• A Note from CAH
• Council Hearings
• Commission Meetings
• FY 2026 Grants
• Business of the Arts
• In the CAHmmunity
• FY25 Art Bank Acquisitions
• Celebrating Women's History Month with The Inner Loop AND an Edit-a-thon
• Grantee Happenings
• Opportunities
• Resources
• Grantees Online
• Update Your Profile

We have heard concerns from the community about the potential impact of federal actions on the arts and humanities in DC. We want to reassure everyone that the Commission on the Arts and Humanities remains fully committed to protecting and promoting our programs that support the work you all do in all 8 wards of the District.

Save the dates for our upcoming DC Council Hearings:

• Performance Oversight - March 6
• Budget Hearing - April 10

As you may know, Performance Oversight Hearings provide an opportunity for Council members to review the implementation of programs, evaluate budgetary allocations, and address any concerns regarding the efficiency and effectiveness of government operations. 

As such, these hearings serve as a mechanism for accountability and transparency in the management of public resources and services in the District of Columbia.

We encourage you to tune in and watch live. There is also an opportunity to testify during the hearing or to submit written testimony as a public witness.

As you may have seen in the Grants Committee Report from February's Commission Meeting, we have several Requests for Applications (RFAs) for FY 2026 funding, which are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, March 11, all with deadlines on Tuesday, April 22. They are:

• General Operating Support
• East Arts
• Projects, Events, and Festivals (for Individuals and Organizations)

We also have a couple of Public Art RFAs scheduled for release in the upcoming months:

• Public Art Building Communities on March 14
• Art Bank Program on April 14

We encourage you to bookmark the grant program pages below and update your email profiles as needed to ensure you receive our announcement and reminder emails.

Grant Application Assistance

In-person assistance will be available at our offices at 200 I St Wednesdays 11 am to 1 pm, and virtual live chats will be Fridays from 2 pm to 3 pm.

Call for Panelists

Tax season is upon us. Many artist have a difficult time with filing their taxes. With the many forms, files, receipts, and potential penalties involved, there are many considerations to be made.

From 11 am to 12:30 pm, March 7th, Join Farrell Parker of Artist Tax Prep for an informative presentation exploring some of the forms and factors that individual artists may consider when filing their taxes.

Color Me Community: Building Culture, Community, Authentic Connection, and Mission Alignment for Organizational Success.

Color Me Community is a workshop rooted in Life Pieces To Masterpieces’ (LPTM) 30 years of experience in creating authentic connection and community through their arts and human development framework.

This workshop sets the foundation for individuals, groups, and organizations to build a positive work culture, organize around a shared mission, cultivate belonging, and plan strategically for their future. This Color Me Community workshop is highly interactive and will share LPTM’s proven approach to creating positive, supportive, and intentional communities for organizational success.

Please be advised that this program will include live real-time captioning via Zoom. For reasonable accommodation requests regarding access and inclusion, please contact Jenna Kriegel at jenna.kriegel@dc.gov, no later than 5 business days before the start of this event.

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 Community Engagement Specialist Dwayne Lawson-Brown and members of the Grant Application Assistance Program for Grants 101!

• 4 to 7 pm on Monday, March 17 at MLK Library

Want to bring a Grants 101 session to YOUR community? Let Dwayne know.

Artworks that were selected and acquired as part of our FY25 Art Bank application process are now available for online viewing in the Art Bank Collection of our eMuseum.

Despite women authors penning some of history’s most well-revered texts, for centuries writing and publishing were, like so many endeavors, considered exclusive to the realm of men. This trend persisted well into the most recent decade, but as of 2021, there are now more women who identify as writers than men. And, the ladies of lit are not only openly expressing themselves as artists, we are publishing and selling more books than ever before. 

