US Regional Arts Organization Joint Statement on the National Endowment for the Arts

Earlier this month, many active and pending grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) were abruptly terminated. This comes alongside the president’s proposal to eliminate the NEA entirely in the FY26 federal budget.

We at Mid Atlantic Arts, along the national collective of US Regional Arts Organizations, strongly urge Congress to restore the grant funding in support of the arts, culture, and creativity that was passed during the last budgetary approval process, in addition to maintaining its broad bipartisan commitment to funding the NEA in next year’s budget. As the landscape of support for our cultural infrastructure continues to be eroded, we remain steadfast in our commitment to stand with you in defending and preserving our nation’s artistic and cultural agencies. 

Isavel Mendoza is the 2025 Poetry Out Loud National Champion!

Congratulations to Pennsylvania State Champion Isavel Mendoza, the 2025 Poetry Out Loud National Champion! Isavel competed with 54 other state champions through the semifinals to the National Finals to be named this year's champion. Second-place went to Teonna Randle of South Dakota, and Kaitlyn Lubega of New Mexico took third.

The other six national finalists were Mona Koko (Alaska), Nyla Dinkins (District of Columbia), Tiana Renee Jones (Georgia), Javontae Cranmo (Kentucky), Hadassah Broughton (New Jersey), and Elisha Dalmeida (Oklahoma). Congratulations to all 55 of the state champions who came to DC to compete!

2025 marks the 20th anniversary of Poetry Out Loud, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation in partnership with the state and jurisdictional arts agencies. Mid Atlantic Arts has administered the three-day National Finals event in Washington, DC since the program's start. Since the program began, more than 4.5 million students and 85,000 teachers from 21,000 schools and organizations across the nation have participated in Poetry Out Loud. 

Image: Teonna Randle, Isavel Mendoza, and Kaitlyn Lubega celebrate their Poetry Out Loud success. Credit: James Kegley.

Reflecting on Philly Jazz Month

Video: Mid Atlantic Arts' Jazz Program Director Ernest Stuart and his band THREEZUS visit WPHL -TV (CW Philadelphia) to perform and talk about Philly Jazz Month.

We're celebrating a successful inaugural Philly Jazz Month! Throughout April, Mid Atlantic Arts and Creative Philadelphia (Creative PHL) presented exciting programming celebrating the city's rich jazz heritage.

From a musical celebration of pianist Orrin Evans' birthday to open jazz jams, Philly Jazz Month paid an homage to Philadelphia's cultural identity. Programs also explored the the city's jazz history, jazz music's impact on political and social movements, and its place in an evolving world.

Want a full run down of all that happened during Philly Jazz Month? Check out the Philly Jazz Month website's schedule.

2024 Annual Report Available

In 2024, we celebrated 45 years of support! Our newest Annual Report shares the work artists and organizations brought into communities across the mid-Atlantic, nation, and worldwide in 2024. We want to thank everybody who has supported us for your part in helping us recognize the artists, organizations, and creative communities that make the mid-Atlantic region so vibrant.

Field Resources

Arts Institute of Middlesex County's Folklife Specialist Position

The Arts Institute of Middlesex County (AIMC) is seeking a detail-oriented Folklife Specialist eager to engage with the diverse cultural landscape that makes up Middlesex County and the greater Central Jersey region. The ideal candidate is passionate about arts, culture, history, and public service, with strong communication skills to engage artists, nonprofits, municipal entities, and the public. The Folklife Specialist is responsible for advising on folklife programming, grants, and initiatives within AIMC. Apply by Monday, June 30, 2025. Learn more here.

Fringe Industry Prep Sessions

Preparing to attend the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2025? Check out a series of virtual program insight sessions with Industry Associates.

The next session will be:

Programme Insight Session: Circus and Dance

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

10:30-11:30 BST

RSVP here.

