NEA Creative Forces Community Engagement Grant Applications for Military and Veterans Now Available

The National Endowment for the Arts, in partnership with Mid-America Arts Alliance, is pleased to announce that applications are now available for the Creative Forces Community Engagement grant program. Grants support community-based arts engagement programming for military and veteran populations—including family members and caregivers. Through the experience of art or art-making, participants can express themselves creatively while building resilience, social connectedness, and gain support for successful adaptation to civilian life. Applications for this round of funding are now open on maaa.org/CreativeForces. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, January 17, 2024.

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Coming Soon: Delaware State Employee Art Exhibition Registration Opening in December

Are you a state employee or the family member of one? Don’t miss your chance to be recognized in Delaware for your creativity!

Enter your artwork in The Delaware State Employee Art Exhibition. Sponsored by The National Arts Program® in support and cooperation with the State of Delaware and the Delaware Division of the Arts, the exhibit is judged by professional artists and visual art professionals. The Delaware State Employee Art Exhibition is designed to give artists at all skill levels a unique opportunity to exhibit their creative work and to compete for cash prizes.

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Welcome to 2024's Poetry Out Loud Schools!

Poetry Out Loud is a national poetry recitation competition that encourages high school students to learn about and appreciate poetry. The program provides students with the opportunity to explore and analyze poetry, develop public speaking skills, and build confidence in their ability to express themselves.

Welcome to this year's 14 participating schools state-wide!

Delaware Valley Classical School

Milford Senior High School

MOT Charter High School

Mount Sophia Academy

Paul M. Hodgson Vo-Tech High School

Red Lion Christian Academy

Saint Mark's High School

Sanford School

Seaford Senior High School

Smyrna High School

Sussex Academy of Arts and Sciences

Sussex Central High School

Sussex Technical High School

Wilmington Friends School

2023-2024 MLK Voice 4 Youth Registration Open

MLK VOICE 4 YOUTH is a statewide, spoken word contest for Delaware students, grades 7 – 12. Contestants have creative freedom to express their views on issues important to them and share how Dr. King’s legacy speaks to their dreams today. In 2023, MLK VOICE 4 YOUTH will celebrate its 8th year encouraging youth to SPEAK UP for social change through respect, understanding, and compassion. Students are eligible for prize money up to $2,000!

Delaware Creative Aging Impact Videos

The Division has compiled a number of videos showing the impact that our Delaware Creative Aging program has had in your local communities. Take a look at some of our favorites below!

NEW! Picture Framing Clinic will be at the Rt 9 Library Maker Space every 2nd Tuesday of the month from 6pm-8pm starting in December.

Participants just need to bring their art and frame and they will be helped professionally fit and finish their works. This includes guidance on cutting custom mats on the in-house cutter if applicable, and preservation mounting of any type of art or object, and finishing so it is ready to hang.

The address of the library is: 3022 New Castle Ave, New Castle, DE 19720. For questions, contact: lecocqdesign@gmail.com.

Two NEA Grants Open!

An initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest, the NEA Big Read supports community reading programs designed around a single NEA Big Read book. 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. Grants range from $5,000 to $20,000 each.

Guidelines >>>

Shakespeare in American Communities is a theater program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. Through grants to theater companies, this program supports high-quality productions and educational activities to young audiences throughout the United States. Applicants can choose from two paths: Schools or Juvenile Justice.

Guidelines >>>

Mid Atlantic Arts Grants Open!

ArtsCONNECT provides funding support toward diverse and robust live performing arts engagements for all audiences and communities across the mid-Atlantic region. Active participation for presenters of all sizes is encouraged.

Guidelines >>>

Special Presenter Initiatives support the presentation of professional performing artists/ensembles at small and mid-size arts and community organizations based in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, West Virginia, and the Federally recognized Native nations that share this geography.

Guidelines >>>

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upcoming events!

DelawareScene is a comprehensive, up-to-date website calendar featuring Delaware’s arts and cultural events and attractions in and around Delaware. Acquaint yourself with one of Delaware’s many artists, get carried away by the magic of a theater performance, frequent one of Delaware’s world-renowned museums, experience one of Delaware’s many unique festivals.

REMINDER: All grantees MUST list all events on DelawareScene.com as soon as they are announced.

Submit an Event

Request an interview!

Delaware State of the Arts is a weekly podcast that presents interviews with arts organizations and leaders who contribute to the cultural vibrancy of communities throughout Delaware. Delaware State of the Arts is provided as a service of the Division of the Arts, in partnership with NEWSRADIO 1450 WILM and 1410 WDOV.

Click below to request an interview for your organization this upcoming year.

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On the Mezzanine - Ron Meick

The Delaware Division of the Arts’ Mezzanine Gallery presents Ron Meick's Encaustic Constructions, on view now through November 24, 2023.

Meick’s latest series of artworks, abstract wooden sculptures called “constructions,” are painted with encaustic (wax) pigments. The work is informed by both Russian constructivist art of the 1920s and the natural world. “I was a beekeeper for over ten years, which is how I got interested in encaustic sculpture/painting,” finding that the accumulation of wax provided him with “an enticing material.”

Meick creates wooden constructions that range in size from miniscule (8 inches) to monumental, some as tall as 6 feet. After they’re built, he paints them with a veneer of hot encaustic paint composed of beeswax, damar resin and infused with pigments. This wax application softens the hard-edge structures and presents color references to connection points, elements in the composition, ending points, weighting of mass, balance, and reflection of color. The counterpoint of color and space increase the layers of meaning and emotional content.

Meet the Fellows

The prestigious Individual Artist Fellowships from the Delaware Division of the Arts recognize a variety of disciplines and outstanding quality of work. From writers to visual artists to musicians, these award-winning creatives have unique stories and talents. View all 17 Fellow profiles on the Division’s website.

Jill Althouse-Wood

Emerging, Visual Arts Painting

“I am using my paintings to describe the journey that many of us – and in particular women – have undergone in the last years.”