• Grant Requests for Applications
• "Song in My Heart" Art Workshop
• Commission Meetings
• Call for Panelists
• Demographic Survey
• In the CAHmmunity
• Upcoming Edit-a-thons
• World Pride 2025
• Poetry Out Loud
• Grantee Happenings
• Opportunities
• Resources
• Grantees Online
• eMuseum
• Update Your Profile

• Two Year General Operating Support - Deadline is 10 pm ET, Tues May 6
• Art Bank Program - Deadline at 9 pm ET, Mon May 19
• Public Art Building Communities - Deadline is 9 pm ET, Mon Jul 21

• Art Exhibition Grant - Will be released on Monday, May 5
• Arts and Humanities Education Project - Will be released this month
• Arts and Humanities Fellowship Program - Will be released this month
• Capital Projects - Will be released this month
• Field Trip Experiences - Will be released this month

New Email List Available

You can now opt in to a dedicated email list to receive updates specifically about Commission meetings and updates. If you're interested, just click on "Update Your Profile" at the bottom of this email.

Our next Full Commission regular meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:30 ET on Monday, May 19. 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, May 15. Written comments may also be submitted by no later than Noon ET on Thursday, May 15, 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 want to hear from you! We are collecting demographic information from our CAH community. Participation in this demographic survey is fully voluntary. CAH will use this information to enrich the way we describe our artistic community and the work it produces. Sharing demographic information is not a requirement for our grant programs. Thank you in advance for your support and participation.

Have questions or concerns about the demographic survey?

Whether or not you choose to complete it, we welcome your feedback. Feel free to email us at cah@dc.gov or share your thoughts anonymously using the form below.

Are you an artist or organization looking to fund your work 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! They'll also be at the Anacostia River Festival on the 17th.

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

Join us for our 1st DCCAH AANHPI Heritage Month Wikipedia Edit-a-thon and help close the racial gap by creating and editing biographies of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander people with connections to DC’s arts and humanities communities and organizations.

Know artists whose Wikipedia articles could use some updates, or who don't even have any and deserve one? You can also submit nominations using the second button below.

Join us for our 1st LGBTQIA+ Pride Month Wikipedia Edit-a-thon.

Help close the representation gap by creating and editing biographies of individuals of diverse sexual orientations, romantic orientations, gender identities, and sex characteristics—including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, gender-expansive, and other LGBTQIA+ individuals—with connections to DC’s arts and humanities communities and organizations.

Know artists whose Wikipedia articles could use some updates, or who don't even have any and deserve one? You can also submit nominations using the second button below.

Beginning May 17th, we will welcome millions of visitors to Washington, DC as we showcase our LGBTQIA+ pride.

There will be dozens of events including DC Trans Pride, DC Black Pride, Capital Cup Sports Festival, Human Rights Conference, parades, festivals, and more! Some of the featured performers include Doechii, Shakira, Cynthia Erivo, and Khalid. This will be an event you won't want to miss.  

Visit worldpridedc.org to learn more! Interested in volunteering? Contact lgbtq.dc@dc.gov.

Nyla Dinkins, Poetry Out Loud DC Winner

Repping Benjamin Banneker Academic High School

Photo credit: Lotus Graphic Design, LLC 

ICYMI We hosted the DC Poetry Out Loud DC Competition at Planet Word Museum on Saturday, March 15. And our 2025 winner, going on to the national competition is Nyla Dinkins, of Benjamin Banneker Academic High School.

We are grateful for all the young people who brought their skill and passion to the stage, and congratulations to Nyla for going on to representing Washington, DC in next week's finals.

On Thursday, March 20, 2025, Sitar celebrated Youth Art Month with Smithsonian curator and DC native Michelle Banks, their featured guest for the second installment in their 2025 Artists at Work Speaker Series. Michelle is the lead curator for the upcoming Smithsonian Folklife Festival: Youth and the Power of Culture.

In conversation with special guest moderator Tonya McCleary, former executive producer of ABC7’s Good Morning Washington, Michelle shared stories of her roots in DC, her role in showcasing our nation’s traditional artists and artisans, and her remarkable career exploring the intersections of language, culture, and sustainability.

Click below to watch the event recording.

DCTV's Capital Arts program explores the heart and soul of DC's vibrant arts scene, taking you behind the scenes with painters, photographers, musicians, dancers, and more. Airing every Tuesday, each episode dives into the inspirations, techniques, and personal journeys of local artists across a wide range of media and styles, revealing the unseen moments that fuel their creativity and the passion that brings their visions to life.