As an organization founded and run by women writers and creative practitioners, we at The Inner Loop like to think we’ve contributed to this sea change, at least on the local level. For the past decade, we have supported local writers (and readers!) from all backgrounds and experience levels through no-to-low cost literary programming. Among the more than 1,500 literary artists we have served over the years, at least 60% are femme writers. This diverse cadre includes award-winners, pocket poets, teachers, mothers, daughters, memoirists, and more...

📢 Did you know? Only 20% of biographies on English-language Wikipedia are about women. Last year, it was just 19%, so progress is happening—but there's still plenty of work to do!

Join us for our 2nd annual DCCAH Women's History Month Wikipedia Edit-a-thon and help close the gender gap by creating and editing biographies of women and non-binary folx with connections to DC’s arts and humanities communities and organizations.

🪞 What do you see when you reflect—on yourself, your past, or the world around you?

JoinSitar Arts Center for their 15th Annual Patricia Sitar Juried Exhibition: Reflections—a powerful showcase featuring over 30 artists exploring the theme of Reflections through a dynamic range of media, including paintings, photographs, drawings, collages, a ceramic sculpture, digital art, an interactive digital portrait installation, and a video submission. Through their works, artists invite us to consider the ways reflections—both literal and metaphorical—shape our identities, perceptions, and journeys.

🎉 Opening Reception: Thursday, March 6 | 7 – 8:30 PM

The Arts Club of Washington's March Exhibit runs from the 7th to the 28th, with an opening reception from 5 to 7 pm on March 7th.

Club galleries are free and open to the public.

For over 30 years, the Rock Creek Morris Women have welcomed the vernal equinox at Peirce Mill. Come celebrate the new season with song, dance, and merriment–and look for other signs of spring in beautiful Rock Creek Park!

1 to 2 pm, Saturday, March 15.

Mark your calendar, grab your friends, and head to Sonny's Pizza on March 18th at 7pm for The Inner Loop's reading featuring Andy Shallal and nine other local writers! Whether you're a bookworm, an inspiring writer, or just enjoy listening to stories,

The Inner Loop readings have something for everyone. Their mission is to create an inclusive writing community in DC, so grab some food, a drink, and meet other literature lovers.

The Writer’s Center welcomes photographer Beatrice Hamblett for an artist talk on “You Don’t Know Me,” a solo exhibition of photographs and stories, on display in the Center’s Joram Piatigorsky Gallery March 6-April 18.

6:30 to 8:30 pm on Thursday, March 27 at The Writer's Center in Bethesda.

How do you juggle personal well-being and family needs? Let’s discuss at ‘Room to Breathe.’ Watch the film, stay for the conversation.

🎥✨ Children welcome! March 29th at Dance Place. #SelfCare #LifeInBalance #CommunityConnection” RSVP today

Book release reading for Q&A for the End of the World! Kim and Michael Gushue read from, and celebrate, their new collaborative book of poems, from WordTech Editions. Followed by a book signing. Free admission.

7 to 8:30 pm, April 9, at Politics & Prose

The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) invites professional artists and artist teams to submit qualifications for the creation of site-specific public artworks for historic sites in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Selected artists will design, fabricate, and install outdoor public artworks reflecting themes of Black and Indigenous histories. Budgets for commissions range from $15,000 to $150,000.

Submission Deadline: Sunday, March 2, 2025, at 12 Midnight EST.

Join the Washington Ballet for a chance to dance with a world-renowned company.

✅ Perform iconic classics & cutting-edge contemporary works.

✅ 36-week AGMA contracts.

✅ Join a diverse and inclusive environment.

Mid Atlantic Arts has several programs with March deadlines.

ArtsCONNECT supports performing arts touring projects collaboratively developed by presenters working together in the mid-Atlantic region.

The tours include performances as well as complementary engagement activities designed to create greater understanding or connections between artists, audiences, and communities.

Deadline is Monday, March 3, 2025

The Special Presenter Initiatives provide additional opportunities for the support of small to mid-sized performing arts presenters in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, West Virginia, and Native nations that share this geography.

