Grants for Organizations

A projection of a black silhouette human figure against a white background is shown on the wall of an empty stage. The audience is full and everyone is sitting down towards the stage.

Oswego Middle School students and teachers enjoy a special matinee performance by Hamid Rahmanian: Feathers of Fire at Oswego College through ArtsCONNECT 2018. Credit: James Russell.

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation’s grant programs for organizations strengthen the region’s presenter network, give communities access to high quality artistic experiences, build audiences, and provide opportunities for greater understanding and appreciation of the arts.

ArtsCONNECT
About
Camille A. Brown & Dancers are performing on a bare stage against a red wall. The dancers and musicians are playing percussion instruments; some of sitting down, while others are standing up.

Camille A. Brown & Dancers performed at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY through ArtsCONNECT 2018. Credit: Kevin Colton.

ArtsCONNECT supports touring projects developed by presenter consortia based in the region that includes public performances and community engagement activities. Presenters must be located in DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA, VA, USVI or WV.

The program recognizes that offering funding support for a variety of well-coordinated, collective booking efforts increases routing opportunities, leverages access for smaller markets, and benefits the region as a whole. To that end, ArtsCONNECT facilitates an open process of sharing touring project ideas amongst presenters and encourages active participation for presenters of all sizes.

ArtsCONNECT projects are supported in three funding tiers: Projects with artist fees of $5,000 or below; Projects with artist fees between $5,001 and $15,000; And projects with artist fees of $15,001 or above.

For more information about how ArtsCONNECT works, please see program guidelines.

Questions? Contact Haowen Wang, Program Officer, Performing Arts, at haowen@midatlanticarts.org.

ArtsCONNECT is made possible through support from the National Endowment for the Arts’ Regional Touring Program.

Guidelines

The ArtsCONNECT 2021-2022 application deadline was Friday, May 21, 2021. The guidelines and application form below are for information purposes only.

GUIDELINES
Download 2021-2022 ArtsCONNECT Guidelines as a PDF (link opens in a new window)
Download 2021-2022 ArtsCONNECT Guidelines as an accessible Word document (click link to download)

APPLICATION FORM
Download a preview copy of 2021-2022 ArtsCONNECT Application as a PDF (link opens in a new window)
Download a preview copy of 2021-2022 ArtsCONNECT Application as a as an accessible Word document (click link to download)

APPLICATION DEADLINES
Projects in Development Listing Submission Deadline:  Friday, April 16, 2021
Final Application Deadline:  Friday, May 21, 2021

APPLICATION WEBINARS 
Due to updates to the 2021-2022 ArtsCONNECT program, we recommend all applicants participate in an application webinar before applying. Watch a recorded webinar here.

Projects in Development

PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT LISTING
The Projects in Development listing is a user-generated information hub that includes all of the consortia projects currently in development for ArtsCONNECT.

Presenters can seek potential presenting partners by submitting artist and project information to the listing, and learn about other developing consortia to possibly join.

Submission to the Projects in Development listing is required. Applications for artists that have not been submitted to the listing will not be eligible for funding.

The final date to submit an artist to the listing was Friday, April 16, 2021, approximately five weeks prior to the application deadline.

Here are the 2021-2022 ArtsCONNECT Projects in Development listings:
Circus/Public Spectacle
Dance
Multidisciplinary
Music
Theater

PRESENTER PITCH SESSIONS
Presenters were invited to participate in virtual pitch sessions to coordinate potential ArtsCONNECT consortia with other presenters in the region. Pitch sessions were organized by Mid Atlantic Arts.

Each pitch included a five-minute slot to share a project idea as well as a 30-minute breakout room to initiate conversation towards forming a consortium. Sessions were conducted via Zoom.

The 2021-2022 ArtsCONNECT Pitch Sessions have passed. Information below is for reference only.

2021-2022 ArtsCONNECT Presenter Pitch Sessions:

Dance 
Monday, April 26, 2-5PM ET
Session agenda

Music
Thursday, April 29, 2-4PM ET
Session agenda

Theater/Circus/Multidisciplinary
Friday, April 30, 2-5PM ET
Session agenda

Current Grantees & Tours

2020-2021

Due to COVID-19 disruptions, many funded projects are being rescheduled into the next seasons. MAAF is actively working with our grantees to find suitable solutions to support these projects. Please check with the performance venue to confirm dates and times, and for ticket information.

Alarm Will Sound (NY, USA)

A small orchestra plays on a stage bathed in blue and white light. The conductors back is to the audience and we can see their silhouettes in the image foreground.
Credit: Michal Ramus.

American Patchwork Quartet (NY, USA)

Four musicians, three men and a women, pose with their instruments against a white background. (l-r) Standing bass, guitar, hand percussion, and standing snare.
Credit: Courtesy of the artist.

Cirque Kalabante (Montreal, Canada)

Two female acrobats face each other upside down. Their faces are turned to the camera. They are doing matching split handstands.
Credit: Courtesy of the artist.

Far From the Norm (Kingston Upon Thames, UK)

A person, dressed in a hooded animal suit, sits cross legged. They wear a shiny gold paper crown in their head. The stage is lit in dark blue with a white spot.
Credit: Courtesy of the artist.

Fifth House Ensemble (IL, USA)

A large group of musicians is posed against a white background with children's instruments. Balloons and confetti cover the floor in the foreground.
Credit: Courtesy of the artist.

Jane Comfort and Company (NY, USA)

Four women face the camera, their bodies tilted in slight profile. They are all wearing pageant swimsuits and smile and wave at the camera.
Credit: Courtesy of the artist.

Kaneza Schaal and Christopher Myers (NY, USA)

A group of five people sit on stage around and in an inflatable raft
Credit: Elman Studio.

Red Sky Performance (Toronto, Canada)

A group of dancers in white pull and move around a central male dancer. Some of the dancers are marked with white paint. In the background, a bright half circle glows on a dark background.
Credit: David Hou.

Xenia Franca (Sao Paolo, Brazil)

Head shot of Xenia Franca in slight right profile. She wears a burgundy blouse and flowered wallpaper can be seen in the background.
Credit: Courtesy of the artist.

Panelists

Panelists

2020-2021 Program Panelists

Kristy Edmunds
Center for the Art of Performance, UCLA
Los Angeles, CA

Tamara Loewenthal
Lotus Education and Arts Foundation
Bloomington, IN

Aaron Shackelford, Ph.D.
Georgia Tech Arts
Atlanta, GA

Anonymous
Chicago, IL

Anonymous
NY/CA

2019-2020 Program Panelists

Viviana Benitez
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
New York, NY

Laura Kendall
Omaha Performing Arts
Omaha, NE

Bonnie Schock
Sheldon Theatre of Performing Arts
Red Wing, MN

Sixto Wagan
University of Houston
Houston, TX

2018-2019 Program Panelists

Paul Bonin-Rodriguez
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX

Adam Fong
Center for New Music
San Francisco, CA

Ben Pryor
American Realness
New York, NY

Dayna Martinez
Ordway Center
Saint Paul, MN

Manage Your Grant

COVID-19 Coronavirus: As you know, this is a rapidly evolving situation, and we recognize the need to be flexible.  We recognize that out of an abundance of caution, grantees may need to cancel grant-supported engagements or activities. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Director of Operations, Phillip Harmon, or the MAAF program officer handling your specific grant program or activity to discuss your concerns or options. You can find staff contact information here.  Please be assured we will not penalize grantees for canceling grants due to COVID-19 coronavirus considerations and will be as flexible as we can within the limits of our own funder limitations.

Virtual Engagement Guidance

As arts presenting organizations evolve in response to a changing landscape, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation will continue to take a flexible approach to our program policies during this time. While we believe that live, in-person performances are hard to replace, we are also open to adaptive approaches that will ensure continued access to these arts experiences. Therefore, we are glad to announce the following policy for virtual engagements as an option for our grantees to fulfill their public performance and community engagement activity requirements.

Please read the full guidance document to understand the requirements of presenting your funded engagement as a virtual presentation. We have also included links to a few resources that may help you guide your decisions around virtual presentation.

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Virtual Engagement Guide as a PDF (link opens in a new window)
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Virtual Engagement Guide as an accessible Word document (Click link to download)

Changes in Project Proposal

Any changes in the content, schedule, or budget of your project as proposed must be submitted in writing for approval prior to being implemented. Requested changes must be submitted to Phillip Harmon, Director of Operations, at phillip@midatlanticarts.org.

Funding Acknowledgement and Crediting

Acknowledgement and Crediting requirements were included as Exhibit A of the Grant Award Agreement.

Grantees must clearly acknowledge support from Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through use of both the credit language and logo as outlined below. Use of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation logo does not replace the credit language. Copies of the required crediting materials must be submitted as part of the final report.

Credit and Logo Usage Details
The following statement and the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation logo MUST appear in all programs, websites and press releases produced by the funded organization or its agents in relation to the funded project. In addition, the following statement and the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation logo should be included whenever possible, either jointly or separately as necessary, in all flyers and postcards, email communications, season brochures, social media posts and calendars, and any other print or electronic promotional and publicity materials produced by the funded organization or its agents in relation to the funded project.

  • This statement must be used in its entirety and cannot be altered in any way.

This engagement of [ARTIST] is made possible through the ArtsCONNECT program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Website Link
Grantees are required to include a link to the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation website at https://midatlanticarts.org when crediting Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation on their website. This link MUST remain active during the entire length of your grant period with MAAF. You are requested, but not required, to embed the link in MAAF’s logo.

Final Reports

Final report requirements and instructions were included as Exhibit B of the Grant Award Agreement.

Grantees are required to submit a final report which is due thirty (30) days after the end of the grant period on record as listed in the Grant Award Agreement.

Final reports are to be completed online using the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation’s eGRANT system at https://midatlanticarts.egrant.net.  Please read the instructions in the eGRANT system carefully.