Last week's episode featured Emon Surakitkoson, a self-taught visual artist based in Washington, DC and Baltimore. She immigrated to the U.S. from Thailand at age 19. With little money and few options, she worked long hours in restaurants, believing that was the only path available to someone like her. But a friend saw something more, and encouraged her to start drawing. She began making art using handmade brushes because she couldn’t afford the tools. Today, those brushes are part of her creative identity as an artist.

This month in the downstairs Monroe Galleries The Arts Club of Washington will have a duo show of local artists Carole Yee and Li Wen Quach and their Sumi-e style brush paintings as well as artist and craftsman, David Gootnick.

Both curated by Martha Schloetzer. Upstairs in the Spilsbury Members' Gallery they will have featured artist Bruce Campbell and Elena Belyavskaya. It will be a lovely evening of wine art and conversation!

Join Arts in Foggy Bottom for their 2025 Outdoor Sculpture Biennial with an afternoon of art, conversation, and community at the launch of Homeland | Hostland, 2 to 6 pm this Saturday, May 3.

Curated by FY25 Grantee Fabiola R. Delgado, this free public art exhibition runs from May 3 to October 25, 2025.

The sculpture show features 14 original works by esteemed local and global artists, each exploring the concept of home and belonging.

DC Jazz Collective presents “Nueve de Mayo” — Celebrating two years of playing at Marx Cafe with a night of Latin jazz! Featuring Tedd Baker (sax), Chris Burbank (trumpet/flugelhorn), Bobby Jasinski (keys), Artur Carreiro (bass), Will Stephens (drums). Marx Cafe, 3203 Mount Pleasant Street NW, Washington DC 20010.

10 pm to Midnight on Friday, May 9, 2025.

Join The Nicholson Project in celebrating the opening of Song of Sons, a new public art installation by Nate Langston Palmer. This dynamic public art series features two key installations and a series of smaller works connecting both sites.

On May 14th from 7:30 to 9 pm, join them at The Wharf to view two building-size photographs wrapping the corner of 800 9th Street SW, along with a brand new video work projected nightly from 7pm to 7am through September 28th, 2025.

For 20 years Capitol Movement has brought the joy of dance and music to their community. Thanks to generous donors, they are able to offer a certain number of "Golden Tickets" - free tickets to those in need of financial assistance to attend Capitol Movement's 20th anniversary Capitol Movement Project performance at the Lincoln Theater Saturday May 17, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. Please fill out this form below to request your tickets.

Duende Camarón is fronted by brothers Mario and Jose Oretea, who were born and raised in Bolivia and started playing guitar at a young age. 

They were heavily influenced by the musical culture of their family and grew up stepped in the rich music of their native Andes Culture. After spending time in Spain, they became enamored with Gypsy-Flamenco music and years later began collaborating with the Gipsy Kings. 

See the at Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital, as part of the American Roots Concert Series, 4:30 to 6:30 pm, Sunday, May 18.

Mark your calendar, grab your friends, and head to Sonny's Pizza on May 20th at 7 pm for our reading featuring Lillian-Yvonne Bertram 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.

Carpe Diem Arts, Inc., a Silver Spring, Maryland-based nonprofit, is seeking a dynamic, multi-skilled, and resourceful Executive Director to replace their esteemed founder/director who will be retiring.

Carpe Diem serves communities predominantly in Montgomery County, Maryland and the greater D.C. area, offering a wide variety of culturally diverse visual, literary and performing arts programs for all ages–with a primary focus on outreach to under-resourced schools and communities.

Washington Studio School invites LGBTQIA+ artists and allies to submit work that celebrates the beauty, complexity, and strength of queer existence for our upcoming exhibition, A Matter of Pride. Through this exhibition, we aim to create space — for joy, resistance, softness, strength, identity, solidarity, and celebration. Whether your work is bold or tender, personal or political, your voice matters.⁣

We seek visual stories grounded in resilience, defiance, love, becoming, and the vibrant spectrum of queer experience. All 2D works are welcome. We encourage artists from all identities within the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, and of all experience levels, from emerging to established, to apply.⁣

Submission Deadline: May 2nd, 2025

All 2D works welcome

Juried by artist Michael Crossett

🎨CALL TO ARTISTS — 200+ New Public Art Commissions 🎨

🚨 DC | Permanent Installations | Nation’s Capital Legacy 🚨

DGS is commissioning 200+ new works of art for 13 newly built parks and civic buildings across Washington, DC—half are large-scale graphic designs (murals, facades, interior walls), the other half are monumental 3D artworks in all forms, styles, and materials.

🗓️ Applications are due TOMORROW, FRIDAY, May 2nd at 2 PM. Most installations will be installed next year; however, a small number of graphic designs will be installed late this summer.