Fee support is available for engagements of performing artists based anywhere worldwide. Engagements include performances as well as community activities that offer meaningful exchanges between touring artists and a presenter’s community.

Deadline is Thursday, March 13, 2025

Mid Atlantic Tours brings exemplary performing arts ensembles to communities across the mid-Atlantic region. Mid Atlantic Tours 2025-2026 roster includes performing artists from across the mid-Atlantic region as well as artists from countries in the Iberian peninsula and Latin America through Mid Atlantic Arts’ partnership with Ibermúsicas.  

Booking deadline is Thursday, March 27, 2025

The Maryland Traditions Folklife Apprenticeship Program extended its application deadline!

This program supports traditional arts education by funding a mentor artist and apprentice artist to work together for one year. Applications are now due by Friday, March 7 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

In 2025, the Rising Leaders of Color program will form a cohort of three exceptionally talented early-career journalists and critics of color who are committed to uplifting the stories of BIPOC and Black theatres, Indigenous theatres, and all other Theatres of Color (BITOC); upholding equitable practices in the U.S. theatre field; and who demonstrate the potential to impact the theatre field in a positive way.

Deadline: Friday, March 7, 2025 at 11:59pm ET

Dance Place is excited to bring back New Releases, a mixed-bill showcase designed for DMV based emerging artists to grow in their choreographic practice, receive feedback, and present new works!

Auditions: March 8, 2025 from 4 – 8pm; March 9, 2025 from 10am – 2pm

Showcase: May 3 & 4, 2025 at 7pm

The Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County (AHCMC) partnered with Grow with Google to offer 500 FREE Scholarships to the Google Career Certificates Program, an online training platform that gives you the tools and resources you need to develop your digital skills, advance your career, and grow your business through technology.

If you have experience, knowledge, and expertise working with students with disabilities pre-kindergarten through grade 12, you could become a VSA Program Site.

The Kennedy Center Office of VSA and Accessibility seeks U.S. arts, education, and cultural organizations to provide accessible, arts-based education experiences to students with disabilities. U.S. organizations are invited to submit proposals to implement VSA Programs.

Proposal submission deadline: March 13, 2025

Theatre Washington's Mentorship Program pairs mentors and mentees who seek professional growth through the direct observation, guidance, and feedback of other practitioners. Individuals are matched based on specialties, career paths, and development interests.

Mentee application deadline closes at 11:59 PM ET on March 14th

Sitar Arts Center engages DC youth, from early childhood to young adulthood, in building a creative community of learning and belonging that removes financial and cultural barriers to arts education and career training. They envision a city in which all young people experience transformative moments through quality, accessible arts education and career training and are supported on their path to discover their creativity and achieve their full potential. 

As a Bloomberg Arts Internship (BAI) Mentor, you will work with the Innovation and Engagement Team to monitor and support a portion of the Bloomberg Arts Interns during 7 weeks of the summer. 

For best consideration please apply by March 21, 2025.

The Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County seeks a Grants Manager to provide oversight for AHCMC’s grant making program. The ideal candidate has superb customer service skills, is organized, detail–oriented, data-driven, enjoys recruiting panelists and is passionate about philanthropy. The Grants Manager will work collaboratively with the Grants Director, the Assistant Grants Manger, and the Grants Coordinator. The Grants Manager will report to the Grants Director.

Vermont Studio Center’s is now accepting applications. VSC welcomes visual artists and writers for 2, 3, and 4-week residencies to an inclusive, international community, honoring creative work as the communication of spirit through form. Nestled in the Green Mountain of Vermont, VSC provides private lodging, studios, fresh meals, and a vibrant Visiting Artists & Writers program.

Apply by March 31, 2025

Wiki Loves Folklore 2025 is an international photo contest which aims at documenting tangible and intangible culture and heritage of different parts of the world. Wiki Loves Folklore is a continuation of Wiki Loves Folklore 2024 project with the theme of folk culture. The contest will run from 1 February until March 31 2025.

