ArtsWA news

February 2023

Contact: info@arts.wa.gov

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In this issue:

• Apply: Arts in Education Project Grant
• Apply: 3 grants from Grants to Organizations
• Apply: Capitol Campus Pritchard Building RFQ
• Apply: Clark Coll. Boschma Farms Campus RFQ
• Learn more: Poetry Out Loud regional finals
• Sign up: Building for the Arts Webinar
• Explore: Celebrating Black History Month
• and more

Arts in Education

Now open: Arts in Education Project Grant

The Arts in Education (AIE) Project Grant supports collaborative arts education projects in schools, nonprofits, tribal communities, and beyond.

Apply by March 2. Learn more and apply

Coming soon: Creative Start Project Grant

The Creative Start Project Grant supports projects that engage preschool to 3rd grade students in arts integrated learning.

Opening March 15. Learn more

Grants to Organizations

Now open: FY24 Creative Project Grant

Creative Project Grants offer funding to groups so they can provide communal arts and cultural experiences with and for the people of Washington State.

Apply by March 15. Learn more and apply

Now open: FY24-FY25 General Operating Support: Sustaining (small-midsize groups)

General Support offers two-year funding for general operating costs to arts organizations.

Apply by March 15. Learn more and apply

Now open: FY24 General Operating Support: Emerging

General Operating Support: Emerging offers funding to arts organizations created in the last three years.

Apply by March 15. Learn more and apply

Coming soon: FY24-25 General Operating Support: Sustaining (large groups)

Opening April 11.

FY24-25 Art Service Organization Support

Opening April 11.

ArtsWA opportunities

Call for Artists | RFQ | Capitol Campus Pritchard Building

This is an exciting opportunity for an artist or artist team to incorporate artwork into or in proximity to the Joel M. Pritchard Building in Olympia, Washington.

Apply by February 28. Learn more and apply

Call for Artists | RFQ | Clark College’s Boschma Farms Campus

Clark College and ArtsWA are seeking an individual artist or artist team to design and create a unique artwork on Clark College’s new Boschma Farms Campus.

Apply by March 6. Learn more and apply

Mark your calendar

February 28: FY24 Arts in Education Grant info session #2. The Arts in Education team will share guideline information, eligibility, budget and proposal processes and timeline information.

March 7: Building for the Arts info session #3: Grantee Roundtable. Join ArtsWA and special guests for a roundtable discussion with past Building for the Arts grantees.

March 11: Poetry Out Loud 2023 Regional Finals. The 2023 Washington State Poetry Out Loud State Final Competition will take place on Saturday, March 11 at 1pm at Tacoma Little Theatre.

March 15: Creative Start Project Grant opens. This grant supports projects that engage preschool to 3rd grade students in arts integrated learning. 

News and updates

From left: Bryan Bales (Wellness, Arts, and the Military Program Manager, Washington State Arts Commission), Karen Hanan (Executive Director, Washington State Arts Commission), Dan Murray (State Homes Operations Director, Washington Department of Veterans Affairs), David Puente (Director, Washington Department of Veterans Affairs). Photo courtesy Washington Department of Veterans Affairs.

ArtsWA and Department of Veteran Affairs partner to support Veterans through the arts

ArtsWA and the Washington Department of Veteran Affairs (WDVA) gathered on January 18 to celebrate a new partnership—together, the two agencies will distribute $250,000 in grants for arts-based programming at the four State Veterans Homes and the Transitional Housing Program.

“I consider it an honor and a privilege for the Wellness, Arts, and the Military Program at ArtsWA to partner with the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs,” said U.S. Marine Corps Veteran Bryan Bales, who manages ArtsWA’s Wellness, Arts, and the Military (WAM) program. “We’re passionate about improving quality of life through the arts, and I cannot wait to see the impact that this funding will have on the residents.”

2023 Poetry Out Loud Eastern Region School Champions, image by Spokane Arts.

2023 Poetry Out Loud Finals set for March 11

Nine high school students will compete in the Washington State 2023 Poetry Out Loud Finals on March 11 at Tacoma Little Theatre. The state champion receives a $200 cash prize and will represent Washington in the National Finals.

The 2023 Poetry Out Loud Regional Finalists are Emilee Shoemaker (Naches Valley High School, Naches), Dahami Uduwana (Kamiakin High School, Kennewick), Sydney Frost (Mt Spokane High School, Mead), Elijah Kennedy-Gibbens (Mead High School, Spokane), Andrea Gyimah (Annie Wright Upper School for Girls, Tacoma), Jovi Weller (Sequim High School, Sequim), Oliver Jones (Stadium High School, Tacoma), Matthew Valentine (Olympia High School, Olympia), and Keegan Raub (Poetry Out Loud Virtual, Lake Stevens).

In case you missed it

Watch: Building for the Arts 3-part Webinar series

ArtsWA released the first 2 sessions of its free 3-part Webinar series on Building for the Arts. Sessions 1 (Feasibility) and Session 2 (Funding) are now available online. Join us for the final session—a roundtable with past grantees—on March 7. Sign up for the March 7 Session.

Listen: new podcast from Center for Washington Cultural Traditions

A More Perfect Union, a podcast from the Center for Washington Cultural Traditions, focuses on groups sidelined and sometimes silenced in the American story. You’ll hear from Latine Americans in Wenatchee, LGBTQ+ activists from across eastern Washington, and Black Americans from around the Salish Sea. Listen to the first four episodes.

Celebrate: Black History Month

For Black History Month, ArtsWA invites you to learn more about Black artists in Washington’s State Art Collection, around the state, and everywhere. Many of these artists use their art to explore personal and community histories, as well as race and social justice—often with a strong connection to storytelling. 

Start exploring on My Public Art Portal. 

Recycled Child (2009, mixed media), Marita Dingus, at Seattle Central College, Seattle, Washington.