The account used to submit the application for the grant must be used to complete the final report. If you do not remember your login and/or password, please use the link on the eGRANT login page to retrieve the information.

For questions about your grant and the crediting or final reporting requirements, contact Phillip Harmon, Director of Operations at phillip@midatlanticarts.org or 410.539.6656 x109.

Folk and Traditional Arts Touring Network
About
A group of men and women stand on the center of a circular group pf church pews and sing. Stained glass windows can be seen behind them.

The Northern Kentucky Brotherhood Singers workshop with Appalachian Ensemble at Davis and Elkins College through the Folk Arts Touring Network. Credit: Andrew Carroll / Augusta Heritage Center.

Established by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation (MAAF) in 2018, Folk and Traditional Arts Network (FTAN) is a presenter based membership network designed to bolster the presentation of folk and traditional arts in the mid-Atlantic region.

Through its members, FTAN 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.

A list of current FTAN members is available on the Members tab.

Questions regarding the Folk and Traditional Arts Touring Network should be directed to Jess Porter at jess@midatlanticarts.org.

The Folk and Traditional Arts Touring Network is made possible through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Guidelines

Membership applications for the pilot program were accepted by invitation only.

New member applications are currently closed. Please sign up for the MAAF newsletter to receive updates about MAAF’s folk and traditional arts programs.

Current Tours

2020-2021 Folk and Traditional Arts Touring Network Engagements

Projects listed below have been approved for funding. Engagement dates may be pending due to COVID-19. Please check with the performance venue to inquire about dates and times, and for ticket information.

Lady D holds a microphone and sings in front of a grey background. She wears a black camisole with a silver shimmering jacket.

Carnegie Hall, Lewisburg, WV presenting Lady D, Beckley, WV

Doris Fields nee Cotton 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 was active in community and professional theatre. 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.

Photo Credit: Eva K. Graham.

Las Cafeteras stands in the corner of two silver metal corrugated walls. They all hols their instruments as if playing.

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’.

Touring artist, Las Cafeteras will be joined by a local ensemble, Conjunto Bruja (Baltimore, MD): Conjunto Bruja is 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.

Photo Credit: Rafael Cardenas.

Daryl Davis sits at a piano, his hands on the keys. He is in right profile with his face turned to the camara. He wears black pants and a black short sleeve shirt.

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.

Davis eventually came to the Washington, D.C., region to earn a degree in music from Howard University. By then, he was an avid fan of piano styles invented far before he was born; his piano chops came naturally, but the training to learn the musical nuance was not easy. In 1985, 72-year-old Pinetop Perkins, considered one of the great blues and boogie-woogie pianists, 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.” Living Blues Magazine proclaimed, “Davis’ piano work impresses with his winning combination of technique and abandon, and his vocals are strong and assured…. Black rock and roll lives!”

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.

Bio provided by the National Council for Traditional Arts.

Photo Credit: Edwin Remsberg.

Bijayini Satpathy performs onstage. She wears a pink and gold sari and ornamented headdress. Her arms are held up in front of her as her hands gesture.

Salisbury University – Cultural Affairs, Salisbury, MD presenting Bijayini Satpathy, New York, NY

Globally acclaimed for her skill as an Odissi dancer and teacher, Bijayini 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.

Visiting artist, Bijayini Satpathy will be joined by local tradition bearer and dancer, Moushumi (Mou) Chakraborty (Salisbury, MD): Mou Chakraborty, is a trained dancer, specializing in Bharatnatyam, Oddissi & Rabindrick traditions and is also the Director of External Library Services at Salisbury University Libraries.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the artist.

Members

Augusta Heritage Center of Davis and Elkins College
Emily Miller, Artistic Director
100 Campus Drive
Elkins, WV 26241
Phone: 304.637.1306
E-mail: millere2@dewv.edu
https://augustaheritagecenter.org/

Carnegie Hall
Allan Sizemore, Artistic Director
611 Church Street
Lewisburg, WV 24901
Phone: 304.645.7917
E-mail: artistic@carnegiehallwv.org
www.carnegiehallwv.org

Creative Alliance
Josh Kohn, Performance Director
3134 Eastern Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21224
Phone: 410.276.1651
E-mail: Josh@Creativealliance.org
www.creativealliance.org

Flushing Town Hall
Ellen Kodadek, Executive and Artistic Director
137-35 Northern Boulevard
Flushing, NY 11354
Phone: 718.463.7700 ext. 225
E-mail: ekodadek@flushingtownhall.org
www.flushingtownhall.org

Lake Placid Center for the Performing Arts
James Lemons, Executive Director
17 Algonquin Drive
Lake Placid, NY 12946
Phone: 518.523.2512
E-mail: james@lakeplacidarts.org
https://www.lakeplacidarts.org/

Miller Center for the Arts at Reading Area Community College
Cathleen Stephen, Director
10 S. Second Street
Reading, PA 19603
Phone: 610.607.6205
E-mail: cstephen@racc.edu
https://millercenter.racc.edu

Salisbury University Cultural Affairs
June Krell-Salgado, Director of Cultural Affairs
1101 Camden Avenue
Salisbury, MD 21801
Phone: 410.543.6271
E-mail: JEKRELL-SALGADO@salisbury.edu
https://www.salisbury.edu/culturalaffairs

Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
Jon Elbaum, Executive Director
30 Second Street
Troy, NY 12180
Phone: 518.273.8945
E-mail: jon@troymusichall.org
www.troymusichall.org

Manage Your Grant

COVID-19 Coronavirus: As you know, this is a rapidly evolving situation, and we recognize the need to be flexible.  We recognize that out of an abundance of caution, grantees may need to cancel grant-supported engagements or activities. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Director of Operations, Phillip Harmon, or the MAAF program officer handling your specific grant program or activity to discuss your concerns or options. You can find staff contact information here.  Please be assured we will not penalize grantees for canceling grants due to COVID-19 coronavirus considerations and will be as flexible as we can within the limits of our own funder limitations.

Virtual Engagement Guidance

As arts presenting organizations evolve in response to a changing landscape, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation will continue to take a flexible approach to our program policies during this time. While we believe that live, in-person performances are hard to replace, we are also open to adaptive approaches that will ensure continued access to these arts experiences. Therefore, we are glad to announce the following policy for virtual engagements as an option for our grantees to fulfill their public performance and community engagement activity requirements.

Please read the full guidance document to understand the requirements of presenting your funded engagement as a virtual presentation. We have also included links to a few resources that may help you guide your decisions around virtual presentation.

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Virtual Engagement Guide as a PDF (link opens in a new window)
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Virtual Engagement Guide as an accessible Word document (Click link to download)

Changes in Project Proposal

Any changes in the content, schedule, or budget of your project as proposed must be submitted in writing for approval prior to being implemented. Requested changes must be submitted to Phillip Harmon, Grants and Operations Officer, at phillip@midatlanticarts.org.

Funding Acknowledgement and Crediting

Acknowledgement and Crediting requirements were included as Exhibit A of the Grant Award Agreement.

Grantees must clearly acknowledge support from Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through use of both the credit language and logo as outlined below. Use of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation logo does not replace the credit language. Copies of the required crediting materials must be submitted as part of the final report.

Credit and Logo Usage Details
The following statement and the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation logo MUST appear in all programs, websites and press releases produced by the funded organization or its agents in relation to the funded project. In addition, the following statement and the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation logo should be included whenever possible, either jointly or separately as necessary, in all flyers and postcards, email communications, season brochures, social media posts and calendars, and any other print or electronic promotional and publicity materials produced by the funded organization or its agents in relation to the funded project.

  • This statement must be used in its entirety and cannot be altered in any way.

This engagement of [Artist] is made possible through the Folk and Traditional Arts Touring Network program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation in collaboration with the National Council for the Traditional Arts with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Website Link
Grantees are required to include a link to the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation website at https://www.midatlanticarts.org when crediting Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation on their website. This link MUST remain active during the entire length of your grant period with MAAF. You are requested, but not required, to embed the link in MAAF’s logo.

Final Reports

Final report requirements and instructions were included as Exhibit B of the Grant Award Agreement.

Grantees are required to submit a final report which is due thirty (30) days after the end of the grant period on record as listed in the Grant Award Agreement.

Final reports are to be completed online using the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation’s eGRANT system at https://midatlanticarts.egrant.net.  Please read the instructions in the eGRANT system carefully.

The account used to submit the Common Information Form for the grant must be used to complete the final report. If you do not remember your login and/or password, please use the link on the eGRANT login page to retrieve the information.

For questions about your grant and the crediting or final reporting requirements, contact Phillip Harmon, Grants and Operations Officer, at phillip@midatlanticarts.org or 410.539.6656 x109

Jazz Touring Network
About
Three performers are on stage wearing red.

Mwenso & The Shakes performing at Arden Club through the 2018-2019 Jazz Touring Network Tours. Photo Credit: Theresa Emmett and Braheem Wilson

The Jazz Touring Network is a presenter-based membership program that provides support for professional development opportunities and performance fee subsidies for its participants. New members are selected on an annual basis through an open, competitive selection process. Membership criteria for JTN prioritizes performing arts presenters in the mid-Atlantic region with little to no experience presenting jazz, while also encouraging applications from experienced jazz presenters seeking to strengthen their programming. The JTN prioritizes participation by presenters that work in and with communities underserved by the arts. Once selected, membership in the program is ongoing contingent upon meeting annual participation requirements.

A list of current JTN members is available on the Members tab.

Questions regarding the Jazz Touring Network should be directed to Jess Porter at jess@midatlanticarts.org.

The Jazz Touring Network is made possible through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Regional Touring Program.

Guidelines

To learn more about the program and eligibility requirements, please review the program guidelines carefully prior to submission.

