Walking Together Grantees Announced!
A dark green background with diamond frames containing images of: an artist holding a banjo, an indigenous drummer dressed in regalia, and a woman in a red headscarf performing in a room.

This month, we announced the grantees of Walking Together: Investing in Folklife in Communities of Color. This pilot program, led by Mid Atlantic Arts and the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations (RAOs) provides 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.


A total of $3.4 million has been awarded to 96 grantees, including 56 organizations and 40 individuals.


Some 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.


and many more!
View the Walking Together grantees here!

Performing Arts Global Exchange (PAGE) Roster
A collage of headshots of the five Performing Arts Global Exchange roster artists

We're excited to announce the roster artists for Performing Arts Global Exchange (PAGE)! PAGE is a Mid Atlantic Arts grant program for performing arts presenters nationwide that is designed to reduce barriers to presenting international artists.


This year, the program features incredible ensembles and artists from Spain and Portugal. Non-profit presenting venues and units of city, state, or tribal government based anywhere in the U.S. or its territories who book from the roster below for a public performance and an artist-involved community engagement activity taking place between July 1, 2026 and December 31, 2027 can receive a grant of up t0 50% of the artist fee.


The 2026-2027 PAGE roster artists are:


  • Birdie by Agrupación Señor Serrano (theatre)
  • Danzas Solemnes by Cristina Cazorla Company (dance)
  • Lucibela (music)
  • Antonio Lizana (music)
  • Pedro Pastor y Los Locos Descalzos (music)
Learn more about the artists here!

Image (left to right): Agrupación Señor Serrano. Credit: Pasqual Gorriz; Cristina Cazorla Company. Credit: Vallinas 2025; Lucibela. Credit: Alex Tome; Antonio Lizana. Credit: Ana Solinis; Pedro Pastor y Los Locos Descalzos.

Open Grant Opportunities

USArtists International


USArtists International (USAI) supports in-person performances by artists from any state or territory in the U.S. at engagements at international festivals, global presenting arts markets, and other eligible engagements outside of the United States. The program funds individuals and ensembles across all performing arts practices and disciplines.


Deadline: Wednesday, February 25, 2026


Learn more and apply here.

CALT Experiences


Central Appalachia Living Traditions (CALT) Experiences supports public-facing projects and events in Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)-designated counties of Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia that bring community members together around traditional arts and cultural knowledge. Eligible project activities may include:  


  • hands-on learning experiences/workshops 
  • public art projects 
  • exhibitions 
  • performances or performance series 
  • film/video 
  • radio broadcasts or podcasts 
  • archival collections or fieldwork with a significant public-facing component  


Deadline: Wednesday, March 18, 2026


Learn more and apply here.

Mid Atlantic Tours


Mid Atlantic Tours brings exemplary performing arts ensembles to communities across the mid-Atlantic region. Non-profit presenters located in the Mid Atlantic Arts grantmaking region can book an artist from an annually-curated roster and receive grant support of up to 50% of the artist fee. Presenters work directly with the Roster Artist’s Tour Agent to negotiate terms, including public performance dates and community engagement activity plans. 


Booking Deadline: Monday, March 23, 2026.


Learn more and apply here.

Mid Atlantic Presenter Initiatives


Mid Atlantic Presenter Initiatives (MAPI) opens the former Special Presenter Initiatives program, which was limited to specific states and jurisdictions, to the larger mid-Atlantic region, including Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, West Virginia, and the Native nations that share this geography.


The program supports performing arts engagements including public performance and community engagement at small and mid-size arts and community organizations, with budgets under $3 million. 


Deadline: Thursday, April 30, 2026.


Learn more here.

Folk and Traditional Arts Community Projects Grants


Folk and Traditional Arts Community Projects grants fund projects that support the vitality of traditional arts and cultures in the mid-Atlantic region. Non-profit organizations in DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA, VA, USVI, PR, or WV may apply.


Eligible project activities may include performances, public art collaborations, workshops/trainings, exhibitions, fieldwork/documentation, and creation of new traditional work. Mid Atlantic Arts encourages projects that support or engage underserved or underrepresented artists, practitioners, traditions, or constituents.


Deadline: Thursday, April 30, 2026.


Learn more and apply here.

Opportunity Quick Links
An ensemble of women sing on a stage with instruments around them
  • The William Penn Foundation invites applications for arts and culture general operating support. Arts and culture organizations that focus on or authentically consider the experiences of historically marginalized communities in all aspects of their work and intentionally contribute to the development of vibrant, inclusive communities will be prioritized. The following disciplines are supported: dance, design, folk and traditional arts, media arts, music, opera, multidisciplinary arts, theater, literary arts, and visual arts. 
    Deadline: Thursday, January 29, 2026.     Learn more here.


  • The Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts X Circus Culture invite applications for the HupState Circus arts residency in New York State and Native nations sharing this geography. This residency is open to individual circus artists, defined as anyone involved in any aspect of art making, creative problem-solving, or innovation within the circus arts. This may include designers, dramaturges, choreographers, directors, circademics, writers, photographers, riggers, performers, teaching artists, and more. 
    Deadline: Sunday, February 1, 2026.     Learn more here.


  • The Lower East Side Printshop invites applications for Summer Keyholder Residency Program. Keyholders work independently, in a productive atmosphere alongside other contemporary artists. Artists from all disciplines are eligible to apply; some familiarity with the medium is required. Artists with specific printmaking projects are highly encouraged to apply. Residents of the New York metro area during the residency period are eligible to apply. Deadline: Sunday, February 15, 2026. Learn more here.


  • Anderson Ranch Arts Center invites applications for its artists-in-residence program. Residencies are offered in ceramics, new media, photography, furniture design, woodworking, painting, drawing, printmaking, and sculpture. A select group of residencies are fully funded fellowships awarded by a jury panel; the remaining fall residents pay a fee of $750 for the five weeks at the ranch. Deadline: Wednesday, February 18, 2026. Learn more here.


  • The Spector Family Foundation invites applications for the Spector Craft Prize for Emerging Artists. Eligible disciplines include but are not limited to ceramics, glass, woodworking, textiles, metalwork, paper arts, basketry, and more. All works must demonstrate mastery of fundamental techniques while pushing creative boundaries. Deadline: Sunday, March 1, 2026. Learn more here.



  • The Rochester Area Community Foundation invites applications for the Brockport Arts Fund. award grants typically ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 in support of performing arts events and public art installations in and around the Village of Brockport for the benefit of residents and visitors. Grants should be used to support the arts and offer broad community benefit. To be eligible, applicants must be a 501(c)(3) organization within the 14420 ZIP code. Projects should be planned for the benefit of residents and visitors. 
    Deadline: rolling throughout 2026    . Learn more here.


  • The Vilcek Foundation invites applications for grants to support nonprofits working with immigrants. The program will support nonprofits that work with immigrant artists and communities and that promote diversity in the arts, sciences, education, or through the provision of social services. 
    Deadline: Thursday, April 30, 2026.     Learn more here.

Image: Las Guaracheras on stage at the Davis Theatre in Concord, NC at an Iber Exchange engagement. Credit: Lester Barnes.