The program guidelines for Mid Atlantic Tours, ArtsCONNECT and Special Presenter Initiatives are live at their respective program pages. Presenters wishing to pursue support from any of these programs for engagements taking place between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024 are encouraged to review the guidelines and program timeline, and to reach out to Program Director, Performing Arts & Accessibility Coordinator Sarah Lewitus with any questions at slewitus@midatlanticarts.org or 410-539-6656 X 110.

Program links: ArtsCONNECT | Mid Atlantic Tours | Special Presenter Initiatives 

Image: The Choir School of Delaware presented EXIGENCE with support from the  2022 Special Presenter Initiatives program. Credit: Moonloop Photography.

Mid Atlantic Arts is pleased to introduce a new learning and sharing opportunity, the Mid-Atlantic Performing Arts Presenters Exchange. The purpose of the Exchange is to: 

• Connect mid-Atlantic region performing arts presenters with one another, creating new relationships and bolstering existing ones  
• Share field updates and funding opportunities applicable to the work of mid-Atlantic region presenters 
• Engage in collective visioning around the future of our work as a region, centering equity and justice throughout 

The 2022 Exchange will be virtual and will feature four sessions. While these sessions have been developed with Mid-Atlantic region presenters in mind, anyone is welcome to attend, including agents, managers, and presenters from other regions. The 2022 sessions will take place December 8, 9, 12, & 13, 2022 through Zoom and include:  

• Resources + Conversations | 12/8; 4:00- 5:00pm | Register here
• Disability Justice Resources in partnership with Americans for the Arts | 12/9; 4:00- 5:00pm | Register here
• Mid Atlantic Tours Roster Artist Share | 12/12; 4:00- 5:30pm | Register here
• ArtsCONNECT Presenter Pitch Session | 12/13; 4:00- 5:30pm | Register here

Reach out to Program Director, Performing Arts & Accessibility Coordinator Sarah Lewitus with any questions at slewitus@midatlanticarts.org or 410-539-6656 X 110.

Percussionist, educator, and philanthropist, Roger Humphries received the 2022 Living Legacy Jazz Award Presented by PECO in a special ceremony on Friday, October 28, 2022 at the Kimmel Cultural Campus in Philadelphia, PA. The Living Legacy Jazz Award honors living jazz master artists residing in the mid-Atlantic region who have kept the spirit and tradition of this evolving art form alive, maintaining the vitality of jazz for future generations through advocacy, mentorship, and the transmission of artistic skill and cultural knowledge. 

Guests enjoyed a gala reception in the Kimmel's Hamilton Garden with music provided by the Philadelphia Clef Club Jazz Ambassadors. The reception and Award ceremony were followed by a concert by Jazzmeia Horn with a special appearance by Mr. Humphries.

This program is made possible through a collaboration with the Kimmel Cultural Campus. Many thanks to Jazz Philadelphia and the Jazz Philadelphia Summit for their partnership.

Image: (l-r) Napoleon Gladney, Senior Programming Manager, Kimmel Cultural Campus; Theresa Colvin, Executive Director, Mid Atlantic Arts; Roger Humphries, 2022 Living Legacy Jazz Award Presented by PECO Honoree; Romona Riscoe Benson, Mid Atlantic Arts Board Chair and the Director of PECO Corporate and Community Relations. Credit: East Hill Media.

Jazz Road Tours supports small, artist-led, three- to six-site tours at an array of venue types, often in rural communities and other areas traditionally underserved by the genre. Grant amounts generally range from $5,000 to $15,000.

Jazz Road Tours will operate on regularly recurring application cycles through 2026. The next deadline is 

Thursday, December 1, 2022 for tours taking place between March 15, 2023 and March 15, 2024. Applicants will be notified of their funding status by February 15, 2023. For additional deadlines and funding information, please visit the South Arts Jazz Road Tours web page.

This artist-centric grant program—designed to support approximately 50 tours each year—is made possible with funds from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation with additional support from the Mellon Foundation.

The next USArtists International (USAI) deadline is right around the corner - applicants have until Wednesday, November 30, 2022 to apply for support of eligible engagements taking place between March 15, 2023 and March 14, 2024.  

USAI is a national program that supports performances by U.S. artists at engagements at international festivals and global presenting arts marketplaces outside of the United States. Major, non-festival engagements in select countries are now also eligible (see guidelines). The program funds individuals and ensembles across all performing arts practices and disciplines. Read the guidelines to confirm eligibility.

Image: Parangal Dance Company of California received USAI support for an engagement at the Folkart International Folklore Festival in Slovenia in 2022. Credit: Festival Lent 2022 FOLKART.

Congratulations to our Program Director of Folk and Traditional Arts Emily Hilliard on the upcoming release of her new book, Making Our Future: Visionary Folklore and Everyday Culture in Appalachia. 

You can pre-order Making our Future now - what a great holiday gift for the folk and traditional arts lovers in your circle!

"A benchmark in public folklore. Hilliard's ability to weave together many voices has given us a work that expands the horizons of critical heritage work to encompass hot dog condiments, wrestling matches, and teachers' strikes, calling attention to community life itself as the object of cultural stewardship."

—Mary Hufford, Ohio State University and the Livelihoods Knowledge Exchange Network

Book Cover: Designer Lindsay Starr with papercut by Baltimore artist Annie Howe.

Opportunity Quick Links

• The Asheville, North Carolina-based Center for Craft invites applications for its Teaching Artist Cohort. Through the program, 21 mid-career craft artists will receive an unrestricted grant of $10,000 and participate in an eight-month cohort experience where they will be guided through training that encourages and sustains a generative practice as both artists and educators. Proposals are invited from mid-career craft artists who teach. Deadline: November 30, 2022.

• The Fine Arts Work Center invites applications for its 2023-24 Writing Fellowship, open to writers in the emerging stages of their careers. The seven-month fellowship includes a rustic but comfortable apartment, a monthly stipend of $1,000, plus an exit stipend. Residencies run from October 1, 2023, through April 30, 2023, and during this time, fellows can pursue their work independently in a diverse and supportive community of peers. Deadline: December 15, 2022.

• Saratoga Arts is inviting applications for its Community Arts Grants program, which will provide grants of up to $5,000 to support projects that are open to the community they serve and allow the citizens of that community to interact directly with art. Eligible applicants include 501(c)(3) or New York State nonprofit organizations with an active board of trustees either incorporated in N.Y. State or registered to do business in N.Y. State. Deadline: December 15, 2022.

• Folger Institute Artist Research Fellowships are open to artists working in all media whose work would benefit from significant primary research. This includes, but is not limited to, visual artists, writers, dramaturgs, playwrights, performers, filmmakers, and composers. Artist fellowships may be conducted either as a virtual fellowship for one month or as a residential fellowship at the Folger for one, two, or three months. Deadline: January 15, 2023.

• Adobe created the Stock Artist Development Fund to support and promote outstanding artists identifying with underrepresented communities and provide a platform to showcase and celebrate their independent, empowered, and creative forms of visual expression. The fund offers empowerment of artists’ voices and financial support for talented artists with the eventual impact of promoting imagery that has been historically underrepresented in commercial media and aims to ensure that artists are compensated for their work. Rolling Deadline: January 22, 2023.

Image: Performing Arts Global Exchange roster artist Lemon Bucket Orkestra onstage at Albuquerque Museum Amphitheater, NM. Credit: James Holbrook.