center, Bronx
Mind-Builders Community Folk Culture Program  

Nusantara Arts, Inc., Buffalo
Enhancing Western New York’s Access to Balinese Music Education and Performance through Calonarang 

Pennsylvania   

Weitzman National Museum of Jewish History, Philadelphia
Persian Jewish Musical Traditions and Stories 

Puerto Rico  

Centro de Investigaciones Folklóricas de Puerto Rico, Ponce
Rescuing Puerto Rico’s Vanished Stringed Instruments: Tiple-Making Community Workshops 

HASER, San Juan
Festival de Algodón (Cotton Festival) 

Obras del País Incorporado, Ponce
Preserving Puerto Rican Craftmanship in the Digital Era 

Patria y Cultura, Ponce
Workshops on the History, Playing, Dancing, and Singing of Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba and Plena 

U.S. Virgin Islands 

St. John Singers, St. John
One Love: A Celebration of Our Community Heritage Through Quelbe, Reggae, Calypso, Negro Spirituals, and Bamboula Dance 

Virginia  

MidMountain, Natural Bridge Station
MidMountain Marginalized Storytelling Project 

Shenandoah University, Winchester
Sweet Honey in the Rock: Educating, Engaging & Empowering Artists & Youth Through Socially Conscious Music 

West Virginia  

RiffRaff Arts Collective, Princeton
21st Annual Culturefest World Music & Arts Festival 

Two panels of experienced folk and traditional artists/practitioners and/or folk and traditional arts professionals met on July 31 and August 1, 2024, to review submissions and make recommendations. Learn more about the panelists here.

The Folk and Traditional Arts Community Projects Grants program is made possible through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Image: Teresa Melendez, who demonstrates the diversity of the Afro-Caribbean community through handmade rag dolls in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Credit: Obras del País.

About Mid Atlantic Arts 
Mid Atlantic Arts supports artists, presenters, and organizations through unique programming, grant support, partnerships, and information sharing. Created in 1979, Mid Atlantic Arts is aligned with the region’s state arts councils and the National Endowment for the Arts. We combine state and federal funding with private support from corporations, foundations, and individuals to nurture diverse artistic expression while connecting people to meaningful arts experiences within our region and beyond. To learn more about Mid Atlantic Arts visit www.midatlanticarts.org.

Contact:
Mackenzie Kwok
Communications and Social Media Manager
Mid Atlantic Arts 
mkwok@midatlanticarts.org
410.539.6656 x123