2020 Artist Fellowship Awardees
The prestigious Individual Artist Fellowships from the Delaware Division of the Arts recognize artists in a variety of disciplines for their outstanding quality of work. From fiction writers to visual artists to musicians, each of this year's 19 award-winning Fellows has a unique story and outstanding talent. Profiles and work samples from each of these Fellows are now available on the Division’s website.
Due to COVID-19, this year's Poetry Out Loud National Finals have been cancelled. In the weeks to come, the Poetry Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts will explore ways to honor achievements of the 2020 Poetry Out Loud State Champions including, Delaware's 2020 State Champion, Camille Decker, a senior from Sanford School.

All Photos: Joe del Tufo, Moonloop Photography
New Anthology: Rooster in the Hen House
The 2018 Writers' Retreat anthology, Rooster in the Hen House, is now for sale on Amazon. Co-edited by Billie Travalini and John Newlin, the anthology is a collection of essays, poems and stories by both emerging and published writers.

From the Director
First and foremost, I hope that you and those dear to you are well. These are trying times for all of us as we navigate uncharted waters. Despite that, or because of it, the Division of the Arts has been busier than ever, adjusting to working remotely to continue providing constituent-focused services to the best of our ability. In a recent outline to the Secretary of State, I highlighted the following adjustments that we have made:

  • All agency public programs have been put on hiatus (Mezzanine Gallery receptions and Poets Laureate appearances)
  • Grant applications, reporting will continue unabated, since all grant materials are online. The database vendor and servers remain fully operational.
  • Staff will conduct periodic communications with grantee constituents for updates on their activities, adjustments, and challenges.
  • Grant review panels will convene this May by video conference calls, after individual online reviews are completed.
  • The State Arts Council recently approved immediate release of final General Operating Support grant payments (usually dispersed in September), to assist organizations with cash-flow challenges resulting from cancelled/postponed revenue-generating programming.
  • Staff remain available for consultation with constituents by email, phone, and conference call for group meetings.
  • The Division of the Arts is working with the Delaware Arts Alliance, Americans for the Arts, and National Assembly of State Arts Agencies to ensure that advocacy efforts for emergency assistance include artists and the nonprofit arts sector at both the state and federal level.

In addition, the Division has created a resource page that provides links to important information for artists and arts organizations alike: links to funding resources, technical assistance, and public health information.

Likewise, the Delaware Arts Alliance, Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement, and Delaware Community Foundation are just three organizations that have stepped up to assist through herculean efforts of advocacy, technical assistance, and emergency relief.

The stories I am hearing of programmatic innovation are truly inspiring: virtual music and dance instruction; online galleries (including a March Madness competition with artwork!); and streaming of performances and exhibitions. Kudos to all for your continuity of service to the community while we long for the day when we can return to live instruction, exhibitions, and performances.

In the meantime, the Division of the Arts is open for business, working with the National Endowment for the Arts and the local philanthropic community to help the arts sector weather this storm until we return to calmer seas.
Each Monday, we’ll reveal our poet and poem of the week at 10 a.m.! National Poetry Month content will be available on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram , so follow along on your favorite platform.

  • April 6 - Caroline N. Simpson, 2020 Established Fellow, Poetry
  • April 13 - To be announced!
  • April 20 - It's a surprise!
  • April 27 - No peeking!
It's a Wrap
Congratulations to the 2020 Delaware State Employee award winners! This year's reception may have been cancelled, but we can still enjoy the amazing artwork by state employees and their family members.
Free Online Arts Resources
Need to entertain the kids? Looking for a way to escape COVID-19? Look no further than our online-only content provided by local Delaware and nationwide arts organizations. This is the perfect time to immerse yourself in the arts now, soon, and near you.
On the Mezzanine
Not Just a Pretty Face
by Paul Simon
Image: Bearded Man, 2019, soft pastel, 25 x 38 inches
Not Just a Pretty Face, an exhibition of pastel portraits by Paul Simon, has been extended through April 24, 2020. Our May artist, Aaron Paskins will be postponed until October 2020.

Since retiring from a career as a biopharmaceuticals discovery researcher, Simon has devoted himself to creating artwork and volunteering. Always drawn to portraiture, Simon was inspired to create portraits of people he met through his volunteer work for JFS (Jewish Family Services) Village and the Refugee Integration Support Effort (RISE).

Simon typically works from smartphone snapshots and enjoys the challenge of creating a photographic likeness that reveals something about the person’s character. He creates the large close-up views of faces by layering soft pastels on dark paper. The faces fill or often extend past the borders of the page. “I depict them frankly, without seeking to embellish or smooth the images, indeed, welcoming the eloquence of their “seasoned” visage,” Simon said.
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. 
Award Winners XX Exhibition
The work of the Fellows will be featured in a group exhibition, Award Winners XX at the Biggs Museum from June 5 to July 23, 2020 with an award ceremony and reception on Wednesday, June 10 at 5 p.m.

Selections from Award Winners will travel to CAMP Rehoboth for the entire month of August and then Cab Calloway School of the Arts from September 4 to October 25.
Biggs Museum of American Art
June 5 to July 23, 2020
Opening Reception: June 5
Award Ceremony: June 10
CAMP Rehoboth
August 1-30, 2020
Opening Reception: August 1
Cab Calloway School of the Arts
September 4 to October 25, 2020
Opening Reception: October 2
Featured Opportunities
Support for Artists Affected by COVID-19

Artist Relief is an emergency initiative launched in April 2020 to support artists facing dire financial emergencies due to the global health crisis. Artist Relief is an emergency, non-restricted fund that will grant $5,000 to individual artists facing financial hardship. To apply visit artistrelief.org

Additional resources are available on our website.
Teaching Artists - Your Input is Needed
The 2020 Mid-Atlantic Artists' Retreat was slated to be held in August. In light of the events surround COVID-19 pandemic, the retreat planning committee would like feedback from you on potential alternative aways to convene as a regional cohort. Please complete the brief survey by April 10.
Upcoming Nonprofit Webinars
The Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement (DANA) has scheduled a variety of webinars designed to assist the nonprofit sector continue operations during the state of emergency. Workshops include how to manage cash flow, sustain relations with donors, and conduct online meetings. They also provide updates to state and federal funding opportunities available to the nonprofit sector.

Bookmark https://alliance.delawarenonprofit.org/events/ and https://delawarenonprofit.org/covid-19/ to easily access the resources and information that they provide. If your nonprofit is not a member of DANA, you may want to consider becoming one.
Artist Roster Seeks Teaching Artists
The Division’s Artist Roster is a resource for anyone looking for artistic talent in Delaware. You can find visual, literary, and performing artists available to create, exhibit, perform, or present programs in venues across the state and throughout the region.

We are currently seeking more artists to register or update their profile in the Roster to include “Teaching Artist” under the Arts Services category. School administrators, teachers, and organizers of events and programs regularly seek artists to lead art projects and workshops in a variety of disciplines and media. If you like to help people create, let us know!
After careful discussion and consideration-and owing to an abundance of caution-many organizations have decided to cancel their upcoming events, performances and exhibitions.

Please be sure to c heck the organization's website and/or social media page(s) for up-to-date information. Any canceled events will be deleted immediately after we've been notified.

Are you an organization and need to delete or postpone an event? Please contact - contact@delawarescene.com.
Ongoing Division Grant Deadlines
Artist Opportunity: deadline 7/1/2020, for activities happening between 8/15/2020 - 11/15/2020

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 the field trip date
Please note: All applications for grants must be submitted through smARTDE.
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.