Download the 2020 – 2021 Jazz Touring Network Membership Guidelines as a PDF (link opens in a new window)

Download the 2020 – 2021 Jazz Touring Network Membership Guidelines as an accessible Word document (click link to download)

Deadlines

The Jazz Touring Network will not be accepting new membership applications in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. MAAF has prioritized supporting current JTN members as they navigate difficult programming and presenting transitions. New Member Applications will open again in Summer 2021.

Current Tours

2019-2020 Jazz Touring Network Engagements

All schedules are subject to change. Please check with the performance venue to confirm dates and times, and for ticket information.

Anat Cohen is photographed against a white background. She wears jeans and a white buttoned shirt.
Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez

Anat Cohen Quartetinho, New York, NY

“Cohen has emerged as one of the brightest, most original young instrumentalists in jazz.” — The Washington Post

Anat Cohen has always felt a deep connection to the joy, inventiveness, and deep grooves of jazz’s rich and eclectic musical traditions. The prolific clarinetist-saxophonist’s latest musical project, The Anat Cohen Quartetinho, was birthed from her GRAMMY-nominated Tentet and explores a myriad of musical influences, both acoustic and electronic, from Israel, the US, and Brazil. Quartetinho features Anat (clarinet & bass clarinet), Vitor Gonçalves (accordion & piano), Tal Mashiach (bass & 7-string guitar), and James Shipp (percussion, vibraphone, and electronics). 

Three women, in black formal wear, stand on stage in front of a grand piano. They all hold microphones and are singing.
Photo Credit: Frank Stewart

Ladies Sing the Blues, featuring vocalists Catherine Russell, Charenee Wade, and Brianna Thomas, New York, NY

Ladies Sing The Blues features vocalists Catherine Russell, Charenee Wade, and Brianna Thomas channeling 1920s blues divas Bessie Smith (the “Empress of the Blues”); Mamie Smith (the “Queen of the Blues”); Ma Rainey (the “Mother of the Blues”); stage and screen icon, Ethel Waters, and legends like Billie Holiday, Alberta Hunter, and Ida Cox. Originally presented at Jazz At Lincoln Center, this concert features an amazing 7-piece band including horn charts adapted from the original recordings.  Come swing with us!

Christie Dashiell head shot. Christie is shot against a wite background. She wears a dark leather jacket and tan patterned scarf.
Photo Credit: Colville Heskey

Christie Dashiell Washington, DC

Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Greenville, North Carolina, Christie Dashiell is a graduate of Howard University and the Manhattan School of Music. As a member of Afro-Blue, Howard’s premier vocal jazz ensemble, Dashiell appeared on NBC’s “The Sing Off.” She has twice received recognition in DownBeat Magazine’s Student Music Awards as Outstanding Soloist and Best Vocalist in the Graduate College division. Dashiell tours with her own quartet, and has performed with Nancy Wilson, Geri Allen, Smokey Robinson, Esperanza Spalding and Fred Hammond. She has appeared at the Atlanta Jazz Festival, Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival, DC Jazz Festival and Winter Jazzfest in New York City.

 

Dayramir Gonzalez sits in right profile while playing a grand piano on stage. He wears a light colored suit and in the background, two females musicians can be seen playing the violin.
Photo Credit: Rob Klein

Dayramir Gonzales Los Angeles, CA

Dayramir Gonzalez is a three-time Cubadisco award-winner and the first Cuban national to receive Berklee College of Music’s “Presidential Scholarship” and the 2013 Wayne Shorter Award for most outstanding jazz composer. 

Dayramir began his professional career as a pianist and composer with former Irakere member, Oscar Valdes’ Afro-Cuban jazz ensemble Diákara at the age of 16. Since winning Havana’s JoJazz festival in 2004 and 2005, Dayramir has gone from winning three Cubadisco awards for his 2007 debut album “Dayramir & Habana enTRANCé” to becoming Berklee College of Music’s first Cuban national “Presidential Scholarship” recipient to performing in 15,000-seat stadiums with legends like Chucho and Bebo Valdes and headlining Carnegie Hall’s,“Voices of Latin America Series,” invited by Chucho Valdes representing the young generation of Afro-Cuban jazz.

During this tour, Dayramir will share the music of his journey as a young Havana-native who brings the Afro-Cuban music legacy infused with the vanguard sounds of New York to the United States. His music reflects his ancestral heritage of pulsating West African motifs to his contemporary take on the classical Cuban tradition of the late 19th century as well as a modern approach to the large orchestral ballads inspired by the artistry of jazz legends like Billy Strayhorn and Gil Evans. Dayramir continues his role as a leading composer, orchestrator, bandleader and pianist in the international jazz community.

Jennifer Hartswick and Nick Cassarino are photographed in black and white in a park. Jennifer is on the right side of the photo with her right arm around Nick's neck They both wear black leather jackets and clothing in shades of black.
Photo Credit: Michelle Stancil

Jennifer Hartswick & Nick Cassarino Duo, Nashville, TN & Brooklyn, NY

Trumpeter and vocalist Jennifer Hartswick and guitarist Nick Cassarino have been playing music, writing, laughing, and storytelling together since meeting in their native Vermont almost two decades ago. Now based in Nashville, TN, Hartswick is best known as a founding member of the Trey Anastasio Band, and has recorded and shared the stage with Herbie Hancock, Phish, Tom Petty, the Rolling Stones, Christian McBride and many others. Cassarino, who resides in Brooklyn, NY, performed as a member of hip-hop collective Lifted Crew and toured alongside rap icons Slick Rick and Big Daddy Kane before forming internationally renowned The Nth Power onstage at a late-night Jazz Fest jam session in 2013.

Hartswick and Cassarino have each made names for themselves, touring tirelessly, but together their powerful jazz-fusion originals are delivered with passion, dedication and sophistication that is evident in their joyous, soulful performances, providing audiences with a truly special musical experience.

Joel Ross photographed against a bubblegum pink background. He ears a short sleeve pink button up shirt and is placing a baseball cap with the words "Good Vibes" embroidered on the front.
Photo Credit: Lauren Desberg

Joel Ross – Good Vibes, Brooklyn, NY

Chicago-born, Brooklyn-based vibraphonist and composer Joel Ross has a way of being everywhere interesting at once: from deeply innovative albums (Makaya McCraven’s Universal Beings, Walter Smith III & Matthew Stevens’ In Common) to reliably revolutionary combos (Marquis Hill’s Blacktet, Peter Evans’ Being & Becoming) to an ever-present force on the New York jazz stage. In 2019 he joined the Blue Note Records roster; adding his name to an illustrious jazz vibraphone legacy on the label that extends from Milt Jackson and Bobby Hutcherson to Stefon Harris. His debut record Kingmaker was one of the exceptional releases of the year and while it was a great recording, live, along with his band, is where his vision truly rises to astounding heights.

Marc Cary sits center and wears a yellow graphic tee and black patterned bucket hat. A man walks out of the left side of the image and another is visible silhouetted to the left.
Photo Credit: Vikram Valluri

Marc Cary, Baltimore, MD

In a jazz world brimming with brilliant and adventurous pianists, musician and composer Marc Cary stands apart by way of pedigree and design as one of New York’s best jazz pianists. None of his prestigious peer group ever set the groove behind the drums in Washington DC go-go bands nor are any others graduates of both Betty Carter and Abbey Lincoln’s daunting bandstand academies.  On top of his expansive recording catalog and international touring,  he is currently teaching the Undergraduate and Graduate improvisation programs at Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School, and with this — alongside his long-standing acclaimed performance based jam sessions The Harlem Sessions — Cary is an indisputable connector between the jazz generations.

Victor Provost is photographed against a white wall. He wears dark suit slacks and a vest over a white button up shirt and red patterned tie. A deep blue scarf is draped around his neck.
Photo Credit: Chris Drukker

Victor Provost, Crofton, MD

Victor Provost is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading voices on the unique, and often misunderstood, steel pan (or steel drum). Through appearances at concert halls, clubs, and stages around the world, he has been meticulously developing a reputation as a “dazzling” soloist, crafting an impressive improvisational voice and style. With a strong foundation in Bebop, a contemporary sensibility, and deep roots in Caribbean music, he seamlessly melds and mixes genres. The Washington D.C. City Paper’s “Jazz Percussionist of the Year” six years running, his 2017 recording Bright Eyes (Sunnyside) debuted at #5 on the iTunes Top 40 Jazz Charts and has been met with praise from The Washington Post, Downbeat Magazine, Hot House Magazine, and numerous artists and presenters.

In addition to leading his own group, Victor has performed and recorded with luminaries such as NEA Jazz Master Paquito D’Rivera, Hugh Masakela, Joe Locke, Nicholas Payton, Terell Stafford, Dave Samuels, Steve Nelson, Ron Blake, and Wycliffe Gordon, among many others.

As an educator, Victor conducts residencies throughout the United States and the Caribbean and is an Arts Ambassador to his home, the U.S. Virgin Islands, which honored him with a Special Congressional Recognition in 2014.

