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USArtists International Guidelines Available
Program Support U.S. Artsist at International Festivals

USAI provides support for U.S. dance and music ensembles that have been invited to participate in international festivals in the European Union, Russia, and the Ukraine. Eligible countries include: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, the Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. Applicants must be designated by the I.R.S. as a 501(c)(3) organization, or have a fiscal agent that is designated as a 501(c)(3) organization.

Guidelines for USAI are available online at www.midatlantic arts.org or by calling the Foundation at 410.539.6656 x100. The deadlines for the program are January 7, 2008 for projects taking place between March 1, 2008 and February 28, 2009 and May 5, 2008 for projects taking place between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009.

USAI is committed to ensuring that the impressive range of creative expression of U.S. performing artists is presented before a broad international audience. The program works to strengthen the creative and professional development of American artists by providing support for their performances at significant international festivals. Through their participation, USAI will help develop audiences for, and appreciation of, the excellence, diversity and vitality of the U.S. performing arts.

In 2007-2008, USAI supported fifty-one ensembles performed at festivals throughout the European Union, Russia and the Ukraine. Companies have participated in the Dance Umbrella Festival, United Kingdom; Budapest Spring Festival, Hungary; Blue Note Records Jazz Festival, Belgium; St. Petersburg Sound Ways Festival, Russia; International Music Festival, Czech Republic; Les Gemeaux, France; The Holland Festival, Netherlands; Vilnius Jazz, Lithuania; Ravenna Festival, Italy; Festival Nuits Sonores, France; Gottingen Jazz Festival, Germany; Aragones International Days of Choral Song, Spain; Wiener Musik Galerie, Austria; LODZ Ballet Meetings, Poland; SPOR Festival, Denmark; and others. Artists have included a wide range of dance and music ensembles - from the Merce Cunningham Dance Company in New York to EDGEWORKS Dance Theater in DC and from the Kronos Quartet in California to Zeitgeist in Minnesota. A complete listing of artists and festivals can be found at www.midatlanticarts.org.

In the United States, the public and private sectors work in partnership to support the arts. USAI continues that important tradition, with support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Trust for Mutual Understanding. The National Endowment for the Arts and Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation seek to build a foundation for the expansion of USAI to include other arts disciplines and geographic regions in coming years.

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation supports the richness and diversity of the region’s arts resources and promotes wider access to the art and artists of the region, nation and world.