Twelve students to compete to advance to the National Finals in Washington, DC

 

Wilmington, Del. (February 27, 2024) – Delaware’s Poetry Out Loud State Finals returns to the Smyrna Opera House on Thursday, February 29, 2024, at 6:00pm. Twelve student finalists will compete for the opportunity to represent Delaware and advance to the National Finals in Washington, DC from April 30-May 3, 2024, where $50,000 in awards and school stipends will be distributed. The event is FREE to the public and seating is limited.

At their school, students selected and recited works from an anthology of more than 1,200 poems. Their teachers or facilitators ran their school’s local Poetry Out Loud competition that then selected a winner to be moved on to the state finals.

 “Congratulations to the twelve talented and creative high school students who have been selected as finalists in the 2024 Delaware Poetry Out Loud competition,” says Division Director Jessica Ball. “Your hard work and passion for the arts is truly inspiring. The arts play a critical role in creating well-rounded individuals, fostering imagination, creativity and critical thinking skills that are essential to success in all aspects of life. Keep up the great work and we can’t wait to see where your passion for the arts takes you in the future.”

The twelve finalists are:

2024 Delaware State Semi-Finalists

Jono McGarvey, Delaware Valley Classical School

Grace Sullivan, MOT Charter High School

Olivia Stevens, Mount Sophia Academy 

Maiss Hussein, Paul M. Hodgson Vocational Technical High School

Hunter Brown, Red Lion Christian Academy

Abigail Ehemann, Saint Mark’s High School

Perrin Brown, Sanford School

Joelle Caternor, Smyrna High School

Harrison Dabbs, Sussex Academy of Arts & Sciences

Nife Anawo, Sussex Central High School

Caliana Velasquez, Sussex Technical High School

Jamie Feldman, Wilmington Friends School

 

Those wishing to watch the event from the comfort of their own home can do so via the link below.

 

Poetry Out Loud—presented in partnership with the Delaware Division of the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and Poetry Foundation—is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country. Since the program began in 2005, more than 4.1 million students across the country have participated in Poetry Out Loud.

At their school, students recite works selected from an anthology of more than 1,200 poems. Judges will evaluate student performances on criteria including voice and articulation, evidence of understanding, and accuracy. The National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation have created free, standards-based curriculum materials to support Poetry Out Loud including a teacher’s guide, lesson plans, an online anthology, posters, and video and audio on the art of recitation. These resources are available for free at PoetryOutLoud.org.

The Delaware state champion will receive $200 and will advance to the national finals next spring where $50,000 in awards and school/organizational stipends will be distributed. The representing school or organization of the state champion will receive $500 for the purchase of poetry materials. The first runner-up in each state will receive $100, with $200 for their school or organization. The Poetry Foundation provides and administers all aspects of the monetary prizes awarded and travel arrangements for the Poetry Out Loud National Finals.

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Contact: Andrew Truscott, Program Officer, Marketing and Communications

302-577-8280, andrew.truscott@delaware.gov

The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is dedicated to cultivating and supporting the arts to enhance the quality of life for all Delawareans. 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. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit arts.delaware.gov or call 302-577-8278.

The Delaware Division of the Arts Mezzanine Gallery presents Constanza (Cony) Madariaga’s exhibition, “The Knowing,” on view from February 2-24, 2024. Guests are invited to attend a Meet-the-Artist Reception on Friday, February 2 from 5:00-7:00 p.m.

The title of Madariaga’s show is a reference to a Jay-Z quote that resonated with the artist. In an interview, Jay-Z said, “There’s a knowing in being an artist, there’s a knowing.” From a young age, Madariaga has possessed an unwavering belief in her identity as an artist.

Painting and drawing have always been a very personal experience for Madariaga, and she has enjoyed being able to share some of those intimate feelings in her life with others through her artwork. She said, “Through the showcased artwork, the audience is invited to explore my artistic journey and the intimate connection that defines my existence as an artist.”

The exhibition showcases the variety in Madariaga’s repertoire from portraits and still lifes to abstracts and graphic work created by lines. Plants and flowers appear in much of her work, and she explains that they are a metaphor for life. The artist works in a variety of mediums from acrylic paint to pastels, and often incorporates other mediums such as markers and watercolors into her work.

Madariaga, a resident of Delaware, is the recipient of a 2023 Emerging Fellowship in Painting from the Delaware Division of the Arts. She is also a 2023/2024 Artist in Residence at The Delaware Contemporary, where she maintains a studio.

The Meet the Artist video featuring Madariaga can be viewed on the Division’s YouTube page here: https://youtu.be/RZ1TEl2wkdA?si=MPOv5uF3nBTT7qaK

The Mezzanine Gallery, open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is located on the second floor of the Carvel State Office Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington.