Members

Arden Gild Hall
Ron Ozer, President
2126 The Highway
Arden, DE 19810
Phone: 302.898.9308
E-mail: concerts@ardenclub.org
http://ardenclub.org/

Ars Nova Workshop
Mark Christman, Executive and Artistic Director
Bok Room 509
1901 S. 9th Street
Philadelphia, PA 20002
Phone: 215.805.3376
E-mail: mark@arsnovaworkshop.org
https://www.arsnovaworkshop.org

Artvolution Cultural Innovation Project, Inc.- Modern Renaissance Jazz
Vena Jefferson, Executive Director
1911 Ironwood Lane
Bensalem, PA 19020
Phone: 267.777.9553
E-mail: vena@artvolution.org
https://www.artvolution.org/

Atlas Performing Arts Center
Doug Yeuell, Executive Director
1333 H Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202.399.7993 ext. 116
E-mail: dyeuell@atlasarts.org
http://www.atlasarts.org

BlackRock Center for the Arts
Keelyn Mitchell, Senior Coordinator of Programs & Projects
12901 Town Commons Drive
Germantown, MD 20874
Phone: 240.912.1059
E-mail: kmitchell@blackrockcenter.org
http://www.blackrockcenter.org/

Binghamton University – Anderson Center for the Performing Arts
Annette Burnett, Operations Director
P.O. Box 6000
Binghamton, NY 13902
Phone: 607.777.2311
E-mail: aburnet@binghamton.edu
http://www2.binghamton.edu/anderson-center/

CapitalBop
Jamie Sandal, Managing Director
2853 Ontario Road, NW #501
Washington, DC 20009
Phone: 301.943.2683
E-mail: jamie@capitalbop.com
https://www.capitalbop.com/

Carnegie Hall
Allan Sizemore, Artistic Director
105 Church Street
Lewisburg, WV 24901
Phone: 304.645.7917 ext. 114
E-mail: artistic@carnegiehallwv.org
http://www.carnegiehallwv.org/

Christina Cultural Arts Center
James Raye Rhodes, Executive Director
705 N. Market Street
Wilmington, DE 19801
Phone: 302.851.1633
E-mail: jrhodes@ccacde.org
https://www.ccac-de.org/

Cornell University – Cornell Concert Series
Dr. Deborah Justice, Manager
101 Lincoln Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
Phone: 607.255.4363
E-mail: drj46@cornell.edu
www.cornellconcertseries.com

Creative Alliance
Josh Kohn, Performance Director
3134 Eastern Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21224
Phone: 410.276.1651
E-mail: josh@creativealliance.org
http://www.creativealliance.org/

Downtown Brooklyn Partnership
Ariana Hellerman, Director of Programming
1 MetroTech Center North, Suite 1003
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Phone: 718-403-1641
E-mail: ahellerman@downtownbrooklyn.com
http://www.downtownbrooklyn.com

Flushing Town Hall
Ellen Kodadek, Executive and Artistic Director
137-35 Northern Boulevard
Flushing, NY 11354
Phone: 718.463.7700 ext. 225
E-mail: ekodadek@flushingtownhall.org
http://www.flushingtownhall.org

Frostburg State University – Cultural Events Series
Melanie Moore, Associate Director – CES
101 Braddock Road
Frostburg, MD 21532
Phone: 301.687.4151
E-mail: mamoore@frostburg.edu
https://www.frostburg.edu/cultural-events-series/

Hamilton College – Performing Arts
Michelle Reiser-Memmer, Performing Arts Administrator
198 College Hill Road
Clinton, NY 13323
Phone: 315.859.4305
E-mail: mreiserm@hamilton.edu
https://www.hamilton.edu/campuslife/arts-at-hamilton/performingarts

Jefferson Center
Donna Thompson, Programming Director
541 Luck Avenue, SW, Suite 221
Roanoke, VA 24016
Phone: 540.343.2624 ext. 215
E-mail: dthompson@jeffcenter.org
http://www.jeffcenter.org/

Kente Arts Alliance
Mensah Wali, Artistic Director
1212 Manhattan Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15233
Phone: 412.322.0292
E-mail: mensah@kentearts.org
http://kentearts.com

Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College
Jon Yanofsky, Director, Kupferberg Center for the Arts
65-30 Kissena Blvd
Flushing, NY 11367
Phone: 718.570.0924
E-mail: jon.yanofsky@qc.cuny.edu
http://kupferbergcenter.org/

Lake Placid Center for the Arts
James Lemons, Executive Director
17 Algonquin Drive
Lake Placid, NY 12946
Phone: 518.523.2512
E-mail: james@lakeplacidarts.org
https://www.lakeplacidarts.org/

Light Up The Queen
Sarah Koon, Executive Director
500 N. Market Street
Wilmington, DE 19801
Phone: 302.504.9574
E-mail: sarah.koon@lightupthequeen.org
http://www.lightupthequeen.org/

Montgomery County Community College – Lively Arts
Brent Woods, Senior Director of Cultural Affairs
340 DeKalb Pike
Blue Bell, PA 19422
Phone: 215.641.6439
E-mail: BWoods@mc3.edu
http://www.mc3.edu/arts/lively-arts

MCG Jazz
Natalie Larson, Executive Assistant
1815 Metropolitan Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15233
Phone: 412.322.1773 ext. 121
E-mail: nlarson@manchesterbidwell.orghttp://mcgjazz.org

On Stage At Kingsborough
Anna Becker, Executive Director
2001 Oriental Boulevard
Brooklyn, NY 11235
Phone: 718.368.5148
E-mail: ABecker@kbcc.cuny.edu
http://www.onstageatkingsborough.org/

RiverviewJazz.Org
Bryan Beninghove, Executive Director
P.O. Box 17291
Jersey City, NJ, 07307
Phone: 201.920.7209
E-mail: riverviewjazz.org@gmail.com
https://www.riverviewjazz.org/

Salisbury University – Cultural Affairs
June Krell-Salgado, Director of Cultural Affairs
1101 Camden Avenue
Salisbury, MD 21801
Phone: 410.543.6271
E-mail: JEKRELL-SALGADO@salisbury.edu
https://www.salisbury.edu/culturalaffairs

University of Richmond – Modlin Center for the Arts
Shannon Hooker, Assistant Director
T-107A 28 Westhampton Way
Richmond, VA 23173
Phone: 804.287.6559
E-mail: shooker@richmond.edu
http://modlin.richmond.edu/

Virginia Arts Festival
Kimberly Schuette, Artistic Administrator
440 Bank Street
Norfolk, VA 23510
Phone: 757.282.2811
E-mail: kschuette@vafest.org
http://www.vafest.com/

Manage Your Grant

COVID-19 Coronavirus: As you know, this is a rapidly evolving situation, and we recognize the need to be flexible.  We recognize that out of an abundance of caution, grantees may need to cancel grant-supported engagements or activities. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Director of Operations, Phillip Harmon, or the MAAF program officer handling your specific grant program or activity to discuss your concerns or options. You can find staff contact information here.  Please be assured we will not penalize grantees for canceling grants due to COVID-19 coronavirus considerations and will be as flexible as we can within the limits of our own funder limitations.

Virtual Engagement Guidance

As arts presenting organizations evolve in response to a changing landscape, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation will continue to take a flexible approach to our program policies during this time. While we believe that live, in-person performances are hard to replace, we are also open to adaptive approaches that will ensure continued access to these arts experiences. Therefore, we are glad to announce the following policy for virtual engagements as an option for our grantees to fulfill their public performance and community engagement activity requirements.

Please read the full guidance document to understand the requirements of presenting your funded engagement as a virtual presentation. We have also included links to a few resources that may help you guide your decisions around virtual presentation.

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Virtual Engagement Guide as a PDF (link opens in a new window)
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Virtual Engagement Guide as an accessible Word document (Click link to download)

Changes in Project Proposal

Any changes in the content, schedule, or budget of your project as proposed must be submitted in writing for approval prior to being implemented. Requested changes must be submitted to Phillip Harmon, Director of Operations, at phillip@midatlanticarts.org.

Funding Acknowledgement and Crediting

Acknowledgement and Crediting requirements were included as Exhibit A of the Grant Award Agreement.

Grantees must clearly acknowledge support from Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through use of both the credit language and logo as outlined below.  Use of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation logo does not replace the credit language. Copies of the required crediting materials must be submitted as part of the final report.

Credit and Logo Usage Details

The following statement and the Jazz Touring Network logo, and where space permits, the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation logo MUST appear in all programs, websites and press releases produced by the funded organization or its agents in relation to the funded project. In addition, the following statement and the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation logo should be included whenever possible, either jointly or separately as necessary, in all flyers and postcards, email communications, season brochures, social media posts and calendars, and any other print or electronic promotional and publicity materials produced by the funded organization or its agents in relation to the funded project.

  • This statement must be used in its entirety and cannot be altered in any way.

This engagement of [ARTIST] is made possible through the Jazz Touring Network program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Download the Jazz Touring Network logo below:

Jazz Touring Network Logo
JTN CMYK 72dpi.jpg
JTN CMYK 300dpi.jpg
JTN RGB 72dpi.jpg
JTN RGB 300dpi.jpg
JTN B&W 7dpi.jpg
JTN B&W 300dpi.jpg

Website Link

Grantees are required to include a link to the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation website at https://www.midatlanticarts.org when crediting Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation on their website. This link MUST remain active during the entire length of your grant period with MAAF. You are requested, but not required, to embed the link in MAAF’s logo.

Final Reports

Final report requirements and instructions were included as Exhibit B of the Grant Award Agreement.

Grantees are required to submit a final report which is due thirty (30) days after the end of the grant period on record as listed in the Grant Award Agreement.

Final reports are to be completed online using the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation’s eGRANT system at https://midatlanticarts.egrant.net.  Please read the instructions in the eGRANT system carefully.

The account used to submit the Common Information Form for the grant must be used to complete the final report. If you do not remember your login and/or password, please use the link on the eGRANT login page to retrieve the information.

For questions about your grant and the crediting or final reporting requirements, contact Phillip Harmon, Director of Operations at phillip@midatlanticarts.org or 410.539.6656 x109.

Mid Atlantic Tours
About
The group Nobuntu is performing in front of microphones. All of the members are wearing garments with stripes or patterns. Out of the five performers, the middle one is sitting down playing a bongo drum.

Nobuntu performing in Susquehanna University’s Degenstein Theater through Mid Atlantic Tours 2018. Credit: Chad Hummel.

Mid Atlantic Tours is a curated roster program of performing artists or ensembles chosen to tour throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Project support subsidy is provided directly to presenters engaging artists from the roster for performances. The roster of artists changes annually but maintains a programmatic commitment to a diversity of performance genres, regional artist representation, and engaging with communities underserved by the arts. Mid Atlantic Arts is committed to countering structural inequities based on race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, class, age, and geography.

