U.S. Regional Arts Organizations (RAOs)
Announce Walking Together Grantees
Grant Initiative Supports Folklife in Communities of Color
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January 13, 2026 – The US Regional Arts Organizations (USRAO’s) today announced the grant recipients of Walking Together: Investing in Folklife in Communities of Color. A total of $3.34 million has been awarded to 96 grantees. Fifty-six organizations will each receive a $50,000 grant. Additionally, 40 individuals will each receive $15,000. Mid Atlantic Arts is administering the Walking Together program on behalf of the USRAOs.
This pilot program awards significant nonmatching grants to traditional artists, practitioners, nonprofits, local and Tribal governments, and community organizations and knowledge keepers that demonstrate a deep commitment to sustaining folklife rooted in communities of color.
Walking Together aims to facilitate a robust regional and national support network for traditional arts, support collaborative documentation and marketing services, and address historic precarity and disinvestment in folk arts and culture that communities of color face. Organizations and individuals deeply engaged in sustaining their community’s traditions receive unrestricted grants through Walking Together, with the aim of supporting their existing work and bolstering community traditions and knowledge into the future.
“This is an opportunity to address inequities in arts philanthropy, with unrestricted support for caretakers of cultural knowledge rooted in communities of color,” says Ellie Dassler, Program Director of Folk and Traditional Arts at Mid Atlantic Arts. “Investing in traditional artists is investing in the well-being of their communities.”
Grant recipients are from all 50 states, DC, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands. All states and jurisdictions have at least one recommended grantee. Some recommended grantees include:
- El Instituto Folclórico Puertorriqueño Rafael Cepeda Atiles in the San Juan neighborhood of Santurce, Puerto Rico, preserves the Afro-Puerto Rican music traditions bomba and plena. With their Walking Together funding, they will build a digital archive documenting elder mentor practitioners and formalize their apprenticeship program with emerging artists.
- Peculiar Pig Farm in Dorchester, South Carolina, is a heritage livestock farm led by fifth-generation farmers, focused on preserving Gullah and other Southern traditional foodways. Walking Together support will expand their existing schedule of seasonal community education and food relief programs.
- The Tao Delta Pi Step Team at the Academies at Jonesboro High School in Jonesboro, Arkansas, shares the tradition of African American step dancing with students and their surrounding community. Walking Together will support the team as they design their first complete set of uniforms and tour Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), performing and learning from the college step teams.
- Winding Wednesday in Indianapolis, Indiana, is a grassroots group of women immigrants and refugees from Chin State, Myanmar. It provides a space for Chin artists to practice backstrap weaving and basketry traditions, share stories of resilience, and learn from one another. They will use Walking Together support to compensate more teaching artists and document the group through high-quality video, audio, and photography.
- The Wind River Community Alliance on the Wind River Reservation of Wyoming empowers Native-led initiatives, strengthens culture, family, and community, and builds bridges with non-Native partners. Walking Together funding will empower Indigenous artists to thrive as cultural bearers and entrepreneurs by expanding authentic opportunities to showcase and sell their work. This support strengthens community resilience by keeping resources on the reservation and sustaining cultural traditions across generations.
- The Rhode Island Kung Fu and Lion Dance Club in Providence has served their local Chinese American community for 20 years with lion dance, drumming, and martial arts classes. Walking Together funds will help them secure a larger studio space, maintain their delicate lion costumes, and build organizational capacity.
“We are excited and honored to support organizations and individuals sustaining folklife in their communities,” said Juan Souki, Executive Director of Mid Atlantic Arts. “Supporting folklife means directly supporting the intrinsic role art plays in everyday life. Sustaining cultural modes of knowledge is crucial to bolstering the vitality of underserved communities across every state and jurisdiction.”
More than 2,000 organizations and artists applied for Walking Together funding in 2025. Eligible applicants were reviewed by six review panels—one per region—and selected applicants were invited to a second round of review. Each region also assembled committees of consultants composed of traditional artists, folklorists, scholars, arts professionals, and advocates as “Working Circles.” These Working Circle members were involved in every stage of the program, including the development of grant guidelines, outreach to potential applicants, and application review and feedback processes as part of a participatory grantmaking model.
To view all grantees, visit the Walking Together program page.
About Mid Atlantic Arts
Mid Atlantic Arts supports artists, presenters, and organizations through unique programming, grant support, partnerships, and information sharing. Created in 1979, Mid Atlantic Arts is aligned with the region’s state arts councils and the National Endowment for the Arts. We combine state and federal funding with private support from corporations, foundations, and individuals to nurture diverse artistic expression while connecting people to meaningful arts experiences within our region and beyond. To learn more about Mid Atlantic Arts visit www.midatlanticarts.org.
About the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations
The United States Regional Arts Organizations (USRAOs)—Arts Midwest, Creative West (formerly WESTAF), Mid-America Arts Alliance, Mid Atlantic Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, and South Arts—are a collective of six nonprofit arts service organizations committed to strengthening America’s infrastructure by increasing access to creativity for all Americans. The USRAOs partner with the National Endowment for the Arts, state arts agencies, individuals, and other public and private funders to develop and deliver programs, services, and products that advance arts and creativity. Together, the USRAOs work to activate and operate national arts initiatives, encourage, and support collaboration across regions, states, and communities, and maximize the coordination of public and private resources invested in arts programs. In 2024, they invested over $33.6 million across the United States and Jurisdictions, through nearly 3,000 grants that reached more than 1,300 communities. Learn more at usregionalarts.org.
Contact:
Mackenzie Kwok
Communications and Social Media Manager
Mid Atlantic Arts
mkwok@midatlanticarts.org
410.539.6656 x123