From Delaware Arts Alliance
On May 3, the Delaware Arts Alliance held its 3rd Annual Delaware Arts Advocacy Day at Legislative Hall. Arts advocates met with legislators to discuss the important role the arts and arts education play in improving quality of life and economic opportunity for Delawareans. Advocates expressed their support for state arts funding, asking lawmakers to restore the $70,000 cut from the FY18 state arts budget. They also expressed their support for legislation that will benefits arts education and for restoring the Grant-in-Aid budget.  
On July 1st, the 149th General Assembly finished their 2018 session, approving a $4.27 billion spending plan that includes a 2% pay raise for teachers and $1,000 flat raise for other state employees, in addition to investments in early childhood education. The High Needs Educator Student Loan Payment Program was passed and will provide relief for educators at high needs schools.  Grant-in-Aid, which helps support the nonprofit sector, was fully restored from last year's cuts. Last year’s $70,000 cut to the state arts budget was not restored, so the arts will be level funded at the FY18 level. 

DAA's advocacy efforts poured into national legislation, advocating for a $2.2 million budget increase for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. On July 17th, Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) introduced an amendment that would cut NEA and NEH funding by $23 million each. Thanks to the arts advocates in Delaware and across the country who wrote letters and made calls to their representatives, the amendment was voted down with bipartisan support. Both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate has approved $2 million increases to the agencies, bringing both of their budgets up to $155 million for FY 2019.
2018 Award Winners Show
The 2018 Award Winners Exhibition is currently on view in Rehoboth and will travel to Wilmington in September.

CAMP Rehoboth
Now through August 26
Reception: August 9; 5:30-7:30 p.m. RSVP

Cab Calloway School of the Arts
September 7-30
Reception September 7; 5-7 p.m. RSVP
New Grants System: smARTDE
The Division’s new smARTDE online system is open! This system offers a much more robust, user-friendly, and stable platform for all users – grant applicants, reviewers, onsite evaluators, and staff. All of your previously submitted grant application data has been transferred to smARTDE. Current grantees can now submit their FY2018 final reports in smARTDE. Beginning in 2019, we expect that smARTDE will also accept Individual Artist Fellowship applications.

To orient applicants/grantees to the new system, a series of statewide in-person meetings and webinars has been scheduled to help users understand the new smARTDE system.
Sussex County
Monday, August 6
4-5:30 p.m. and 6-7:30 p.m.
Rehoboth Beach Film Society
Cinema Arts Theater,
17701 Dartmouth Dr.,
Lewes, DE 19958
Kent County
Wednesday, August 8
3:30-5 p.m. and 6-7:30 p.m.
Smyrna Opera House
7 W South St.,
Smyrna, DE 19977
New Castle County
Wednesday, August 15
4-5:30 p.m. and 6-7:30 p.m.
The Delaware Contemporary
200 S Madison Street,
Wilmington, DE 19801
To RSVP to a smARTDE Demo Workshop, navigate to 'Events' in the upper right corner. If you have already RSVP'd to a Workshop (by email), you do not need to register again.
All dates are subject to change.
Poetry Out Loud
Poetry Out Loud is a national program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high schools across the country.

POL uses a pyramid structure that begins at the classroom level. Winners advance to a school-wide competition, then to a regional and/or state competition, and ultimately to the National Finals in Washington, DC. More than 100,000 students are expected to take part in POL nationwide each year.

Registration for the 2018-19 school year is just around the corner! 
Meet the Artist Fellows
Thomas Del Porte
Established Professional, Visual Arts: Painting
Del Porte’s work is characterized by “a realism that stands on top of a thick textured world,” partially influenced by his life-long mentor, beloved Delaware painter Edward Loper. The younger artist first studied and then painted with Loper “as colleagues and friends until the day he died.”

Jen Epler
Emerging Professional, Literature: Fiction
Moved by the struggles of her grandmother’s early 20th century life, Epler has been working for a long time to honor her grandmother’s experience in fiction by trying to imagine her way into the mind and heart of a fictional character who came of age and raised a family in a similar time and place.

On the Mezzanine
Wither by Shelley Koon
Loom 1 , 2017, photograph
Wither: Exploration of the Forgotten, a photography exhibit by Shelley Koon, will be on view in the Mezzanine Gallery from August 3-31, 2018. The artist will host a free opening reception on Friday, August 3 from 5-7 p.m.