The annual artist roster is selected through a staff-curated process led by Mid Atlantic Arts, with input from mid-Atlantic presenters through an annual survey. Criteria considered in the selection process include artists or ensembles that appeal to a wide-range of presenters within the mid-Atlantic region, artist affordability, technical requirements, and strong artist representation.

There is no application process for artists to be part of the Mid Atlantic Tours roster. Presenters interested in learning more about the booking and funding process should refer to the Artist Roster and Booking Guidelines tabs under this program.

Questions regarding Mid Atlantic Tours should be directed to Haowen Wang at haowen@midatlanticarts.org.

Mid Atlantic Tours is made possible through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Regional Touring Program with additional funding provided by  the Delaware Division of the Arts.

2021-2022 Artist Roster

Charlotte Blake Alston (PA)

Charlotte Blake Austen stands on a sandy beach with the ocean behind her. She holds a Kora in front of her and is wearing blue and black African print pants and tunic.

Website: http://www.charlotteblakealston.com/

Media:
“Starfish” https://vimeo.com/user69992104/review/480886432/d213d82421
“Anansi” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RM9j_XbpE8

For fees and booking information, contact:  Jennifer Morris, Siegel Artist Management, jennifer@siegelartist.com

Charlotte Blake Alston is a nationally acclaimed storyteller, narrator, instrumentalist, librettist, and singer who has performed in venues throughout North America and abroad for over 30 years. She is committed to the preservation of African and African American oral storytelling traditions. Her stories include folktales, historical stories, and songs that highlight the richness of those traditions. Her presentation style is engaging and often participatory.

The 2020-2021 season marks Alston’s 30th consecutive season serving as host and narrator on family concerts for The Philadelphia Orchestra and her 27th as host of “Sound All Around”, the orchestra’s preschool concert series. She hosted family and school concerts at Carnegie Hall for 19 years and has performed for Lincoln Center Institute and The Juilliard School digital learning platform. She has appeared in such venues as The Smithsonian Institution, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The National Storytelling Festival, and The National Festival of Black Storytelling.

Community engagement activity options: Talkbacks, in-class and online workshops, teacher in-service workshops, lectures, alternate programs for symphonic and choral narration.

Download Technical Requirements

Photo: Annie Cameron Photography.

Lakecia Benjamin and Pursuance (NY)

Musician Lakecia Benjamin sits in left profile. She wears all shits and holds a saxophone in her left hand.

Website: http://lakeciabenjamin.com/

Media: Live at Jazzfest Berlin (live stream)

For fees and booking information, contact:  Gail Boyd, Gail Boyd Artist Management, gailboyd@gailboyd.com

Lakecia Benjamin was named by the Downbeat Magazine Critics’ Poll as Rising Star in 2020. Her latest album Pursuance is an intergenerational masterpiece that takes the listener on a journey through the lineage of music with the works of John and Alice Coltrane. Benjamin pays homage to those who have come before by featuring innovative bandleaders of her generation such as Reggie Workman (co-producer), Ron Carter, Gary Bartz, DeeDee Bridgewater, Meshell Ndegecello, Regina Carter, Bertha Hope, Greg Osby, Steve Wilson, John Benitez, Marc Cary, Marcus Gilmore, Keyon Harrold, Marcus Strickland, Brandee Younger, Georgia Anne Muldrow, and Jazzmeia Horn. This is the music she will tour.

Community engagement activity options: Master classes, workshops, lectures, talkbacks are all available

Download Tech Rider

Photo: Elizabeth Leitzell.

Garba360 (NJ)

Colorful image of an artist leading community members through the steps of a dance. A large festival stage is lit in the background.

Website: https://www.facebook.com/garba360

Media:
About Garba360 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53yeuhacfDY
Promotional Video –  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnHcS6TVpeM

For fees and booking information, contact:  Heena Patel, MELA Arts Connect, heena@melaartsconnect.com

Anchored by a live band and dance instructors, Garba360 reimagines a beloved Gujarati social folk dance experience (garba) and brings it to new spaces and places for all to participate. Danced in a circle, with steps that can be anything from a simple two-step to intricate movements comprised of claps and twirls, garba is the ecstatic dance tradition that often provides the fuel when people in the northwestern Indian state of Gujarat want to celebrate.

Garba360 is a joyous event with dance lessons, a dance performance, and community dancing with live music that can be done in open indoor or outdoor spaces. Garba360 taps into a national network of the Gujarati diaspora in the U.S. to curate local or regional artists and facilitates outreach partnerships with local Gujarati associations where possible.

Recent Garba360 events have taken place at Lincoln Center’s Midsummer Night Swing, Chicago Summer Dance, The International Festival of Arts and Ideas, Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, and more.

Community engagement activity options: In-depth choreography workshops and workshops on the musical traditions of garba are available.

Download Tech Rider

Photo: Kevin Yatarola.

Resistance Revival Chorus (NY)

Black and white image of a group of diverse women all dressed in white. They stand on a city street with building in the background holding microphones and singing.

Website:  https://www.resistancerevivalchorus.com/

Media: 
“This Joy” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TbDPwA09Bc
“Rich Man’s House” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dom2Na_6pdU

For fees and booking information, contact:  Amy Davidman, TBA Agency, adavidman@tbaagency.com

Resistance Revival Chorus is a collective of more than 60 women and non-binary singers who join together to breathe joy and song into the resistance, and to uplift and center women’s voices.

Chorus members are touring musicians, film and television actors, Broadway performers, solo recording artists, gospel singers, political activists, educators, filmmakers, artists, and more, representing a multitude of identities, professions, creative backgrounds, and activist causes. The Chorus centers women in music and addresses how historically marginalized women have been in the music industry.

The Chorus’s touring ensemble of 12-15 people will be focused on sharing the music from their debut album, which was released on Ani Difranco’s Righteous Babe Records in October 2020. After an unprecedented year in health, politics, and social and racial justice the Chorus will highlight “Joy as an Act of Resistance” by coming together to celebrate with music.

Community engagement activity options: The Chorus is open to workshops, interviews, panels, master classes that can be offered in addition to a live concert.

Download Tech Rider | EPK

Photo: Ginny Suss.

SQUONK (PA)

Color photo shot from the back of the audience during on outdoor performance in an open space with trees in the background. The stage has multiple levels with artists playing instruments and two huge blue puppet hands move on either side of the stage.

Website: http://squonkopera.org/

Media:
“Hand to Hand” – Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCfrcBHVBdI
“Hand to Hand” – Highlights 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSv89sPbaV4

For fees and booking information, contact contact:  Steve O’Hearn, SQUONK, steve@squonkopera.org

Hailed as “a multi-media troupe of infinite jest with an imagination to match” by The New York Times, Squonk creates outdoor music spectacles and have performed in 3 continents and in 35 states. Squonk’s newest show, Hand to Hand, has puppeteered hands as big as houses taking command, exploring the grandeur and folly of conflicts of scale and power.

Squonk’s outdoor spectacles are secure and flexible. Performances can be set up at a parking lot, a plaza, a park, or a street. The group brings their own sound and staging and run crew, making it easy for first- time outdoor presenters. They can conduct several shows a day to accommodate distancing or weather.

Community engagement activity options: Squonk can provide onsite engagement activities for any age group. Participatory STEAM program, backstage experiences, and workshops on collaborative work, grant writing, and overseas touring are available.

Download Tech Rider

Photo: John Altdorfer. 

Tom Paxton & The DonJuans (VA)

Black and white image of three musicians dressed casually all sitting on a couch in a living room. The musicians hold a guitar and a ukelele. A medium dog sits with one of the musicians.

Website: http://www.tompaxton.com/

Media:
Live Stream: “Last Thing On My Mind”
Live Stream: “Ramblin’ Boy”

For fees and booking information, contact: Jim Fleming, Fleming Artists, jim@flemingartists.com

Tom Paxton has become a voice of his generation, addressing issues of injustice and inhumanity, laying bare the absurdities of modern culture and celebrating the tenderest bonds of family, friends, and community. Tom received a 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy during the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards, as well as GRAMMY nominations and Lifetime Achievement Awards from ASCAP and the BBC in London. He has been hailed as one of the great songwriters of the last century and will likely be reckoned as one of the greats in this new century, as well.

Writers of wit, wisdom, and sensitivity, Don Henry and Jon Vezner (The DonJuans) are multiple award winners for their songwriting, crossing over numerous musical genres. Their songs have been recorded by countless artists, including Ray Charles, Miranda Lambert, Janis Ian, and Nanci Griffith.

Community engagement activity options: Workshops available; all 3 artists are GRAMMY Award winning songwriters.

Download Stage Plot | Virtual Tour Information

Photo: Alan Messer.

Booking Guidelines

The booking deadline for the 2021-2022 artist roster was May 7, 2021. Information below is for information purposes only.

Presenters interested in the Mid Atlantic Tours program are encouraged to review the full Booking Guidelines as many requirements have changed this year. Questions? Contact Haowen Wang, Program Officer, at haowen@midatlanticarts.org. 

Mid Atlantic Tours provides project support grants to presenting organizations in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, and West Virginia booking the current roster artists for engagements taking place between September 1, 2021 and December 31, 2022. Engagements must be confirmed no later than Friday, May 7, 2021.

Presenters booking a current Mid Atlantic Tours roster artist are eligible to receive a project support grant. The total grant award is a combination of three distinct components, structured as such:

    • A fee subsidy amount of up to 50% of the project’s negotiated artist fee, but no less than $750, plus;
    • A presenter capacity support amount of $2,000 to support direct project expenses including program staff salary; direct technical personnel fee; outreach, marketing, and promotional expenses; technical and equipment rental expenses for virtual engagements, artist travel/lodging expenses, and/or expenses related to public health measures for in-person engagements, plus;
    • Delaware presenters can receive an additional amount up to $1,000 to support the direct project expenses listed in the bullet directly above.

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For full booking requirements and program guidelines, please download the 2021-2022 Booking Guidelines.

