Special Presenter Initiatives 2022-2023 Engagements Announced

Special Presenter Initiatives Providing $70,000
to Organizations in DC, DE, USVI, and WV
for Performing Arts Engagements

Four jazz musicians line the front of the stage. They are all playing their instruments - guitar, saxophone, trumpet. In the back, a drum set and percussionist can be seen.

Baltimore – August 25, 2022 – Mid Atlantic Arts, in partnership with the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Delaware Division of the Arts, the Virgin Islands Council on the Arts, and the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture, and History, has announced $7o,994 in grants through the 2022-2023 Special Presenter Initiatives program.

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, West Virginia, and the Native nations that share this geography. The program supports presenting projects with professional touring artists and ensembles from anywhere worldwide. The supported projects include public performances as well as community engagement activities that enhance the performance experience and offer meaningful exchanges between touring artists and a presenter’s community.

Examples of this type of engagement/community exchange include world-famous Hoop dancer, player of the Indigenous Northern Plains flute, and traditional storyteller Kevin Locke at Shepherd University in WV. Mr. Locke will lead music students and community members in a flute-making workshop and his public engagement will feature traditional songs from the Lakota, Dakota and Meskwaki nations. And, in Wilmington, DE, the Grand Opera House will host Kevin Spencer and Hocus Focus in a sensory-friendly performance that will welcome all audiences, and in particular, young people with disabilities, to a theatrical magic experience by a Ph.D. in therapeutic and educational application of magic to assist individuals with disabilities.

The 2022-2023 grantees include:

Delaware

District of Columbia

United States Virgin Islands

West Virginia

For more program information, please click here. Guidelines for the 2023-2024 Special Presenter Initiatives program will be posted in late fall 2022.

The Special Presenter Initiatives are made possible through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Regional Touring Program and with the support of the Delaware Division of the Arts for DE-based organizations. 

Image: 2022 Virgin Islands Special Presenter Initiatives engagement with Dion Parsons & the 21st Century Band at The Forum on St. Thomas. Credit: Roshan Sooks.

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.

Contact:
Karen Newell
Director, External Affairs
Mid Atlantic Arts 
karen@midatlanticarts.org
410.539.6656 x104