Arts and Culture Accessibility Self-Assessment Study Group

Want to assess your organization's accessibility with financial support and a community of peers from the region? Join Mid Atlantic Arts for a facilitated Arts & Culture Accessibility Self-Assessment Study Group. Using Open Door Arts' free self-assessment tool, Study Group members will understand and improve the accessibility of their arts & cultural organization. The self-assessment is disability centered and balances best practice with compliance. Study Group participants will be guided through the self-assessment by facilitator Dani Rose, an award-winning accessibility advocate and certified ADA Coordinator with a decade of experience championing radical inclusion. To make it feasible for organizations to prioritize time to participate in the Study Group, Mid Atlantic Arts will offer 12 organizations from our funding region $500 for their participation. Learn more and submit an interest form on Mid Atlantic Arts' website here.; submit your interest form by May 27, 2025 to be considered.

Questions? Email Sarah Lewitus at slewitus@midatlanticarts.org. 

Opportunity Quick Links

• The Jonathan and Barbara Silver Foundation invites applications for its 2025 grant program for sculpture. The Foundation encourages submissions from sculptors and writers on sculpture of all backgrounds and does not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, socioeconomic status, education, or disability. To be eligible, applicants must be a sculptor, a citizen or permanent resident of the United States or hold an O-1 visa, and not currently enrolled in a degree-granting program. Deadline: Saturday, May 31, 2025. Learn more here.

• The Oak Spring Garden Foundation invites applications for its Eliza Moore Fellowship for Artistic Excellence. The Fellowship is awarded annually to one outstanding, early-career artist who is developing new works that address plants, gardens, or landscapes in the broad sense. The award is open to visual artists, literary artists, dancers, and musicians. It includes a $10,000 individual grant and requires a two- to five-week stay at Oak Spring. Deadline: Saturday, May 31, 2025. Learn more here.

• The Headlands Center for the Arts invites applications for its Artist in Residence program. Fully sponsored residencies, including a monthly stipend of up to $1,000, will be awarded to approximately 50 local, national, and international artists. Artists selected for this program are at all career stages and work in all media, including drawing, painting, sculpture, installation, fiber arts, photography, film, video, new media, fiction and nonfiction writing, poetry, playwriting, screenwriting, graphic narrative, performance, dance, choreography, music, interdisciplinary, social practice, arts professionals, environmental art, and architecture.  Deadline: June 2, 2025. Learn more here.

• The NAMM Foundation invites applications for its Music Research Grants program. This program awards grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 in support of research that aims to improve practices for music education, support music makers, and enhance workforce development. Funding priorities include participatory music making and career mobility. Applicants submit a round 1 application and upon review, selected applicants will be invited to advance to round 2. Round 1 deadline: June 6, 2025. Learn more here.

• Prairie Ronde invites applications for its fall artists' residencies at The Mill at Vicksburg. The residency is looking for individuals who are highly independent, engaged, and curious who can creatively interact with The Mill. Residents are awarded a $2,000 stipend for a residency, a $500 travel grant, and private housing. In addition, Prairie Ronde works with residents to share their work with the community (e.g., a gallery show or public workshop). While it is process-based, the residency asks artists to donate a piece of work produced during their time in residency to the organization’s permanent collection.Fall residencies will be held from September 15, 2025, through December 20, 2025. Deadline: June 15, 2025. Learn more here.

• The Levitt Foundation is inviting proposals from U.S.-based nonprofits to present a Levitt Music Series in 2026, 2027 and 2028. These multi-year matching grants of up to $40K/year (up to $120K total) will activate underused public spaces, ensure access to the arts and strengthen the social fabric of communities through creative placemaking, bringing people together of all ages and backgrounds through free, outdoor concert series. Deadline: June 30, 2025. Learn more here.

• The National Endowment for the Humanities is accepting applications for the National Garden of American Heroes: Statues program. This program supports the design and creation of statues of historical figures from America’s past who have contributed to our cultural, scientific, economic, and political heritage. The National Garden of American Heroes is set to open in July 2026 in celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Deadline: July 1, 2025. Learn more here.

Image: University student and community masterclass on Sept. 17 feature Nan Giordano and Cesar Salinas leading sessions as part of an ArtsCONNECT engagement. Credit: Paul Calandra/Sean Krueger.