The second cohort of the National Leaders of Color Fellowship (LoCF) program has been selected, representing 54 leaders from across the United States. The group will participate in a transformative eight-month leadership development experience designed to establish multicultural leadership in the creative and cultural sector. 

Curated by WESTAF and in partnership with the five other US Regional Arts Organizations (US RAOs) Arts Midwest, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Mid Atlantic Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, and South Arts, the no-cost program takes place online and will provide fellows with access to specialists in the field, strategic learning objectives determined to deepen thought on anti-racist and culturally-oriented leadership practices, and national-level network and cohort building. Upon completion of the program, participants transition to alumni status and have opportunities to collaborate with the RAO in their region as advisors, funding panelists, and/or other professional capacities. 

The Mid Atlantic region fellows include:

• Delaware: Becky Lane
• District of Columbia, Molly H. Rufus
• Maryland, Pablo Regis
• New Jersey, Triza Cox
• New York, Maya Zeigler
• Pennsylvania, Hyun Jin Jung (Kelly)
• Puerto Rico, Marissel Hernandez Romero
• U.S. Virgin Islands, Theda Sandiford
• Virginia, Abigail Gómez
• West Virginia, Norman Branch

Learn more about the Mid Atlantic region fellows here.

Meet all 54 of the fellows here! #LoCF

ArtsCONNECT Application Open

ArtsCONNECT supports performing arts touring projects collaboratively developed by presenters working together in the mid-Atlantic region. The tours include performances as well as complementary engagement activities designed to create greater understanding or connections between artists, audiences, and communities. You can learn more about ArtsCONNECT at the program webpage or by watching the 2024-2025 informational webinar video. The deadline to apply is March 7, 2024.

ArtsCONNECT Pitch Session

Presenters in the mid-Atlantic region are invited to join this optional virtual event to share the artist/company they plan to apply for ArtsCONNECT funding to present in the 2024-2025 season. Presenters are encouraged to attend even if they do not plan to pitch an artist/company to learn about what colleagues in the field are working on and determine if they would like to join an ArtsCONNECT presenting cohort in progress. If you would like to pitch, make sure to complete the optional pitch questions in registration.

Wednesday, January 31, 2023 from 10:00-11:30am ET

Register to pitch a project or listen in at this link!

Mid Atlantic Tours Now Booking

Presenters located in the mid-Atlantic region who engage a Mid Atlantic Tours Roster Artist during the project period receive up to 50% subsidy for the Roster Artist’s compensation as well as presenter capacity support. Presenters work directly with the Roster Artist’s Tour Manager to negotiate terms, including engagement dates and compensation. Once terms are confirmed between Presenter and Tour Manager, the Presenter completes a short application to Mid Atlantic Arts. Visit the Mid Atlantic Tours Program Page to learn more. Booking Deadline: March 28, 2024.

The 2024-2025 Mid Atlantic Tours Roster Artists are:

• 123 Andrés, Latin Music for the Family
• Adam Booth, Storytelling 
• Alex & Olmsted, Puppet Theater
• Debra Ann Byrd/ Harlem Shakespeare Festival, Theater
• Long Point String Band, Folk Music
• Plena Libre, Plena, Bomba, and Son Music

Want to learn more? View a recording our our December 7 informational webinar.

Special Presenter Initiatives Accepting Applications

Special Presenter Initiatives support the presentation of professional performing artists/ensembles at small and mid-size arts and community organizations based in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, West Virginia, and the Federally recognized Native nations that share this geography.

Fee support is available for engagements of performing artists based anywhere worldwide. Engagements include performances as well as community activities that offer meaningful exchanges between touring artists and a presenter’s community.

The deadline to apply is March 14, 2024. Learn more on the Special Presenter Initiatives webpage and view a copy of our program webinar recording here.

Images (l-r): Left: Dancer Maggie Waller of Rennie Harris Dance Company conducts a Hiphop Masterclass Shenandoah University as part of their ArtsCONNECT supported engagement. Credit: Shenandoah University/Alisa Daum; Center: 123 Andrés is featured on the 2024-2025 Mid Atlantic Tours Roster. Credit: Marcelo Quiñones; Right: Mary Youngblood engaging in a Q&A with audience members following her performance at Shepherd University with support from the Special Presenter Initiatives program.

Visit Mid Atlantic Arts at APAP! Our booth is Rhinelander #209. Stop by to chat with Mid Atlantic Arts' new Executive Director, Juan Souki, along with Director of Programs Robyn Busch, Program Director, Jazz, Ernest Stuart, Program Director, International, Andrew Alness Olson, and Program Associate, Fellowships & International, Stephanie Reyes. We can't wait to meet you in person!

Mid Atlantic Arts will host an in-person informational session at APAP Sunday, January 14 from 4-5pm. Check your Swapcard app for location details. 

Not attending APAP this year, or looking for a primer on all of Mid Atlantic Arts' programs for performing artists and performing arts presenters? You're invited to Mid Atlantic Arts' pre-APAP virtual session, January 4, 2024 at 1:30pm. Register at this link. 