For your convenience, guidelines are available in both PDF and Word formats below:

Download 2021-2022 Mid Atlantic Tours Booking Guidelines as a PDF (link opens in a new window)
Download 2021-2022 Mid Atlantic Tours Booking Guidelines as an accessible Word document (right click link to download in new tab)

Current Grantees & Tours

2020-2021 Mid Atlantic Tours Grantees

Due to COVID-19 disruptions, many funded projects are being rescheduled into the next seasons. MAAF is actively working with our grantees to find suitable solutions to support these projects. Please check with the performance venue to confirm dates and times, and for ticket information.

Acrobuffos | AIR PLAY (NY, USA)

A huge piece of purple silk-like fabric blows above the two small figures holding it fast in the lower right corner of the image. A black backdrop sets off this stage performance.

Artist Website | Media Sample | Contact Agent

AIR PLAY is a visual poem using no words. It lives on the edge of definition: part comedy, part sculpture, part circus, part theater. The creation of husband & wife team Seth Bloom and Christina Gelsone, AIR PLAY merges their circus and street theater performance art with the sculptural artistry of Daniel Wurtzel.

Photo: Florence Montmare.

Ak Dan Gwang Chil (Seoul, South Korea)

Nine men and women, with traditional instruments, surround a vocalist facing center and singing. They are posed against a bright red background.

Artist Website | Media Sample | Contact Agent

Ak Dan Gwang Chil (ADG7) is a multi-award winning Korean traditional music group, featuring six Korean traditional musicians and three powerhouse female folk singers. ADG7 performs repertoire from the sacred, shamanic, and secular gut (ritual music) and minyo (folk song) traditions of the Hwanghae-do region, a western province of North Korea.

Photo: Courtesy of the artist.

 Choir!Choir!Choir! (Ontario, Canada)

A large theater is bathed in purple light. The image is shot from behind the two performers on stage at a microphone. They are leading the audience, on three tiers, in a sing-a-long.

Artist Website | Media Sample | Contact Agent

A Toronto-based singing group led by creative directors Nobu Adilman and Daveed Goldman. The duo takes a non-traditional approach; there are no auditions, and the audience is the choir. Just show up and they’ll teach you an original arrangement to a song you love.

Photo: Joseph-Fuda

 The Honey Dewdrops (MD, USA)

A man and a woman, both playing acoustic guitars, stand center stage in a close-up image. The woman is singing. The stage is lit in pink, purple, and orange.

Artist Website | Media Sample | Contact Agent

Americana duo The Honey Dewdrops – Laura Wortman and Kagey Parrish– has long felt the push-and-pull between their original roots in the Appalachian Mountains and their current home in urban Baltimore. You’ll hear it in their harmony soaked songs and the mastery of their instruments’ acoustic tones, but also in their songwriting, which reflects the hard realities of today.

Photo: Nolan Zunk.

 Rare Essence (DC, USA)

Four men stand at the front of the stage with microphones. We can see a full band behind them on a blue lit stage. The back of the audience is in the foreground of the image.

Artist Website | Media Sample | Contact Agent

Rare Essence, Washington’s premier Go-Go band for more than four decades, is a D.C. institution that has built a devoted fan base that spans multiple generations. Drawn to the indigenous funk sired in the mid -70’s by the late Godfather of Go-Go, Chuck Brown, Rare Essence would be one of Brown’s earliest, and have remained his most enduring, progeny.

Photo: Courtesy of the artist.

 Sonia De Los Santos (NJ, USA)

Sonja De Los Santos stands in front of a natural wooden board wall. She holds a ukelele and is wearing a black sun dress.

Artist Website | Media Sample | Contact Agent

Nominated for Best Latin Children’s Album at the 20th Annual Latin Grammy Award (2019), Sonia De Los Santos is one of the brightest voices in bilingual children’s music. Sonia’s concerts delve into her experiences growing up in Mexico. Songs in Spanish and English are inspired by various Latin American rhythms including son jarocho and cumbia, as well as the North American folk traditions from the United States.

Photo: Juanjo Molina.

Tentacle Tribe |GHOST (Quebec, Canada)

Black and white image of six dancers closely grouped together. Their poses look as if they are interlocked. They are shot close-up with a black background.

Artist Website | Media Sample | Contact Agent

Tentacle Tribe dance company presents their unique brand of conceptual hip–hop, experimenting with intricate partnering, refined musicality, and a saturated dose of physical choreography. Co-founders Lê Phan and Höglund have redefined their b-boying and b-girling practices into an innovative aesthetic that transcends style boundaries and expresses the embodiment of music beyond technique.

Photo: Alexandre Gilbert.

Manage Your Grant

COVID-19 Coronavirus: As you know, this is a rapidly evolving situation, and we recognize the need to be flexible.  We recognize that out of an abundance of caution, grantees may need to cancel grant-supported engagements or activities. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Director of Operations, Phillip Harmon, or the MAAF program officer handling your specific grant program or activity to discuss your concerns or options. You can find staff contact information here.  Please be assured we will not penalize grantees for canceling grants due to COVID-19 coronavirus considerations and will be as flexible as we can within the limits of our own funder limitations.

Virtual Engagement Guidance

As arts presenting organizations evolve in response to a changing landscape, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation will continue to take a flexible approach to our program policies during this time. While we believe that live, in-person performances are hard to replace, we are also open to adaptive approaches that will ensure continued access to these arts experiences. Therefore, we are glad to announce the following policy for virtual engagements as an option for our grantees to fulfill their public performance and community engagement activity requirements.

Please read the full guidance document to understand the requirements of presenting your funded engagement as a virtual presentation. We have also included links to a few resources that may help you guide your decisions around virtual presentation.

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Virtual Engagement Guide as a PDF (link opens in a new window)
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Virtual Engagement Guide as an accessible Word document (Click link to download)

Changes in Project Proposal

Any changes in the content, schedule, or budget of your project as proposed must be submitted in writing for approval prior to being implemented. Requested changes must be submitted to Phillip Harmon, Grants and Operations Officer, at phillip@midatlanticarts.org.

Funding Acknowledgement and Crediting

Acknowledgement and Crediting requirements were included as Exhibit A of the Grant Award Agreement.

Grantees must clearly acknowledge support from Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through use of both the credit language and logo as outlined below. Use of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation logo does not replace the credit language. Copies of the required crediting materials must be submitted as part of the final report.

Credit and Logo Usage Details
The following statement and the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation logo MUST appear in all programs, websites and press releases produced by the funded organization or its agents in relation to the funded project. In addition, the following statement and the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation logo should be included whenever possible, either jointly or separately as necessary, in all flyers and postcards, email communications, season brochures, social media posts and calendars, and any other print or electronic promotional and publicity materials produced by the funded organization or its agents in relation to the funded project.

  • This statement must be used in its entirety and cannot be altered in any way.

This engagement of [ARTIST] is funded through the Mid Atlantic Tours program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.*

Website Link
Grantees are required to include a link to the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation website at https://www.midatlanticarts.org when crediting Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation on their website. This link MUST remain active during the entire length of your grant period with MAAF. You are requested, but not required, to embed the link in MAAF’s logo.

*Some projects are also supported by our State partners. Please refer to the specific crediting requirements and language in your Grant Award Agreement to ensure you provide proper crediting for your project.

Final Reports

Final report requirements and instructions were included as Exhibit B of the Grant Award Agreement.

Grantees are required to submit a final report which is due thirty (30) days after the end of the grant period on record as listed in the Grant Award Agreement.

Final reports are to be completed online using the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation’s eGRANT system at https://midatlanticarts.egrant.net.  Please read the instructions in the eGRANT system carefully.

The account used to submit the Common Information Form for the grant must be used to complete the final report. If you do not remember your login and/or password, please use the link on the eGRANT login page to retrieve the information.

For questions about your grant and the crediting or final reporting requirements, contact Phillip Harmon, Grants and Operations Officer, at phillip@midatlanticarts.org or 410.539.6656 x109.

Performing Arts Global Exchange
About
Eleven men and women stand and sit around a table in an industrial space. The musicians all wear black. There are lemons and lemon peels all over the table.There are lemon
Lemon Bucket Orkestra, Canada, will tour the U.S. through the Performing Arts Global Exchange (PAGE) program. To learn more about PAGE tours for Canadian and Mexican artists, visit the “Current Grantees & Tours” tab.

About

Performing Arts Global Exchange (PAGE) is a Mid Atlantic Arts grant program for performing arts presenters nationwide in cooperation with the National Endowment for the Arts. PAGE brings exemplary international music, dance, and theater to audiences across the United States; the next cycle will present U.S. tours in 2022–2023. Fee support grants are available to nonprofit presenting venues and units of state, local, or tribal government based anywhere in the U.S. or its territories who book artists from a curated roster. Artists on the roster have not widely toured in the United States and reside in a selected region. This year’s roster featuring artists from Australia and New Zealand.

Presenters interested in learning more about the roster, booking, and funding process should stay tuned for the Australia and New Zealand artist roster and new program guidelines in September 2021.

Why Performing Arts Global Exchange?

Presenting international artists offers an opportunity to engage in the rich diversity of cultural expression throughout the world, but it also requires resources that aren’t always available. Travel expenses, visas, and routing are often barriers to presenting international artists, especially in the U.S.’s more remote communities. PAGE seeks to ease some of those burdens for U.S. presenters by working with international curators to identify a region’s most exciting, tour-ready artists and provide grant support to bring them to the U.S. PAGE especially seeks to support performances in communities with reduced access to international performing arts due to geography or other features.

PAGE presents: Australia and New Zealand

This year, Performing Arts Global Exchange will feature a roster of artists based in Australia and New Zealand. Featuring music, dance and theater ensembles, this roster offers presenters the opportunity to affordably feature international artists in their programming and community engagement activities.

Performing Arts Global Exchange is a program of Mid Atlantic Arts in cooperation with the National Endowment for the Arts.