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The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is committed to supporting the arts and cultivating creativity to enhance the quality of life in 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.

Twenty Delaware artists are being recognized by the Delaware Division of the Arts for the high quality of their artwork. The Division received work samples from 149 Delaware musicians; writers; and folk, media, and visual artists. The work samples were reviewed by out-of-state arts professionals who considered the demonstrated creativity and skill in each artist’s respective art form. The twenty artists were awarded fellowships in the following categories – one, Masters; ten, Established; and nine, Emerging. Four applicants were awarded Honorable Mentions. The selected fellows reside throughout Delaware including Arden, Dover, Lewes, Long Neck, Newark, Rehoboth Beach, and Wilmington.

Awards are given in three categories: $12,000 for the Masters Award, $8,000 for the Established Professional Award, and $5,000 for the Emerging Professional Award. Fellows are required to offer at least one exhibit or performance during the upcoming year, providing an opportunity for the public to experience their work.

“Individual Artist Fellowship grants recognize Delaware artists for their outstanding work and commitment to artistic excellence,” said Jessica Ball, director of the Delaware Division of the Arts. “The financial award allows them to pursue advanced training, purchase equipment, and materials, or fulfill other needs to advance their careers.”

The Masters Fellowship is open to different artistic disciplines each year. For FY 2024, Masters Fellowship applications were accepted in Dance, Jazz, and Music from artists who had previously received an Established Professional Fellowship. In addition to exemplifying high artistic quality, Masters Fellowship applicants must demonstrate their involvement and commitment to the arts in Delaware and beyond.

Mark Hagerty is the DDOA FY 2024 Master Fellow in the field of Music: Composition. Hagerty is an award-winning, highly individualistic composer who pursued classical training as an instrumentalist, singer, and composer and then determined his own path, outside of any tradition or institution. His music has found enthusiastic audiences from Carnegie Hall to Iceland to Shanghai to Rio de Janeiro. While much of his work is inspired by theoretical physics and chaotic systems, he is increasingly dedicated to using music in the service of social change, including ongoing collaboration with the urban spoken-word Twin Poets, Delaware’s poets laureate.

Hagerty studied composition at Oberlin and Brandeis. Early in his career, he was awarded the prestigious Joseph H. Bearn’s Prize from Columbia University for his String Quartet: Formations. He received a past Individual Artist Fellowship from the Delaware Division of the Arts for The Realm of Possibility, a multi-movement piano work of flexible form, the recording of which received 5-star ratings in Fanfare for its “revelatory new sounds,” “elements that are by turns dramatic, amusing, thrilling, and lovely,” and its “plateaux of great beauty.”

Listed below are the Delaware Division of the Arts FY 2024 Individual Artist Fellows:

Masters Fellows

Mark Hagerty, Music: Composition, Wilmington

Established Fellows

Maya Belardo, Jazz: Performance, Wilmington

David Burslem, Visual Arts: Sculpture, Arden

Lori Crawford, Visual Arts: Interdisciplinary, Dover

Richard Hill Jr., Jazz: Composition, Wilmington

Shakira Hunt, Visual Arts: Photography, Wilmington

Michael Kardos, Literature: Fiction, Rehoboth Beach

Victor Letonoff, Literature: Creative Nonfiction, Lewes

Rebecca Raubacher, Visual Arts: Painting, Rehoboth Beach

L.J. Sysko, Literature: Poetry, Wilmington

Trebs Thompson, Visual Arts: Crafts, Newark

Emerging Fellows

Doug Cannon (Pultixima), Music: Composition, Wilmington

Samantha Facciolo, Literature: Fiction, Long Neck

Brandan Henry, Visual Arts: Works on Paper, Wilmington

Aaron Hoffer, Visual Arts: Painting, Dover

Mariano Mallia (Di Gabriele), Music: Contemporary Performance, Wilmington

Joyce Enzor Maust, Literature: Poetry, Dover

Jennifer Morrell, Literature: Creative Nonfiction, Wilmington

M. Amber Spivey, Dance: Choreography, Newark

Julieta Zavala, Folk Art: Visual Arts, Newark

Honorable Mentions

Kari Ebert, Established, Literature: Poetry, Dover

Bronwen Hazlett, Established, Visual Arts: Photography, Dover

Virginia Lockman, Emerging, Visual Arts: Photography, Wilmington

Michael Tanis, Emerging, Visual Arts: Sculpture, Wilmington

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To contact an individual artist, please email or call Roxanne Stanulis, Program Officer, Artist Programs and Services at Roxanne.Stanulis@delaware.gov or 302-577-8283.

