• Commission Meetings
• FY25 Grantee Directory
• DC Art Now 2024 Artist Talk
• Getting to Know Grants
• Fairfax Regional Artist Survey
• MSAC Land Acknowledgements Resource
• International Volunteer Day
• Capacity Building
• Grantee Happenings
• Opportunities
• Resources
• Visit our eMuseum
• Listen to Grantees on Spotify

Our next Full Commission regular meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:30 ET on Monday, December 16. Members of the public are invited to observe the meeting live online on CAH’s YouTube channel.

Members of the public may request three minutes to speak during the public comment period held at this meeting. Requests must be submitted by no later than Noon ET on Thursday, December 12. Written comments may also be submitted by no later than Noon ET on Thursday, December 12, as an alternative or in addition to spoken comments. Public comments, both spoken and written, will be included in the public record of the meeting.

This meeting is governed by the Open Meetings Act. Please address any questions or complaints arising under this meeting to the Office of Open Government at opengovoffice@dc.gov.

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of our FY25 Grantee Directory, a living resource showcasing the incredible individuals and organizations supported by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

This directory highlights the diversity and vibrancy of our arts and humanities community, offering a snapshot of the amazing work being done across all eight wards of the District.

Explore the directory to connect with grantees, learn about their missions, and discover their contributions to DC’s cultural landscape. The directory will be regularly updated, so check back often for the latest additions!

If you’re an FY25 grantee and are not currently included in the directory but would like to be added, or if you’re already listed and need to update or correct your information, please email JR Russ.

Join the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities starting at 6 pm on Monday, December 9, for an artist talk related to the closing of DC Art Now 2024, an annual exhibition of selected work by finalists for the FY25 Art Bank Program grant.

• Moderator: Myrtis Bedolla, Founding Director, Galerie Myrtis Fine Art & Advisory
• Panelists: Em-On Surakitkoson, Luigino Palu, Timothy Davis, and others TBA

Stop by our 200 I (Eye) Street, SE Gallery before December 13th and see DC come to life through photography, sculpture, painting, printmaking, textiles, and more! The gallery is free and open to the public Monday to Friday, 9 am to 6:00 pm.

Are you an artist or organization looking to fund art projects in Washington DC? Are you interested in learning about grants, but have no idea where to start? Join DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities staff for the “Getting To Know Grants” Fair.

Learn about some of the grants available through the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and receive first-hand accounts on the grant process from successful grantees.

Are you an artist who lives or works in Northern Virginia? Our colleagues at ArtsFairfax are sharing a 3-minute survey created by artists, for artists, to identify the needs and obstacles to producing and presenting their work outside the beltway.

DMV artists of all art forms are invited to participate in this online, anonymous survey by December 31, 2024. Survey outcomes will drive ArtsFairfax services and resources for independent artists in Fairfax County, City of Fairfax, City of Falls Church, and the towns of Clifton, Herndon, and Vienna. If you have ever presented or performed work in these areas, this survey is for you!

This International Volunteer Day on December 5, let’s take time to recognize and show gratitude for the incredible volunteers who make the arts and humanities possible. Volunteers are the backbone of our sectors, supporting organizations of all sizes in bringing creativity, connection, and culture to our communities.

If you work with volunteers, this day is the perfect time to let them know how much they’re appreciated! Whether it’s a heartfelt thank-you note, a social media shoutout, or a simple gesture of recognition, your appreciation can go a long way.

Share your gratitude and stories with #DCArtsVolunteers and #VolunteerDayDC!

Please take our survey to help us understand how prepared individual artists and arts organizations are for various types of emergencies. Your responses will remain confidential and will guide us in creating responsive programs tailored to the unique needs of our arts community. Thank you for helping us strengthen resilience across the sector.

We’re exploring a collaboration with Compass Pro Bono to offer a professional development and capacity-building workshop as part of our Business of the Arts program in 2025. And we want to ensure it is tailored to your needs. Let us know which topics interest you:

• Tools to Supercharge Collaboration/Communication on Distributed Teams
• Know Your Business: Tools to Position Your Nonprofit for Success at Every Stage
• Turning One-Time Volunteers into Lifelong Organizational Champions
• Beat Burnout and Turnover: How to Establish Role Clarity and Make it Stick

"Bright yellow: tribal elders describe the primary lands with which Piscataway people maintain relationships today as Prince George's, Charles, and St. Mary's counties, and part of Washington, DC."