Artist Selection

The Mexico and Canada grants have been awarded, however due to circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic, some funding remains available to U.S. presenters who wish to join existing tours (dates vary; most are in 2022). Visit the “Current Grantees & Tours” tab to see the Mexican and Canadian roster artists and their existing tours, and to contact the artist’s agent for details.

How artists are selected for the PAGE roster:

The 2022 – 2023 curation of the Performing Arts Global Exchange roster involves many voices.

  1. Curators living and working in the region of focus are selected each cycle by Mid Atlantic Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to provide artist roster suggestions. The curators have expertise in the performing arts specifically in the selected region.
  2. Then, Mid Atlantic Arts staff and the NEA review these nominations and select a reduced pool of nominated artists that best fit the program objectives. Consideration is given to broad geographic appeal, aesthetic variety, affordability, diversity, and inclusivity.
  3. Next, feedback on these potential roster artists is gathered via an online survey of U.S. presenters.
  4. Mid Atlantic Arts and the NEA select the final roster, weighing presenter feedback and program goals. (Approximately September 2021)

Presenters who would like to provide feedback on the roster artists under consideration via survey should contact robyn@midatlanticarts.org.

The 2020-2021 Curators:

Alethea Beetson | Australia

Headshot of Althea Beetson. She is outside with tropical plants in the background. She wears a dark black t-shirt with the Aboriginal flag.

Alethea Beetson is a Kabi Kabi/Gubbi Gubbi + Wiradjuri artist and producer who has worked extensively with Indigenous communities across multiple art forms to inspire new works responding to societal issues, cultural heritage, and colonization. She is currently the First Nations Producer at BIGSOUND, First Nations Curator (Music) of Brisbane Festival, and Artistic Director of Digi Youth Arts. Her research explores the function of insurgence and resurgence in the creative development and production of Indigenous performance. In 2020, Alethea founded Blak Social, a multi-arts company that will hold a residency at The Tivoli from 2021 to 2022.

Merindah Donnelley | Meanjin | Queensland, Australia

Headshot of Meridah Donnelly. Merinda is shot against a dark blue background and wears a dark top and traditional collar necklace.

Merindah Donnelly is a mother, partner, and proud Wiradjuri woman living in Meanjin, Queensland as a guest on Turrbul and Yuggera homelands; she is currently the Executive Producer at BlakDance. Merindah has worked in market development at the Australia Council for the Arts and as producer for major Australian Indigenous performance gatherings. Merindah sits on the First Nations advisory group for Australian Performing Arts Market, is part of Global First Nations networks internationally, and recently completed a Masters in Cultural Leadership at NIDA. Merindah is also a curator at Brisbane Festival.

 

Shona McCullagh | New Zealand

Shona McCullagh headshot. Shone is shot against a blurred outdoor backdrop. She wears a black blouse and bright green jacket.

As an Arts Laureate, Member of the NZ Order of Merit, creative entrepreneur, and the Artistic Director of Auckland Arts Festival (AAF), Shona McCullagh has a background as a dancer, choreographer, writer, director, filmmaker, collaborator, and installation artist. She co-founded The New Zealand Dance Company and has a long history of collaboration with other art forms, creating extensive work for theater, television, and film, including internationally acclaimed short dance films as a writer, choreographer, and director. She was a co-founder of the Watershed Theatre, founder and Director of The Human Agency and Human Garden Productions, and was Head Choreographer of the Rugby World Cup 2011 Opening Ceremony. Shona won the Westpac Women of Influence Arts Award (2014) and the Hynds Creative Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2015). Shona’s artistic vision leads the 2021 – 2024 Festivals and since her arrival, a new dedicated position has been created, Kaihautū Māori, who leads the Māori programming and language development plan of AAF.

Tama Waipara | Ruapani/ Rongowhakaata/ Ngāti Porou | New Zealand 

Headhshot of Tama Waipara. Tama is shot outside and leans on his right elbow. He wears a t-shirt and gray cardigan.

Tama Waipara is an award-winning composer, singer/songwriter, musician, and performer. He is the Chief Executive/Artistic Director of Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival and board member of SOUNZ – Centre for NZ Music, and a Masters graduate of the prestigious Manhattan School of Music in New York. Tama was signed by New York label ObliqSound as a singer/songwriter and released his debut album “Triumph of Time” to high critical acclaim at Central Park Summerstage in New York. Returning to New Zealand in 2006, Tama has become a leading practitioner in the arts and highly respected performer and cultural advocate. As a singer/songwriter, Tama has collaborated and performed alongside the likes of drummer Kim Thompson (Beyoncé), Grammy-nominated American artist Emily King, New Zealand jazz giant Nathan Haines, and Annie Crummer. He has recorded and released several albums, the latest of which—”FILL UP THE SILENCE”—won Best Roots Album at the New Zealand Music Awards. He has performed with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Wellington, and Auckland Chamber Orchestra. Tama has worked across multiple art forms as a composer, actor, musical director, and producer. Along with Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper, he recently won the 2017 APRA Silver Scroll for Best Original Music in a Feature Film for “MAHANA” and has more recently done music for the documentary, “Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen”—a film about iconic filmmaker Merata Mita.

For Presenters

Booking Guidelines

The Mexico and Canada grants have been awarded, however due to circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic, some funding remains available to U.S. presenters who wish to join existing tours (dates vary; most are in 2022). Visit the “Current Grantees & Tours” tab to see the Mexican and Canadian roster artists and their existing tours, and to contact the artist’s agent.

To learn more about the Australia and New Zealand cycle of this program and how to receive a grant, please revisit in September 2021 for new cycle guidelines.

Current Grantees & Tours

2020-2021 Performing Arts Global Exchange Grantees

The Mexico and Canada grants have been awarded, however due to circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic, some funding remains available to U.S. presenters who wish to join existing tours (dates vary; most are in 2022). Read below to see the Mexican and Canadian roster artists and their existing tours, and to contact the artist’s agent.

DANCE

La Serpiente | Mexico
US Debut

A dancer, dressed all in black, bends backward almost on limbo stance with one arm on the stage while holding a long white ribbon of fabric.

Artist Website | Contact Agent

La Serpiente is an independent contemporary dance company working out of Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico. Since their first production in 2001, they have created their own style of feeling and communicating with the world, creating a company that is a convergence of movement and the aesthetic vision of the group’s members. Treatise About the Line is a contemporary dance performance that explores the complexity of bodies moving through space and time.

Grantees include:

MUSIC

Lemon Bucket Orkestra | Canada

Eleven men and women stand and sit around a table in an industrial space. The musicians all wear black. There are lemons and lemon peels all over the table.There are lemon

Artist Website | Contact Agent

Lemon Bucket Orkestra (LBO) is a Balkan-klezmer-gypsy-punk party. Equal parts high precision and reckless intensity, this magnetic ensemble grew from a quartet of guerilla-folk troubadours busking on the streets of Toronto to a battalion of troops armed with brass, bows, accordions, and drums. As at home in a speakeasy as a concert hall, the Lemon Bucket Orkestra has stormed the international scene with its irresistible brass-band mayhem.

Grantees include:

Vox Sambou | Canada

Vox Sambou stands against a bright blue shipping container. He wears a black jacket, white shirt, sunglasses, and fedora.

Artist Website | Agent Contact

Vox Sambou is an MC, poet, and multilingual performer who writes and performs in Creole, French, English, Spanish, and Portuguese. He is a founding member of Montreal-based hip-hop collective, Nomadic Massive. A Haitian-Canadian, his music focuses on the traditional rhythms of Haiti mixed with elements of Afrobeat, jazz, reggae, and hip-hop. His message is one of great positivity that not only reflects the realities of life in Montreal as a Caribbean immigrant, but also the relationship between artists in the Americas. Photo by: Luz Vermelha.

Grantees include:

William Prince | Canada

William Page is dressed all in black. He stands in a field of yellow and brown foliage. The sky is full of white clouds behind him.

Artist Website | Contact Agent

From ruminations on life and love’s treasures to tales of everyday heroes, the music of William Prince unfurls like a classic campfire story, midnight road-trip conversation, or dog-eared novel passed down through generations. This Juno Award-winning singer and songwriter evokes a journeyman spirit while delivering emotional heft with his dusky baritone.

Grantees include:

Silvana Estrada | Mexico
US Debut

Silvana Estrada sits on stage in a wooden chair with a small wooden table beside her. She wears a plaid dress and has a Cuatro across her lap as she sings into a boom microphone.

Artist Website | Contact Agent

Xalapa’s Silvana Estrada has created a jazz-tinged species of indie folk that has quickly flown onto international radar. The explosive success of her first releases, paired with frequent collaborations with the likes of Natalia LaFourcade, Mon Laferte, David Aguilar, and beyond, have the young artist staged for greatness. Accompanying herself on the Venezuelan cuatro, Silvana combines jazz, folk music from her Veracruz homelands, and smatterings of guapango, cumbia, and other Latin genres.

Grantees include:

THEATER

Seña y Verbo: Teatro de Sordos | Mexico
Music for Your Eyes

Three Actors stand onstage facing the audience. The one in the middle holds a drawing of a sheep. In the foreground, a conductor raises his baton.

Artist Website | Contact Agent

For more than 25 years, Seña y Verbo: Teatro de Sordos (Sign and Verb: Theatre of the Deaf) of Mexico City has produced and internationally toured theater featuring deaf and hearing actors for audiences of all ages. Using a mix of Mexican sign language, pantomime, imagery, and puppetry, their work is grounded in cultural inclusion. Music for Your Eyes is born from the dialogue between two worlds: the world of silent images of the deaf and the seemingly intangible world of music—joined in a common language of theater.

Grantees include:

Manage Your Grant

COVID-19 Coronavirus: As you know, this is a rapidly evolving situation, and we recognize the need to be flexible.  We recognize that out of an abundance of caution, grantees may need to cancel grant-supported engagements or activities. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Director of Operations, Phillip Harmon, or the MAAF program officer handling your specific grant program or activity to discuss your concerns or options. You can find staff contact information here.  Please be assured we will not penalize grantees for canceling grants due to COVID-19 coronavirus considerations and will be as flexible as we can within the limits of our own funder limitations.