The fall round of the 2024 USArtists International (USAI) program will support 24 performing artists from across the United States at 25 festivals around the globe. Grantees include 13 music, eight dance, and three theater/interdisciplinary companies and solo performers. Fourteen of the grantees have never received a USAI grant! Click here for a full list of fall grantees.

USArtists International^® supports in-person and virtual performances by U.S. artists at engagements at international festivals and global presenting arts marketplaces outside of the United States. The program funds individuals and ensembles across all performing arts practices and disciplines.



The 2024 USAI program spring deadline is Wednesday, March 27, 2024. Please visit our website for more information on the program timeline and guidelines.

Image: The Dancing Wheels Company (Cleveland, OH) performed at the International Festival on the Seno Coast of Mexico in October 2023 with USAI support. The dancers were able to enjoy the city of Tampico before performing. Credit: Sara Lawrence-Sucato.

Mid Atlantic Arts staff Ellie Dassler and Joel Chapman hosted the first Mid Atlantic Folklore Exchange virtually on December 14th. Scheduled to meet on a quarterly basis, the Folklore Exchange is the newest offering from Mid Atlantic Arts to increase networking and communication between folklorists and similarly aligned humanities workers in the Mid Atlantic region. The goal is to facilitate a greater exchange of ideas, tools and resources, airing of challenges, whatever it is that can be helpful to our constituents. What this will actually look like will continue to evolve as we meet and discuss the needs of the region; but the first step is simply to gather and talk!

In attendance was a diverse crowd including artists, practitioners, community leaders, folklore researchers, public folklorists and many more. The first meeting was mostly dedicated to discussing the revitalization of the Middle Atlantic Folklore Association (MAFA). Marion Jacobson, Director of Folklife at the Perkins Center for the Arts, and Betty Belanus, Education Specialist and Curator at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, led discussion for the future direction of MAFA and drummed up a newfound interest in the professional organization.

The next Folklore Exchange will be held March 14 from 4 – 5 PM ET. If you have any interest in joining these meetings, would like to watch the recording, or are interesting in joining MAFA, please email Joel Chapman at jchapman@midatlanticarts.org.

Is your organization committed to increasing arts access for underserved communities? Apply to ArtsHERE, a new grant program by the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with South Arts and the other five Regional Arts Organizations. ArtsHERE will provide grants of $65,000 to $130,000 to organizations that have demonstrated commitment to equity in programming and practice. Grants are for capacity projects that will strengthen the organization’s ability to sustain meaningful community engagement and increase arts participation for underserved groups/communities. Grantees will also have access to peer-learning and technical assistance opportunities designed to share knowledge and build networks. 

View the informational webinar recording, learn more, and submit your Statement of Interest before the January 19, 2024 deadline by visiting ArtsHERE.org.

Opportunity Quick Links

• The Good Heart Artist Residency invites applications for residencies to be scheduled in 2024 and early 2025. The Good Heart Artist residency generally hosts one resident at a time, offering each artist the time, space, and quiet to focus and create. Each artist collaborates with a local nonprofit organization during their stay to lead an educational event, workshop, or exhibition. The program offers ten to 21-day residency stays to visual artists, writers, and composers at any career stage. Each artist is housed in a private residence with a detached studio and provided a $500 stipend. Applicants must pursue their art, writing, or composing as a professional career and are considered based on their submitted work, interest in the program, and proposed community engagement. Deadline: January 8, 2024.

• The Les Paul Foundation invites applications for grants to support programs and projects that encourage innovation in music production and/or performance and innovative STEM or STEAM programs for students and others in challenging situations. Proposals for medical research related to curing tinnitus and other hearing impairment issues are considered. Applicants must be tax-exempt as defined by section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Deadline: January 15, 2024.

• The Indian Arts Research Center invites applications for its artist-in-residence program, which annually awards three fellowships, including a monthly stipend, housing, studio space, a supplies allowance, full access to the IARC collections, and travel reimbursement to and from SAR. Fellowships are intended to give artists time to explore new avenues of creativity, grapple with new ideas that can advance their work, and strengthen their existing talents. The fellowships support diverse creative disciplines, including sculpture, performance, basketry, painting, printmaking, digital art, mixed media, photography, pottery, writing, and film and video. Deadline: January 15, 2024.

• The Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Foundation invites applications for its 2024 Individual Support Grants program, which will award $25,000 in support of mature painters, sculptors, and printmakers who have been creating art for at least 20 years and are in financial need. Twenty grants are awarded per year. Applicants must demonstrate that they have been working in a mature phase of their art for at least 20 years. Deadline: January 17, 2024.

• Stochastic Labs awards fully sponsored residencies to exceptional engineers, artists, scientists, and entrepreneurs worldwide. Residencies are of variable length and include a private apartment at the mansion, co-working and/or dedicated workspace, shop access (laser cutter, 3D printer, etc.), a monthly stipend, and a budget for materials. Residents become part of Stochastic’s creative community, participating in weekly dinners and invitation events. Residents may apply as individuals or as teams. Deadline: October 3, 2024.

Image: Weis Center for the Performing Arts at Bucknell University (Lewisburg, PA) hosted La Banda Morisca (Andalusia) through the Iber Exchange program. Here, members of La Banda Morisca, participate in a residency with Lewisburg Area High School Spanish students.

Credit: Weis Center Staff.