The arts ecosystem is facing rapid changes in federal support for arts, culture, and the humanities. In March and April, staff from both the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) have been placed on administrative leave, and more than 1,200 NEH grants are estimated to have been cancelled affecting programs and communities across the country. Many organizations in and beyond the mid-Atlantic region are advocating for sustained support for the arts and culture sector in light of these drastic cuts. We are sharing the resources below to amplify the important work of our colleagues and partner advocacy organizations. | |
Americans for the Arts Action Fund
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Arts Advocacy Organizations in the Mid Atlantic Arts Region
You can follow state-by-state arts advocacy endeavors, keep up with policy updates, and more here.
Here are some of the arts advocacy organizations for partner states/territories in our region:
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Action Items for Contacting Representatives
Use these pages to find contact information for your representative or for your senator.
Links to pages with phone call scripts, email and letter templates, and social media language for contacting officials:
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Join us in Washington, DC from May 6-7, 2025 as we celebrate 20 years of Poetry Out Loud! Poetry Out Loud is an exciting poetry recitation competition and arts education program that encourages the study of contemporary and classic poems. Since its inception in 2005, Poetry Out Loud has reached more than 4.5 million students.
The 2024 Poetry Out Loud Semifinals and National Finals will take place on Tuesday, May 6 and Wednesday, May 7 at Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University, in Washington, DC. Fifty five state and jurisdictional champions will complete in the semifinal round on May 6, and nine finalists will continue to the National Finals on May 7. Admission to the semifinals and National Finals is free and open to the public - tickets are not required.
The National Finals, hosted by National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Mac Barnett, will take place at 7:00 p.m. and will culminate with the announcement of the 2025 Poetry Out Loud National Champion. Judges are Rick Barot, Carmen Giménez, Candice Iloh, Roderick Justice, and Jasminne Mendez. The evening will also include a performance by singer, songwriter, and poet Jamila Woods, supported by the Poetry Foundation.
The national champion will receive a $20,000 cash prize. Second-and third-place finalists will receive $10,000 and $5,000 awards. You can view a list of the 2025 Poetry Out Loud state/territorial champions here.
The semifinals and finals will also be livestreamed at Arts.gov/Poetry-Out-Loud.
Poetry Out Loud is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation, in partnership with state and jurisdictional arts agencies. Since the start, the Poetry Out Loud National Finals have been administered by Mid Atlantic Arts.
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Philly Jazz Month is in full swing! Co-presented by Creative Philadelphia (Creative PHL) and Mid Atlantic Arts, Philly Jazz Month is a month-long celebration of the city's past, present, and future legacies in the jazz world. Programming aims to celebrate Philadelphia’s jazz community and historic legacy, share broader narratives of Philadelphia’s cultural identity, support the local creative economy, and promote cultural tourism in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Philly Jazz Month also aims to inspire a new generation of jazz musicians and enthusiasts through educational programming, school visits, and creating partnerships between local organizations and schools. Education Partners include Ensemble Arts Philly and the School District of Philadelphia.
Join us for a variety of concert series, live jazz jams, and more! Check out our full schedule of Philly Jazz Month events here.
| | State Arts Associations Gathering | | On March 24-25, Mid Atlantic’s State Arts Agency partners gathered in Baltimore for a two-day convening to share impactful work, foster collaboration, and strengthen partnerships. This newly relaunched annual event aims to build a more resilient and interconnected regional arts ecosystem. Looking to learn more about the work of our State Arts Agency partners? Click here. | | Centering the Arts and Humanities Gathering | | |
Artists, scholars, humanities practitioners, and nonprofit workers, join us on Tuesday, April 22 in Washington, DC!
The DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities along with ArtsFairfax, Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, HumanitiesDC, National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, Mid Atlantic Arts, and The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, invite our community of artists, scholars, and non-profits to gather for an informal evening of connection, sharing, and the opportunity to lift one another up and to strengthen our ecosystem.
We will meet at Penn Social from 5-8pm. RSVP today for this free gathering!
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The Northern New York Community Foundation invites applications for orchestral performances in the Watertown area. Grants of up to $25,000 in support of live orchestral performances in the Watertown area. Eligible nonprofit organizations are required to have at least 20 performers in the group and include an instrumental component. Deadline: Friday, April 18, 2025. Learn more here.
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The National Geographic Society is accepting proposals for freshwater storytelling. Storytellers from across the world in a variety of content formats, including but not limited to photography, film and video, mapmaking, data visualization, written word, spoken word, etc. Projects that dig deeper into the challenges facing specific communities such as last mile households, low-income households, women and girls, and children face in achieving equitable access to freshwater, and how these issues are worsening as freshwater scarcity increases are encouraged. Deadline: Tuesday, April 22, 2025. Learn more here.
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The William Penn Foundation is accepting proposals for one- to two-year projects to increase opportunities for people across the Philadelphia to engage with a range of high-quality arts and culture experiences. WPF funds the following disciplines: dance, design, folk and traditional arts, literary arts, media arts, music, musical theater, opera, multidisciplinary arts, theater, and visual arts. Organizations that are not primarily arts and culture organizations must have a history of high-quality artistic programming and the appropriate artistic staff. Deadline: Friday, April 25, 2025. Learn more here.
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The Harpo Foundation invites applications from under-recognized visual artists for its Grants for Visual Artists program. Grants of up to $10,000 will be awarded to artists based on the quality of the artists’ work, the potential to expand aesthetic inquiry, and the ability to fulfill the foundation’s priority to provide support to visual artists who are under-recognized by the field. Applicants must be a United States citizen and a self-defined under-recognized visual artist ages 21 years or older. Deadline: Monday, April 28, 2025. Learn more here.
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The Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority invites applications from arts, culture, and heritage organizations for its Community Assets—Arts, Culture, and Heritage program. Grants of up to $15,000 will be awarded in support of arts, culture, and heritage organizations working to enrich the lives of residents, protect resources, and add a dimension to the quality of life through performances, interpretation, preservation, and creation of new works. Applicants must be tax-exempt as defined by section 501(c)(3), a municipal authority, or a municipality. Applicant’s headquarters must be located in Erie County, PA. Deadline: Wednesday, April 30, 2025. Learn more here.
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Franklin Furnace invites applications for its inaugural Jacki Apple Award in Performance and Artist Projects awards for avant-garde art. Through Franklin Furnace, one New York City-based artist working in performance art will be awarded $10,000 to fund projects in performance, media, exhibition, and/or publication. Deadline: Wednesday, April 30, 2025. Learn more here.
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The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts invites applications from contemporary visual arts writers for the Arts Writers Grant Program. Ranging from $15,000 to $50,000 in three categories—articles, books, and short-form writing—grants will support projects addressing both general and specialized art audiences, from short reviews for magazines and newspapers to in-depth scholarly studies. The foundation also supports arts writing that engages criticism through interdisciplinary methods or experiments with literary styles. To be eligible, applicants must be a published author, at least 25 years old, a citizen or permanent resident of the United States, or an individual with an O-I visa. Deadline: Wednesday, May 7, 2025. Learn more here.
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Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture is accepting applications for the Naomi Shihab Nye Prize. Arab American and Arab Canadian writers are invited to submit an English-language middle-grade manuscript for readers between the ages of 8 and 12. Manuscripts may be in any genre. Deadline: Tuesday, May 20, 2025. Learn more here.
| | Image: After an ArtsCONNECT engagement of Manual Cinema, audience members went on stage to meet the artists and explore the set and equipment used to perform Frankenstein at The Performing Arts Center, Purchase College. Credit: Louis Vaccaro. | | | | |