HoCo Arts manages two galleries with over 2,100 square feet of exhibit space. Their gallery program was established to enhance the public’s appreciation of the visual arts, provide a venue to exhibit the work of local, regional, and national artists in a professional space, and provide leadership in the arts by presenting a broad spectrum of arts in all media from both emerging and established artists.

They present 10-12 exhibits per year of national, regional, and local artists, including two-person, small and large group, juried, curated, and community shows. They rarely present solo exhibits.

Application closes on Tue, Apr 1, 2025 11:59 PM.

Minnesota Art Residency Opportunity

The Arts Retreat artist residency program of the Cultural Center in New York Mills focuses on providing dedicated artists time for creative development and exploration. The program offers a unique taste of life in rural Minnesota while allowing the artists virtually uninterrupted time in which to immerse themselves in their artwork.

Application deadlines: April 1 and October 1.

Calling All Young Filmmakers! Sitar Arts Center is excited to present its 2025 Set in DC Film Festival, “Love in All Its Forms.” 

What does love mean to you? They invite films that explore love beyond the romantic – whether it’s love for friends, family, community, nature, or any other connection that inspires you. 

Don’t miss the opportunity to showcase your work on the big screen at Sitar Arts Center in Washington, D.C.! 

Submission Deadline: Monday, April 21, 2025.

The Women’s Caucus for Art of Greater Washington, DC (WCADC) is excited to offer scholarships to promote and recognize artistic excellence among Black, Indigenous and People of Color, female-identifying students from the DC, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) area.

This opportunity is available to:  

• High school seniors who have been enrolled in a public school in DC, Maryland, or Virginia for the past two years.  
• College freshmen or sophomores originally from the DMV area.  

Applicants are judged on creativity, originality, and quality. 

Award Amount: Up to $5,000. Deadline: April 30, 2025, 11:59 pm.

The work of charitable nonprofits cover a wide range of causes and efforts, and executive orders have the potential to impact funding, staffing, and general operations of critical community services. The implications of the executive orders vary greatly from immediately taking effect to immediately being challenged in court. Staying abreast of the executive orders and their related actions is crucial for ensuring nonprofits are aware of upcoming hurdles to their work.

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 trainings they're providing the month of March, which are all from 2 to 3:30 pm ET on weekdays:

• Build the board you need
• Community-centric fundraising: Transforming nonprofit practices for equity and impact
• Get your board fundraising

Our colleagues at the Maryland State Arts Council invite you to join them along with Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts for a session on B Corporation (B Corp) certification for creatives. B Corp Certification is a process through which for-profit businesses can publicly demonstrate their responsible business practices.

Discussion will include the standards for certification, the benefits it offers, and the steps to navigate the application process. Freelancers and small businesses from the creative sector are encouraged to attend, 2 to 3 pm on Tuesday, March 25.

Since nonprofit board meetings depend on interaction among people with different values, perspectives, and communication styles, conflict is likely to occur. The impact of this conflict, however, largely depends on how it is handled.

Use these key tips to manage conflict in your board meetings and ensure that all board members can have candid and productive discussions.

Check out this directory of individuals and organizations supported by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities in FY 2025

Please note that it is not comprehensive, as participation in the Directory is not required and grantees listed have opted-in.

Check out this Spotify playlist highlighting some of 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!

We understand that the frequency with which we send emails can be a lot at times for some of our subscribers, especially during the annual application cycle for multiple grant programs. So we encourage you to review and update your settings.

*Spring Cleaning* We will also be checking in this month with subscribers who haven't opened an email in a while, to see if you're still there and interested in receiving our emails.

You can update your profile at the bottom of this and every email we send by clicking on “Update Profile”.

Please note: If you leave GENERAL LIST selected, this will override any other selections and you will still receive every email. Please be sure to deselect this if you choose one or more of the other options.