🎨 Emerging Artist Opp! VisArts is accepting applications for NextGen 12.0, a juried group exhibition highlighting aspiring artists ages 17–27. This is your chance to showcase your work in a professional gallery + connect with the local arts community!

VisArts welcomes artists ages 17–27 in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area to submit their application for NextGen 12.0. The exhibit will be presented in the Gibbs Street Gallery from May 30 - July 20, 2025.

Interested? 📅 Apply by May 9.

Night Gingko Press, a new DC-based literary press, is seeking submissions for its first publication, an anthology of poetry and prose by DMV-area writers. This will be a print publication, and we will have an author reading as well. Pay for accepted pieces is $100. 

Submissions are open to any writer living within a 30-mile radius of Washington, DC. If you are unsure about whether or not you live within this area or if you’re certain that you should be included, submit anyway! Previously published writing is encouraged as long as you include a link to the location where it previously appeared and as long as you maintain all rights.

They are accepting work until May 15

Washington Men's Camerata holds auditions quarterly, before starting new music.

Interested singers are invited to join them on Wednesday, May 28, at 7 pm before that evening's rehearsal 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 to 10pm.

Enjoy a complimentary snack and mingling during break around 9pm.

July 26, 1 to 5 pm, tenors, baritones, and basses of all ages are invited to a free afternoon of music-making and camaraderie with Washington Men's Camerata at the annual Summer Sing. In this workshop Artistic Director Scott Tucker will teach vocal technique, from tuning to timing.

Youngsters will learn targeted tools for healthy voice development from Frank Van Atta of National Cathedral & St. Albans Schools. Everyone will enjoy singing some new and familiar choral music and all will combine to sing, discuss and socialize, welcoming new and returning singers of the choral community.

Hosted by The First Baptist Church of the City of Washington DC (16th & O St NW). Learn more and sign up at camerata.com.

CALL FOR ENTRIES

MPAartfest 2025 Submissions Now Accepted

McLean Project for the Arts currently seeks submissions for the 18th Annual MPAartfest, a one-day juried fine art and craft show and sale featuring the work of more than 40 local and regional visual artists. This year’s festival will take place on Sunday, October 5, 2025 from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm in McLean Central Park. Artists retain 100 percent of in-park sales. MPAartfest 2025 is made possible with the help of the McLean Community Center, and our partnership with the Fairfax County Park Authority.

WHAT: MPAartfest 2025 Call for Submissions 

WHO: Artists from across the mid-Atlantic region are encouraged to apply

WHEN: Early Application Deadline – May 20, 2025 ($325)

Deadline for Submissions – Friday, June 16, 2025 at 9pm ($375)

Festival Date – October 5, 2025

WHERE: McLean Central Park; 1468 Dolley Madison Blvd; McLean, VA

Accepted artists will also be featured on the MPAartfest website 

Submissions are OPEN for the 14th annual Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Contest – Connections to Nature, Looking Inside, Going Outside. The 2025 Contest encourages students to explore the natural world and their place in it through the lenses of generational knowledge, human health, urban environments, resiliency, and more.

Submit works of visual art, creative writing, poetry, spoken word, music, dance, film, and multimedia for a chance to win cash awards of up to $1,000 and to join the world’s largest environmental youth community for the creative arts! The Contest is free to enter and open to students worldwide, ages 11-18. Submit by June 9, 2025. 

Learn improv at Project Create with a class taught by Washington Improv Theater! These classes are FREE for East of the River residents of Wards 7 and 8 as well as members of the Project Create community. These classes will be held at the Project Create Arts Center at 2208 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE in Anacostia.

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 May which are generally from 2 to 3:30 pm ET on weekdays:

• Build the board you need
• Funding beyond federal: How to diversify funding to ensure stability in uncertain times
• Get your board fundraising

BoardSource partnered with Building Movement Project in 2022 to develop a resource to assist boards as they prepare for every stage in leadership transition. It’s outlined in three time frames – before, during, and after – to give clear direction for a transition, as well as empower boards to proactively navigate pitfalls and support the success of incoming leaders of color.

Grantee Directory

Check out our FY25 directory of individuals and organizations supported by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Please note that it is not comprehensive, as participation in the Directory is not required and grantees listed have opted-in.

Grantee Playlist

Every day is a good day to listen to DC musicians on Spotify.

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 FY25 grantees.

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.

We understand that the frequency with which we send emails can be a lot at times for some of our subscribers So we invite you to consider opting into a monthly e-newsletter. You may also select email lists specifically for Grants and Public Art opportunities.

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.