Folk and Traditional Arts Community Projects Grants to Support 27 Organizations in 2023-2024
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Image: Jug Face by Jim McDowell. Credit: Courtesy of the artist.
Baltimore – September 6, 2023 – Mid Atlantic Arts has announced $123,570 in grants through the 2023-2024 Folk and Traditional Arts Community Projects Grants program. Funds will support 27 projects in 9 states and jurisdictions in the mid-Atlantic region.
Mid Atlantic Arts’ Folk and Traditional Arts Community Projects grants fund projects designed to support the vitality of traditional arts and cultural communities in the mid-Atlantic region. Non-profit organizations in the mid-Atlantic region which seek to engage folk and traditional artists, practitioners, or culture bearers in community-based projects are eligible to apply funding for grants ranging from $1,000 to $7,000. 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, including but not limited to a performance, event, exhibit, video, podcast, Q&A session, public interest meeting, archival collection, website, or report.
Community Projects Grants for 2023-2024 include Delaware-based Indigenous beadwork and tanning; West African and Afro-Caribbean drumming and song; cultural traditions of Rwandan communities in Virginia and West Virginia; African-American quilting and storytelling; Black and Latinx LGBTQ+ House Ballroom; and Balinese Gamelan music in Buffalo, NY. These projects promise to support the vitality of traditional arts in their respective communities and beyond, while facilitating cross-cultural understanding.
The full list of 2023-2024 grantees and projects includes:
Delaware
Native Roots Farm Foundation
The Beauty Around Us: Indigenous Knowledge, Native Plants, & Art
District of Columbia
Atlas Performing Arts Center
Navidad Flamenca: A Celebration of Hispanic Holiday Traditions
Maryland
Fusion Partnerships, Inc.
Baltimore Rhythm Festival
New Jersey
Camden Fireworks, Incorporated
Storytelling Quilts: Communal Textile Traditions
New York
Arts Westchester, Inc.
The Arts of House Ballroom
Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University
Old/New Threads Exhibition: Empowering Women Refugees
Henry Street Settlement
Kinstillatory Mappings in Light and Dark Matter by Emily Johnson and Karyn Recollet
Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, Inc.
Riddim Section 2024
Jiva Performing Arts
“Lessons From My Mothers”
Living Traditions, Inc.
The Ninth Annual Brooklyn International Music Festival
Mind Builders Creative Arts, Inc.
Mind-Builders Community Folk Culture Program
Nusantara Arts, Inc.
Enhancing West New York’s Access to Balinese Music Education and Performance
Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Inc.
BEATNIX: A Monthly Online Program Highlighting LatinX Artists in the Beatnik Tradition
O Team
La Rueda de Oro Project – Puerto Rican and Colombian Afro Indigenous Interdisciplinary Project.
Teachers and Writers Collaborative, Inc.
Story Circle Café: Flushing
Works and Process, Inc.
The History of Beatbox
Pennsylvania
Arts Council of Erie
Use the Groove: Folk Songs for Strong Kids, Classrooms, and Communities
Bottle Works-Ethnic Arts Center
Arts, Literature, and Music: A Celebration of Black Art and Stories
The Pennsylvania State University
Move Mix Festival: an opening celebration of Bhangra and Latine music and dance
Rivers of Steel Heritage Corporation
Steel Town Storybuilders: Heritage Arts Workshops in Communities
Puerto Rico
Museo de las Americas, Inc.
Highlighting the Value of our Folk Arts
Virginia
Center for Cultural Vibrancy
Support for the Baltimore Old Time Music Festival
Semilla Cultural
The Banyan Tree of the Americas: Music Evolution in the African Diaspora Symposium
Shenandoah University
The Book of Life
Front Porch CVille
Exploring Our Roots
Venture Richmond, Inc.
2023 Richmond Folk Festival
West Virginia
Positive People Association
The 3-Building Mural Project on 8th Avenue
For more in-depth project descriptions, please go to the Community Projects Grants web listing.
A panel of three experienced folk and traditional artists/practitioners and/or folk and traditional arts professionals met on July 13, 2023 to review submissions and make recommendations. The panelists were:
- Junious Brickhouse (Silverspring, MD)
- Dr. Anna Morel O’Brien (Culpepper, VA)
- Isiah Smallwood (Elmira, NY)
For more program information, please click here. Guidelines for the 2024-2025 Folk and Traditional Arts Community Projects Grants will be posted in early spring 2024.
The Folk and Traditional Arts Community Projects Grants program is made possible through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts‘ Regional Touring Program.
Image: Jug Face by Jim McDowell, to be presented at Bottle Works-Ethnic Arts Center. Credit: Courtesy of the artist.
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