Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Announces
Folk & Traditional Arts Touring Network
2020-2021 Engagements
Baltimore, MD – August 31, 2020 – Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation (MAAF) has announced $15,540 in support of the 2020-2021 Folk and Traditional Arts Touring Network (FTAN) program. FTAN is a presenter based membership network designed to increase public understanding of folk and traditional arts in the region. Through its members, the program aims to provide audiences and communities with direct access to
folk and traditional arts and artists, increasing their community’s appreciation and understanding of cultural practice and identity. FTAN engages artists and tradition bearers that represent the breadth and diversity of folk and traditional arts across the United States and beyond, exhibit artistic excellence in their practice, and demonstrate the desire to develop and expand their public presentation expertise.
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation is working with all of our grantees to be as flexible as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time of this press release, FTAN presenters and artists were working together to select engagement dates while taking into account the necessary health precautions to ensure a successful partnership. For more information on a particular engagement, please contact the venue directly.
The 2020-2021 FTAN projects include:
Carnegie Hall, Lewisburg, WV presenting Lady D, Beckley, WV
Doris Fields was born in the coalfields of Cabin Creek, WV. Her first experience in singing publicly came in church where she sang in the gospel choir from a young child to adulthood. In 1985 she became known professionally as Lady D while singing in local bands. She formed her own band, MI$$ION in 2003. Today, MI$$ION is comprised of members Robert Gray (keyboard), Phillip Copney (bass guitar), Dan Bailey (lead guitar) and Demetrius Cross (drums). Lady D’s original song, “Go Higher” was the winner of the Obama For Change Inaugural Song competition in 2008. She and MI$$ION traveled to Washington, D.C. to perform the song at the Obama For Change Inaugural Ball in January 2009. Lady D has recorded five albums, performs her original one-woman stage play based on the life and music of Bessie Smith called “The Lady and the Empress,” and has produced many live music events and festivals along with being a novice visual artist.
Creative Alliance, Baltimore, MD presenting Las Cafeteras, Los Angeles, CA
Las Cafeteras have taken the music scene by storm with their infectious live performances and have crossed-genre and musical borders. Born and raised east of the Los Angeles river, Las Cafeteras are remixing roots music and telling modern day stories. Las Cafeteras create a vibrant musical fusion with a unique East LA sound and positive message. Their Afro-Mexican beats, rhythms, and rhymes deliver inspiring lyrics that document stories of a community seeking love and justice in the concrete jungle of Los Angeles. Using traditional Son Jarocho instruments like the jarana, requinto, quijada (donkey jawbone) and tarima (a wooden platform), Las Cafeteras sing in English, Spanish, and Spanglish and add a remix of sounds, from rock to hip-hop to rancheras. Las Cafeteras use music as a vehicle to build bridges among different cultures and communities, and create ‘a world where many worlds fit’. Las Cafeteras will be joined by a local ensemble,Conjunto Bruja (Baltimore, MD),an all-woman ensemble of cajón, marimba, guitar, charango, Irani setar, dance, and ranchera-inspired vocals. Their diverse cultural backgrounds influence the “corazón” of their music, bridging dynamic sounds from Bolivia, Peru, Mexico, Guatemala, and Iran.
Reading Area Community College – Miller Center for the Arts, Reading, PA presenting Daryl Davis and Band, Baltimore, MD
A child of a Foreign Service officer, boogie-woogie pianist Daryl Davis was born in Chicago but spent much of his childhood bouncing around the globe with his parents. Chicago did leave an impression though; it was here that Davis absorbed the sounds of African American musicians from the Deep South who had traveled North to Chicago during the Great Migration. He also began to dream of performing with Chuck Berry. In 1985, Pinetop Perkins selected 27-year-old Davis to succeed him in the Muddy Waters-influenced Legendary Blues Band. Davis stands out for his ability to bridge traditions that are often segregated into black and white musical categories but that actually flow from the same source, be it boogie-woogie, blues, R&B, rockabilly, or even rock and roll. These labels do not concern him. Instead, Davis is attracted to their shared musical legacy. “This is music from a community of great players,” he says. “Many of them never met, but they knew about each other. I think their creation is a legacy for all Americans.” The who’s who list of artists Davis has performed with includes Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley’s Jordanaires, and the great Piedmont blues duo Cephas & Wiggins. Davis has also released three solo albums. And, yes, he did fulfill his dream of playing with the legendary Chuck Berry.
Salisbury University Cultural Affairs, Salisbury, MD presenting Bijayini Satpathy, New York, NY
Globally acclaimed for her skill as an Odissi dancer and teacher, Bijayini Satpathy is one of the most recognizable names in dance today. She is a solo performer and has toured nationally and internationally as a member of the acclaimed Nrityagram Dance Ensemble. As a researcher and teacher, Ms. Satpathy helped distinguish Nrityagram Dance Ensemble’s training program as one of the most acclaimed and sought after schools in Odissi. Bijayini will be joined by local tradition bearer and dancer, Moushumi (Mou) Chakraborty (Salisbury, MD), a trained dancer, specializing in Bharatnatyam, Oddissi, and Rabindrick traditions.
2020-2021 FTAN projects were developed by individual members with support from their peer network and guidance from MAAF staff. Engagements include public performances or demonstrations, cultural presentations, and collaboratively planned residency activities.
For questions about the Folk & Traditional Arts Touring Network program, please contact Jess Porter, Program Officer, Performing Arts at jess@midatlanticarts.org.
The Folk and Traditional Arts Touring Network is made possible through the generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
About Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation develops partnerships and programs that reinforce artists’ capacity to create and present work and advance access to and participation in the arts. The Foundation was created in 1979 and is a private non-profit organization that is closely allied with the region’s state arts councils and the National Endowment for the Arts. It combines funding from state and federal resources with private support from corporations, foundations, and individuals to address needs in the arts from a regional, national, and international perspective. For more information on the Foundation’s programs and services, please visit: www.midatlanticarts.org
Contact:
Karen Newell
Director, External Affairs
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
karen@midatlanticarts.org
410.539.6656 x104