USArtists International

Guideline Changes and Availability

The USArtists International (USAI) program has served the performing arts international touring community for close to 20 years providing travel support for artist engagements at international arts festivals and arts markets worldwide. Those familiar with the program will note a marked change in the 2025 program – funding is still available at high levels for travel support – but we have had to make some adjustments in order to offer USAI in an evolving support structure impacted by changing priorities in the touring and funding ecosystems. We want you to know our first thought is for the artists we support, and after reviewing countless scenarios and trying to balance need with reality, we have made the following changes that are informed by international touring best practices.

We’ll start with the things that were necessary first:

• There will only be one deadline for USAI 2025: February 26, 2025 supporting engagements between June 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026. For the past two years the spring USAI grant round has grown exponentially. We have decided to direct our resources to this round to provide a deeper funding pool.
• There is a new 1:1 match requirement – we will provide a template to help applicants figure out how to make this work. We need to put this change into place to meet our own funder match requirement.

And the changes that we hope will better support your work:

• While all applications still need to include at least one festival or market engagement, they can now include up to two performances outside of those engagements for travel support.
• The maximum grant is now $11,000 which reflects the historical average grant amount for the program. We will seek to fund grantees at 90%-100% of the grant request amount as opposed to the previous 65%-100%.
• The full grant amount will be paid out at 100% on the front end rather than the previous 90/10 payment.
• Shorter, more concise guidelines.

As we look at USAI moving forward, we believe that program adjustments are headed towards international collaboration, greener touring, and sustainability in touring.

We continue to seek additional program support as USAI has grown and rebounded at historic application levels after the pandemic and hope to share more news with you soon.

The latest guidelines for USAI are available at the link below. The program application will open later this winter. Our staff will host webinars and office hours to walk through the new guidelines and answer any questions in the coming months.

Image: USAI-supported ensemble Dancing Earth performing Eco Elegies alongside guest student artists from IESAEO Performing Arts at Teatro Juárez in Oaxaca. Credit: IESAEO Performing Arts.

LEAD Conference

Making the arts accessible to all is an essential part of Mid Atlantic Arts’ mission. There is no “finish line” to this work because accessibility is a constantly evolving practice.  

Two staff members from Mid Atlantic Arts, Sarah Lewitus and Sarah Theune, attended the Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) conference in Seattle, WA earlier this month to learn with and from colleagues about accessibility and disability justice best practices. Here are some of our key take-aways: 

• Expand our understanding accessibility in the arts beyond adhering to legal requirements.  
• Talk to people in your community with disabilities about what would make them feel radically welcome in your theater, rehearsal room, gallery, nonprofit office, etc., and pay them for their time and input. 
• Let Disabled voices lead conversations about access and disability justice. 
• Consider how arts and culture work can serve as a lever for advocacy—how can what we do as arts workers make life better for people we engage with?  

We learned about the great work happening through the Seattle Cultural Accessibility Consortium: an exciting example of collaboration between orgs with a geographic connection committed to accessibility.  

And we heard from leadership at Open Door Arts and Art-Reach, two incredible orgs whose research report, Towards a Culture of Access, was just released, about best practice in disability-centered research methodology.  

Mid Atlantic Arts supported representatives from the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, the Maryland State Arts Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts to attend LEAD with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.  

Questions about Mid Atlantic Arts’ work in accessibility and disability justice? Reach out to Sarah Lewitus, Program Director, Performing Arts & Accessibility Coordinator, at slewitus@midatlanticarts.org or 410-539-6656 X 110.  

Learn more about our Accessibility Policy here.

Image: Mid Atlantic Arts staff and Mid Atlantic State Arts Agencies' Accessibility Coordinators. Credit: Sarah Lewitus.

New Staff

This month, we welcomed Chels to our team as our Grants Associate! Chels (they/she) is a passionate and experienced Arts Administrator with a proven track record of success in managing complex projects, budgets, and teams. They have a passion for fostering diverse and inclusive communities and a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. They bring over a decade of experience in managing programs and strategic planning. They joined Mid Atlantic Arts in 2024 as the Grants Associate and are honored to support artists and art organizations. As the Grants Associate, Chels supports the team in post award logistics, and holistically stewards grantees through the process by flexing to the real-time needs of grantee staff, artists, and stakeholders.

Chels is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Arts. They also hold a Certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace from University of South Florida Muma College. Before joining Mid Atlantic Arts, Chels was a Producer and Program Manager in NYC working with award winning Off-Broadway companies.