Virtual Engagement Guidance

As arts presenting organizations evolve in response to a changing landscape, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation will continue to take a flexible approach to our program policies during this time. While we believe that live, in-person performances are hard to replace, we are also open to adaptive approaches that will ensure continued access to these arts experiences. Therefore, we are glad to announce the following policy for virtual engagements as an option for our grantees to fulfill their public performance and community engagement activity requirements.

Please read the full guidance document to understand the requirements of presenting your funded engagement as a virtual presentation. We have also included links to a few resources that may help you guide your decisions around virtual presentation.

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Virtual Engagement Guide as a PDF (link opens in a new window)
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Virtual Engagement Guide as an accessible Word document (Click link to download)

Changes in Project Proposal

Any changes in the content, schedule, or budget of your project as proposed must be submitted in writing for approval prior to being implemented. Requested changes must be submitted to Phillip Harmon, Director of Operations, at phillip@midatlanticarts.org.

Funding Acknowledgement and Crediting

Acknowledgement and Crediting requirements were included as Exhibit A of the Grant Award Agreement.

Grantees must clearly acknowledge support from Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through use of both the credit language and logo as outlined below. Use of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation logo does not replace the credit language. Copies of the required crediting materials must be submitted as part of the final report.

Credit and Logo Usage Details

The following statement and the PAGE logo, and where space permits, the logos of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts MUST appear in all programs, websites and press releases produced by the funded organization or its agents in relation to the funded project. In addition, the following statement and the PAGE logo should be included whenever possible, either jointly or separately as necessary, in all flyers and postcards, email communications, season brochures, social media posts and calendars, and any other print or electronic promotional and publicity materials produced by the funded organization or its agents in relation to the funded project.

    • This statement must be used in its entirety and cannot be altered in any way:

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This engagement of [ARTIST] is funded through Performing Arts Global Exchange a program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.

Website Link

Grantees are required to include a link to the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation website at https://www.midatlanticarts.org when crediting Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation on their website. This link must remain active during the entire length of your grant period with MAAF. You are requested, but not required, to embed the link in MAAF’s logo.

Final Reports

Final report requirements and instructions are included as Exhibit B of the Grant Award Agreement.

Grantees are required to submit a final report which is due thirty (30) days after the end of the grant period on record as listed in the Grant Award Agreement.

Final reports are completed online using the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation’s eGRANT system at https://midatlanticarts.egrant.net.  Please read the instructions in the eGRANT system carefully.

Final reports are completed online using the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation’s eGRANT system at https://midatlanticarts.egrant.net.  Please read the instructions in the eGRANT system carefully.

The account used to submit the Common Information Form for the grant must be used to complete the final report. If you do not remember your login and/or password, please use the link on the eGRANT login page to retrieve the information.

For questions about your grant and the crediting or final reporting requirements, contact Phillip Harmon, Director of Operations, at phillip@midatlanticarts.org or 410.539.6656 x109.

Special Presenter Initiatives
About
Large group of dancers wearing all white on a white stage with red background lighting. Many dancers are mid motion, and are gathered closely together interacting with each other.

Vincent E. Thomas and the What’s Going On company performed with local dancers at the Christiana Cultural Arts Center in Delaware with support from the 2018 Special Presenters Initiatives program. Photo: Wendell Raulston, Jr.

The Special Presenter Initiatives program provides funding to small and mid-size presenting organizations in Delaware, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and West Virginia. The program supports presenting projects with professional touring artists and ensembles from anywhere worldwide. The supported projects include performances as well as community engagement activities that enhance the performance experience and offer meaningful exchanges between touring artists and a presenter’s community.

Nonprofit presenters can request matching grants for up to two projects per annual cycle. Presenters in DC, DE, and WV can request up to $2,000 per project, and up to $5,000 per project for presenters in the U.S. Virgin Islands, plus additional support to cover project expenses.

Questions regarding Special Presenter Initiatives should be directed to Haowen Wang, Program Officer, Performing, Arts, at haowen@midatlanticarts.org.

The Special Presenter Initiatives program is made possible through the support of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Regional Touring Program.

Guidelines

The 2021-2022 Special Presenter Initiatives program application deadline has passed. The guidelines below are for information purposes only.

For presenters based in Delaware, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and West Virginia:

Guidelines

Download 2021-2022 Special Presenter Initiatives Guidelines as a PDF (link opens in a new window)
Download 2021-2022 Special Presenter Initiatives Guidelines as an accessible Word document (click link to download)

Application Deadline

The deadline for the 2021-2022 Special Presenter Initiatives program was Friday, May 28, 2021 for projects taking place between September 1, 2021 and December 31, 2022.

Application Webinars

To learn more about the program, applicants were encouraged to participate an application webinar. Two webinars were offered before the deadline.

Webinar dates and times:
Thursday, April 15, 2021, 10-11AM
Friday, May 14, 2021, 2-3PM

Current Grantees

2020-2021

Due to COVID-19 disruptions, many funded projects are being rescheduled into the next seasons. MAAF is actively working with our grantees to find suitable solutions to support these projects. Please check with the performance venue to confirm dates and times, and for ticket information.

Delaware

District of Columbia

U.S. Virgin Islands

West Virginia

Manage Your Grant

COVID-19 Coronavirus: As you know, this is a rapidly evolving situation, and we recognize the need to be flexible.  We recognize that out of an abundance of caution, grantees may need to cancel grant-supported engagements or activities. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Director of Operations, Phillip Harmon, or the MAAF program officer handling your specific grant program or activity to discuss your concerns or options. You can find staff contact information here.  Please be assured we will not penalize grantees for canceling grants due to COVID-19 coronavirus considerations and will be as flexible as we can within the limits of our own funder limitations.

Virtual Engagement Guidance

As arts presenting organizations evolve in response to a changing landscape, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation will continue to take a flexible approach to our program policies during this time. While we believe that live, in-person performances are hard to replace, we are also open to adaptive approaches that will ensure continued access to these arts experiences. Therefore, we are glad to announce the following policy for virtual engagements as an option for our grantees to fulfill their public performance and community engagement activity requirements.

Please read the full guidance document to understand the requirements of presenting your funded engagement as a virtual presentation. We have also included links to a few resources that may help you guide your decisions around virtual presentation.

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Virtual Engagement Guide as a PDF (link opens in a new window)
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Virtual Engagement Guide as an accessible Word document (Click link to download)

Changes in Project Proposal

Any changes in the content, schedule, or budget of your project as proposed must be submitted in writing for approval prior to being implemented. Requested changes must be submitted to Phillip Harmon, Grants and Operations Officer, at phillip@midatlanticarts.org.

Funding Acknowledgement and Crediting

Acknowledgement and Crediting requirements were included as Exhibit A of the Grant Award Agreement.

Grantees must clearly acknowledge support from Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through use of both the credit language and logo as outlined below. Use of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation logo does not replace the credit language. Copies of the required crediting materials must be submitted as part of the final report.

Credit and Logo Usage Details
The following statement, the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation logo and [your State arts agency] logo MUST appear in all programs, websites and press releases produced by the funded organization or its agents in relation to the funded project. In addition, the following statement and the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation logo should be included whenever possible, either jointly or separately as necessary, in all flyers and postcards, email communications, season brochures, social media posts and calendars, and any other print or electronic promotional and publicity materials produced by the funded organization or its agents in relation to the funded project.

  • This statement must be used in its entirety and cannot be altered in any way.

This engagement of [ARTIST] is made possible through the Special Presenters Initiative program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the [your State arts agency].*

Website Link
Grantees are required to include a link to the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation website at https://www.midatlanticarts.org when crediting Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation on their website. This link MUST remain active during the entire length of your grant period with MAAF. You are requested, but not required, to embed the link in MAAF’s logo.

*Projects are also supported by our State partners. Please refer to the specific crediting requirements and language in your Grant Award Agreement to ensure you provide proper crediting for your project.

Final Reports

Final report requirements and instructions were included as Exhibit B of the Grant Award Agreement.

Grantees are required to submit a final report which is due thirty (30) days after the end of the grant period on record as listed in the Grant Award Agreement.

Final reports are to be completed online using the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation’s eGRANT system at https://midatlanticarts.egrant.net.  Please read the instructions in the eGRANT system carefully.

The account used to submit the application for the grant must be used to complete the final report. If you do not remember your login and/or password, please use the link on the eGRANT login page to retrieve the information.

For questions about your grant and the crediting or final reporting requirements, contact Phillip Harmon, Grants and Operations Officer, at phillip@midatlanticarts.org or 410.539.6656 x109.

Deadlines

ArtsCONNECT

CLOSED: The application deadline for ArtsCONNECT was Friday, May 21, 2021 for projects taking place between September 1, 2021 – December 31, 2022.

Go to ArtsCONNECT…

Jazz Touring Network

The Jazz Touring Network will not be accepting new membership applications in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. MAAF has prioritized supporting current JTN members as they navigate difficult programming and presenting transitions. New Member Applications will open again in Summer 2021.

Go to Jazz Touring Network…

Mid Atlantic Tours

CLOSED: The deadline for engagements to be confirmed was Friday, May 7, 2021 for engagements taking place between September 1, 2021 and December 31, 2022.
Go to Mid Atlantic Tours…

Performing Arts Global Exchange

The 2020-2021 Performing Arts Global Exchange Roster booking deadline was Sunday, May 31, 2020, for engagements taking place between August 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021.

Go to Performing Arts Global Exchange…

Special Presenter Initiatives

CLOSED: The 2021-2022 Special Presenter Initiatives deadline was Friday, May 28, 2021 for projects taking place between September 1, 2021 and December 31, 2022.

Go to Special Presenter Initiatives…