USArtists International is committed to ensuring that the impressive range of expression of the performing arts in the United States is represented abroad. The latest round of grants will support 17 performing arts ensembles at festivals in Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and South America. Grantees include dance, music and theater companies from across the United States, ranging from the Idaho-based ballet troupe The Trey McIntyre Project to the experimental music ensemble LEMUR of New York, and from Florida's Teatro Avante to the physically integrated dance ensemble AXIS Dance Company of California.

Photo: Trey McIntyre Project. Photo by: Jonas Lundquist

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Special fee support grants are available to presenters in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, and West Virginia booking artists on Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation's 2009-2010 American Masterpieces and Mid Atlantic Tours rosters while funds last. Find out more about the programs, artist rosters and how to access these funds today by clicking the links below:
American Masterpieces Information
Mid Atlantic Tours Information

Photo: Cherish the Ladies are part of the 2009- 2010 American Masterpieces roster.

December 1, 2008 is the application deadline for the 2009-2010 Artists & Communities program. Artists & Communities supports long-term artist residencies, designed collaboratively by visiting artists and host nonprofit organizations, which engage the public in the creative process and result in the creation of new work. Artists and nonprofit organizations from Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, and West Virginia are eligible to participate in the program. To access the program's guidelines and eGrant application, click here.

January 9, 2009 is the deadline for the second round of applications for the 2009 USArtists International program, which covers engagements taking place between March 1, 2009 and February 28, 2010. USArtists International awards grants to American dance, music and theater ensembles and solo artists from across the country invited to perform at significant international festivals and engagements that represent extraordinary career opportunities anywhere in the world outside of the United States and its territories. Updated guidelines are available here.

Showcases - Arts Presenters Conference
PennPAT roster artist Ernie Hawkins (pictured) will be showcasing at the Arts Presenters Conference in New York City, on January 11, 2009. Be sure to check our website regularly - more PennPAT roster artist showcases will be added.

New Roster Artists and Roster Book
PennPAT has added 12 artists to the roster in the genres of dance, music and theater. The new artists will be included in the 2009 roster book which will be mailed later this month. If you would like a copy of the book, please sign up for our mailing list by emailing info@pennpat.org. Descriptions, photos and contact information for these new artists are now available at www.pennpat.org. Audio and/or video samples of the new artists will be online by the end of November.

Upcoming Presenter Touring Grant Deadlines
> February 16, 2009 - for projects scheduled between June 1, 2009 and May 31, 2011. The eGrant application for this deadline is now available here.

> June 15, 2009 - for projects requesting $2,000 or less, scheduled between September 1, 2009 and August 31, 2010.

For guidelines and applications, please visit our website.

Photo: Ernie Hawkins. Photo Credit: Andy Starnes

Guidelines are now available for the 2009-2010 ArtsCONNECT program, which supports performing arts tours across the mid-Atlantic region developed through presenter partnerships. Participating presenting organizations must be located in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia and West Virginia. Presenter consortia must include, at least, three presenting organizations from, at least, two mid-Atlantic states. Applications that include presenting organizations from three or more states within the region served by the Foundation will be given priority consideration.

The application deadline for ArtsCONNECT is Monday, March 30, 2009 for projects taking place between July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010. Applications will be available after January 1, 2009.

Photo: The 2008 ArtsCONNECT program includes Marc Bamuthi Joseph's Living Word Project. Photo by: Umi Vaughan

Consortia tours are currently in formation and the Foundation will be posting an update on projects in development and projects seeking partners in the coming weeks for presenters wishing to submit an ArtsCONNECT application in the upcoming round.

If you are a presenter in the mid-Atlantic region planning a consortium project, looking for project partners, or interested in joining a project in development, please email Krista Bradley, Program Officer of Performing Arts at krista@midatlanticarts.org.

The October installment of the Mid Atlantic Forum has been released. Jaclyn Stewart of the Jersey Shore Folklife Center at Tuckerton Seaport writes about her experiences working with folk artists and tradition bearers in a museum setting, offering examples of programs and the unexpected benefits for artists and visitors alike. To link to the current essay, click here. To connect to the Mid Atlantic Forum webpage, click here.

September's essay "From Grants to GRAMMYs: Leveraging Cultural Energy," by Dan Sheehy of the Smithsonian's Folkways Recordings, is now available as a podcast. In addition to his own sonorous voice, Dr. Sheehy has included snippets from several of the artists and recordings mentioned in his essay. Listen to the podcast (or link to the RSS feed on your own page!) here.

United States Artists has announced its 2008 USA Fellows and Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation is pleased to count two of the awardees among its own grantees.

Writer, composer, director, and performer Will Power worked with members of the Princeton community and the McCarter Theatre developing his play Fetch Clay, Make Man as part of a 2007 Artists & Communities residency project.

Mid Atlantic also congratulates Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, choreographer and founder of Urban Bush Women, an ensemble which has been supported multiple times through the ArtsCONNECT and Special Presenter Initiatives programs.

Photo: Reading of Fetch Clay, Make Man by Will Power.

email: karen@midatlanticarts.org

web: http://www.midatlanticarts.org