They currently reside in Philadelphia with their partner and menagerie of cats and dogs. When not at their desk they can be found reading outside, or with clay in their hair at the pottery wheel.

Arts of House Ballroom

In June, the United States celebrates Pride, but the traditions and achievements of many Black and Latino LGBTQ+ communities often go overlooked. Black Pride is a five-day celebration in August that centers Black and Latino LGBTQ+ experiences, art forms, and community organizing. Black Pride is part of Black August, a month that honors legacies of Black freedom fighters and resistance to oppression.

For our latest Folk and Traditional Arts blog post, we spoke with House Ballroom organizer Michael Roberson about the Arts of House Ballroom events through ArtsWestchester, supported by our Folk and Traditional Arts Community Project Grants.

Roberson speaks on the kinship structure of House Ballroom, the art form's roots in community organizing, and frames Ballroom as a form of Black theology.

Image: Legendary Khaos Lanvin’s vogue femme performance during the Folk & Traditional Arts Community Projects grant-funded program “Ballroom has Something to Say: An Ode to Black Gay/Queer Men.” Credit: Susan Naqib.

Opportunity Quick Links

• The Andy Warhol Foundation invites applications for its Curatorial Research Fellowships. Proposals are accepted from arts organizations on behalf of curators at any stage of their careers, with or without institutional affiliation, working toward projects that will manifest at least two years after a grant is made. Deadline: Sunday, September 1, 2024. Learn more here.

• Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI) invites applications for the Investing in Artists: Tools & Equipment grant program. The grant awards $1,000 to $5,000 to individual craft artists to purchase artistic tools, materials, or equipment that support their ability to make object-based work. The fund is open to individual craft artists, craftspeople, and folk and traditional artists who have presented artistic work in a public context—including online/digital platforms—within the last three years. Deadline: Wednesday, September 4, 2024. Learn more here.

• The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) invites applications for Manhattan Arts Grants. LMCC programs provide technical support and awards of up to $16,000 to enable hundreds of arts projects in all disciplines. Grants will be awarded in the categories of Creative Engagement, Creative Learning, and UMEZ Arts Engagement. Deadline: Tuesday, September 10, 2024. Learn more here.

• Princeton University Lewis Center for the Arts is accepting applications for Princeton Arts Fellows. The fellowship supports early-career artists in any area of artistic practice and teaching and who would find it beneficial to spend two years teaching and working in an artistically vibrant university community. Deadline: Tuesday, September 10, 2024. Learn more here.

• The College Art Association invites applications for the Wyeth Foundation for American Art Publication Grant. Grants will be awarded in support of book-length scholarly manuscripts in the history of American art (defined as art created in the United States, Canada, and Mexico) under contract for publication. Publishers are eligible to submit applications. Deadline: Sunday, September 15, 2024. Learn more here.

• The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts is accepting applications for its individual grants program. The program awards grants to create, develop, and communicate challenging ideas about architecture and the designed environment, and amplify emerging and underrecognized perspectives in architecture and design by giving priority to first-time applicants. Deadline: Sunday, September 15, 2024. Learn more here.

Residencies

• The Lower East Side Printshop invites applications for its Keyholder Residency program. The residency offers emerging artists free 24-hour access to printmaking facilities to develop new work and foster their artistic careers, along with a $500 stipend, storage space, basic supplies, consultation hours with the printshop staff, and opportunities to show new work in exhibitions and other public events presented by the printshop. Artists from all disciplines are eligible to apply. Deadline: Sunday, September 1, 2024. Learn more here.

• MacDowell invites applications for artist residencies in the disciplines of architecture, film/video arts, interdisciplinary arts, literature, music composition, theater, and visual arts. The fellowship includes studio use, accommodations, and three meals daily for up to six weeks with no residency fees. Deadline: Tuesday, September 10, 2024. Learn more here.

• The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA) invites applications for fellowships, including the 50th Anniversary Fellowships for Artists of Color, Christina Chiu AAPI Writers Fellowship, Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation Fellowship in Photography, and more. Applicants in various disciplines will be considered for a VCCA residency and as many fully funded fellowships for which they are eligible. Deadline: Sunday, September 15, 2024. Learn more here.

Interested in more? Check out our list of Artist Communities and Residencies here.

Image: The Legendary Ingramettes perform in the Dance Tent at the 31st annual Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance for a Mid Atlantic Tours engagement in July 2023. Credit: Manifesto Designs / Wendy Houseworth.