Learn more at our sibling state arts agency's original post and website. It's a thorough and thoughtful land acknowledgement resource, in general and particularly for our Maryland community members.

The Great Silence invites you to step into a world of curiosity and yearning that permeates human nature. Composed of 10 to 15 mid-sized figurative acrylic and graphite paintings, the exhibition examines humankind’s—and the artist’s personal—search for connection with others and for something beyond ourselves. The opening reception is Friday, December 6 (“First Friday”), 6 to 8 p.m

DC Jazz Jam is a free jazz jam session welcoming all players and appreciators. Jamming since 2009! Jazz jam sessions are Sundays from 6:30pm-9:00pm at Haydee’s (3102 Mount Pleasant Street NW). The one is December 8, 2024, part of their “Back to School” series featuring Peabody Jazz Faculty.

Explore art making and storytelling while "Reimagining Shelter: Exploring Identity and Community" with artist Nikki Brooks, a small-scale workshop hosted by the Labs.

Join Capital Connection Exhibit artist, Nikki Brooks, in a small-scale art-making and storytelling workshop. See Nikki's art on the 5th floor as part of the "Capital Connections" Exhibit now on display.

5:30 pm - 7:30 pm, Tuesday, December 03 at MLK Jr. Memorial Library.

Washington Men's Camerata holds auditions quarterly, before starting new music. Please join us on a Wednesday at 7:00pm before one of the following rehearsals to meet and sing for the director. You're encouraged to stay to meet members and watch as much of rehearsal as you'd like, 7:30-10pm. Enjoy a complimentary snack and mingling during break around 9pm.

• December 4, 2024
• March 19, 2025
• May 28, 2025

The DeVos Institute Executive Fellowship serves entrepreneurial executives in the arts and cultural sector who are prepared to look critically at their work, challenge assumptions, and develop rigorous strategies to address the most pressing challenges facing their organizations, regions, and art forms at large.

Apply by December 9th.

The Art in Transit program invites Artists/Artist Teams with a demonstrated history of completing complex, permanent, public art projects to submit their qualifications for a permanent public artwork for the Dupont Circle Metro station's iconic North Entrance.

The selected Artist/Artist Team will develop an aesthetically attractive, site-specific public artwork that captures WMATA’s mission, and reflects the artistic, cultural and/or historical interests of the surrounding communities. The public artwork is to be implemented on the sloped surface within the circular opening of the North Entrance escalator well and integrate elements of biophilia.

Entry deadline is 12/9/24.

Plan to submit your artwork to the 35th Biennial Creative Crafts Council (CCC) Exhibition to be held from Saturday March 15, 2025 through Saturday May 31, 2025. Applications for this crafts exhibition will be accepted from Friday November 1, 2024 through Tuesday December 10, 2024. The CCC is accepted applications only through CaFÉ, an artist call for entry and jurying softward application.

The Exhibition will be held at the Mansion at Strathmore, 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda, MD.

Are you a dancer anywhere in the US in dire financial emergency? Have you recently lost engagements, or been ill or injured? You may be eligible for a one-time Rauschenberg Dancer Emergency Grant of up to $3,000.

This national program is administered by New York Foundation for the Arts and funded by Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Privacy is guaranteed. Cycle 16 will be open November 12 through December 10 for essential expenses including rent, utilities, medicine/healthcare, and food. The program continues with bimonthly cycles through June 2025.

The Public Art Across Maryland (PAAM) New Artworks Grant offers funding to artists and organizations to support the planning, creation, and installation of new local public art projects.

Public Art Across Maryland New Artworks applications are due on December 19, 2024.

The Positive/Negative is the national juried art exhibition, organized yearly at ETSU since 1985, to provide the communities in Tennessee, and Southwest Appalachian region including Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia and other nearby states access to dynamic contemporary art practices that explore current directions in visual art. For 40 years, the Positive/Negative exhibitions serve as platform for dialogue to promote diversity, creative excellence and critical thinking within the academic and local communities. A significant aspect of the Positive/Negative exhibitions is the diverse Jurors each year who provide different trajectories and focus that enables them to present relevant and dynamic perspectives.