Koon describes herself as an urban explorer and photographer who has a deep love of abandoned structures. Drawn to the rich, textured tapestry of peeling paint, broken moldings, fractured glass, rotting wood, and brilliant otherworldly colors, she visually documents the history of these buildings.

Learn more about Koon with our YouTube Meet the Artist video series.
The Mezzanine Gallery, open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is located in the
Carvel State Office Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington. 
Inclusive Shows at Libraries
At three performances in May, Matt Mazur of Turtle Dance music provided sensory-friendly performances and promoted autism awareness in all three counties. Autism resources, provided by Autism Delaware, were made available at the three library venues that included Route 9, Kent County, and Greenwood.

Social stories to prepare children for a library or performance visit can be found at those libraries and Matt created this for YouTube.
First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney attended the performances to support the Arts in the Libraries partnership between the Division of the Arts and the Division of Libraries and to promote early literacy. 
Featured Opportunities
Calling all teaching artists! A feature has been added to the Division's Artist Roster which will allow interested parties to sort and identify artists who have an interest in teaching in the schools, as well as, arts and community organizations. Login to update your current profile in the roster, if applicable, or register to create a new profile.
Share Your Story
The Division of the Arts, in partnership with News Radio 1450 WILM, hosts Delaware State of the Arts, a weekly radio show and podcast featuring issues and events in the Delaware arts scene. If you're interested in being interviewed, either to promote an upcoming event, your work in the arts, or an issue relevant to Delaware's arts and entertainment sector, you can...
11th Annual Lewes Creative Writers' Conference
The conference will be held on Saturday, August 18, 2018 from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Lewes Public Library. Workshops on a variety of writing-related topics will be offered throughout the day.
The conference will include a reading on Saturday featuring five of the 2018 DDOA Artist Fellows including: Jen Epler, Maribeth Fischer, Gemelle John, David P. Kozinski and Shannon Connor Winward.
Spaces are very limited. When registration is full, a wait list will be started.
Folk and Traditional Arts Touring Network (FTAN)
Starting in fall 2018, new members will be selected for the network on an annual basis through an open, competitive selection process. Mid-Atlantic region (DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA, USVI, VA, and WV) non-profit presenters are eligible to participate in the program. FTAN prioritizes participation by presenters that work in and with communities underserved by the arts. Once selected, membership in the program is ongoing, contingent upon meeting annual participation requirements. Learn more
On-Site Evaluators Needed
If you love the arts and actively participate in programs or attend events, you may be a candidate to serve as an on-site evaluator for the Division. We are currently seeking to expand our list of potential evaluators who are dependable, articulate observers with knowledge in one or more art forms (you do not need to be professionally trained in the arts). 

Evaluators generally attend and produce a written review of two or more programs each year, including performances, exhibits, workshops or classes, and more. Experience new art forms and see more of Delaware’s treasures while serving a vital role in the review of grant-funded programs. If interested, please complete the On-Site Evaluator Self-Nomination Form and return it to Katie.West@state.de.us . 
The Division has embarked on a year-long digital advertising campaign to increase reach and engagement on DelawareScene.com . We remind and recommend that organizations, businesses and individual artists, submit their 2018-19 events as soon as they are scheduled, and no later than the recommended deadlines below. Submit now
Event Date
August, September & October
November & December
January & February, 2019
March & April, 2019
May & June, 2019
Submission Deadline
As soon as possible
September 15
November 15
January 15
March 15
Ongoing Division Grant Deadlines
Please note: All new applications for the grants will be submitted through smARTDE.
Artist Opportunity: deadline 10/1/18, for activities happening between 11/15/18-2/15/19.

Artist Residency: rolling deadline, submitted at least 6 weeks prior to start of scheduled residency

Artist Roster : rolling deadline.
Arts Access Grants: rolling deadline, submitted at least 6 weeks prior to project start date

TranspARTation Grant: rolling deadline, submitted at least 6 weeks prior to field trip date.
The Delaware Division of the Arts is an agency of the State of Delaware. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. Funding for Division programs is provided by annual appropriations from the Delaware General Assembly and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit  arts.delaware.gov or call 302-577-8278.