The deadline for submission is December 20, 2024.

The Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County is thrilled to announce their newest partnership, Grow with Google!

With this partnership, they are officially launching our Google Career Certificate Scholarship Program to enhance the careers of artists, scholars and arts and humanities professionals/managers through providing free digital skills training and resources to those in and around the Montgomery County, MD community and beyond.

They have 500 scholarships to distribute to individuals to advance the use of technology in cultivating and supporting excellence in the arts and humanities sector.

Eligible applicants include DMV-Area Arts Agencies & Artists.

The DC Youth Orchestra Program (DCYOP) seeks an experienced Director of Development to join our team. This is a full-time, exempt position. The Director of Development sets DCYOP’s contributed revenue strategy and is responsible for strategizing, planning, and executing a fundraising program that generates over $1.8 million from foundations, individuals, corporations, and government sources. 

Are you passionate about art, nature, and connecting with others? Glenstone Museum, an institution combining art, architecture, and landscape in a serene environment, is hiring for several roles. Located in Potomac, Maryland, Glenstone offers unique opportunities for individuals to join their dedicated team and contribute to creating meaningful experiences for visitors, including:

• Director of Communications
• Engineering & Maintenance Manager
• Head Preparator

The guidelines are available for Cultural Sustainability: Community Roots! This grant from Mid Atlantic Arts, in partnership with The Wallace Foundation, provides unrestricted operational support to arts organizations founded by, with, and for BIPOC communities. View the guidelines and learn more at the link below.

Deadline: Monday, January 6, 2025.

 Each year, young writers with disabilities* enrolled in high school (generally, ages 14-19) are invited to submit a ten-minute script for the opportunity to participate in a playwrights program. The script should incorporate an engaging plot and move the audience through an emotional or entertaining experience all within ten minutes.

Entry Deadline: Wednesday, January 8, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. ET

VisArts invites applications from emerging curators to apply for VisArts’ 2025 Emerging Curator Program by January 10, 2025.

The program offers a unique opportunity for an emerging curator or artist with an interest in exhibition-making or curating to work with an experienced mentoring curator to develop and present an exhibition and assist in the presentation of the mentor’s exhibition.

VisArts provides the emerging curator with a $10,000 budget to cover exhibition costs and curatorial fees. Additional funding and staff support for marketing and programming support is available.

The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read is a program that awards grants ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 to organizations. These grants support community reading programs designed around a single NEA Big Read book.

The NEA Big Read broadens our understanding of ourselves and our neighbors through the power of a shared reading experience. The goal of this program is to inspire meaningful conversations, celebrate local creativity, elevate a wide variety of voices and perspectives, and build stronger connections in each community.  

Submit your Intent to Apply by January 23, 2025.

🎭 Applications are OPEN for the Shakespeare in American Communities initiative, and there are some exciting ✨NEW✨ updates this year, including: 

• An apprenticeship program 
• Opportunities for engaging audiences in non-traditional settings, and
• Virtual and in-person convenings 

Intent to apply due January 30, 2025.

If you are a professional or emerging LGBTQ+ performer, consider applying to perform at a WorldPride Washington, DC 2025 event.

WorldPride's stages are calling all dazzling LGBTQ+ performers! The spotlight is yours, and the deadline to be considered is February 28, 2025. Jump on this opportunity to shine and show the world your talent!

Candid's live and on-demand trainings, webinars, and other resources are designed to improve your fundraising, overall sustainability, grantmaking, and transparency.

Check out just some of these free programs they're providing the month of December:

• Build the board you need
• Building an inclusive, innovative, and impactful board
• Introduction to project budgets

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities online database showcases our Art Bank Collection, a collection of moveable artworks loaned to other District government agencies for display in public offices, as well as our Public Art Collection of installations of large-scale artworks in public sites/places throughout the District of Columbia.

ICYMI, check out this playlist highlighting our FY25 fellowship grantees in music!

Featuring select songs from individual artists and groups with at least one grantee, this list offers a glimpse into the diverse talent within DC’s arts community. Please note, this playlist is not comprehensive but offers a sampling of the incredible work from our grantees. Enjoy the sounds of our city!