The next deadline for the FY 2025 Individual Artist Fellowship applications will be Thursday, August 1, 2024 at 11:59 p.m.

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The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is committed to supporting the arts and cultivating creativity to enhance the quality of life in 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.

 

 

The Delaware Division of the Arts has opened its annual online application process for grants for arts programming and projects taking place during fiscal year 2025 (September 2024 – August 2025). Applications will be submitted through the smARTDE online system and are due by 4:30 p.m. EST on Friday, March 1, 2024.

New to smARTDE? View the login instructions for smARTDE or email smARTDE@delaware.gov for assistance.

The guidelines for all grant programs are available online at arts.delaware.gov/grant-overview. Past and new applicants should read the guidelines carefully as updates may have been made and contact Division staff with any questions.

Below are the Division’s grants programs and their respective deadlines. Please visit arts.delaware.gov/grant-overview/ to access the full guidelines for each program and a description of the grant review process. Some organizational grants are available throughout the year on a rolling deadline basis. Please see the list below for more details.

Requirement for new applicants: Organization grant applications require a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). Obtaining your UEI could take up to 30 days. Read more about obtaining a UEI to begin the process today. CLICK HERE and HERE for more instructions.

In FY24, the Division of the Arts awarded 112 grants – for a total of almost $4 million – to eligible Delaware-based organizations. You can read more here.

Grants for Delaware Arts Organizations:

General Operating Support (GOS) – support of annual operating expenses to ensure that year-round participation in the arts is available to the people of Delaware. This grant category utilizes a three-year application cycle. Full applications are due every three years, with Interim Applications due in the “off” years. March 1 deadline.

Arts Stabilization Fund (ASF) – support for improvements to facilities owned (or under long-term lease) and operated by the organization. ASF grants are funded through the Division’s participation in the Arts Consortium of Delaware, Inc. (ArtCo) endowment. March 1 deadline.

Education Resource (EDR) – grants to strengthen standards-based arts education projects, programs, and activities that utilize the arts education resources of the Delaware arts community or strengthen arts organizations’ capacity to serve as professional development resources for teaching artists and educators. March 1 deadline.

StartUp – financial support, training, and consultation to develop and strengthen the management capacity of emerging arts organizations, or those new to the Division, so that they can operate in a sustainable manner. Completion of the StartUp program is a prerequisite for emerging organizations seeking General Operating Support. Letter of intent due January 15. If LOI accepted, March 1 deadline.

Arts Access – provides up to $1,250 to support the presentation of performing, visual, literary, media, or folk arts in communities throughout the state. Rolling deadline.

Grants for Delaware Community-Based Organizations (CBOs):

Project Support – support of arts programs provided by CBOs that assist in the growth of a vibrant cultural environment by encouraging the continued development of arts activities in communities throughout the state. March 1 deadline.

Arts Access – provide up to $1,250 to support the presentation of eligible arts-related programs throughout the state, including performing, visual, literary, media, or folk arts in communities. Rolling deadline.

Grants for Delaware Schools and School Districts:

Artist Residency – grants for residencies with visual, literary, performing or media artists working with students in the classroom or in professional development workshops with teachers. Rolling deadline.

Education Resource (EDR) – grants to strengthen standards-based arts education projects, programs, and activities that utilize the arts education resources of the Delaware arts community or strengthen arts organizations’ capacity to serve as professional development resources for teaching artists and educators. March 1 deadline.

TranspARTation – grants that support transportation costs up to $500 per field trip for schools to travel to Delaware arts and cultural institutions and venues for students to attend arts performances, events, and exhibits. Rolling deadline.

Grants for Delaware Individual Artists:

Artist Fellowship – support of individual artists in their work as visual, performing, media, folk, and/or literary artists. Download the smARTDE Instructions to learn how to log in and navigate the system. Application opens Spring 2024 with an August 1 deadline.

Artist Opportunity Grant – grants up to $1,000 in support of individual artists with unique professional and artistic development or presentation opportunities. Quarterly deadlines.

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The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is committed to supporting the arts and cultivating creativity to enhance the quality of life in 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.

Wilmington, Del. (November 30, 2023) – The Delaware Division of the Arts’ Mezzanine Gallery presents 2023 Artist Fellow Lauren E. Peters’ exhibition, “Art Monster,” on view between December 1-29, 2023. Guests are invited to attend a Meet-the-Artist Reception on Friday, December 1 from 5:00-7:00 p.m.

Lauren E. Peters is a visual artist working with the concepts of identity and gender through self-portraiture. “Self-portraiture came to me by way of a painting by Chantal Joffe, a female figure in a drippy red dress whose identity was both obscured and attempting to assert herself,” says Peters.

The artist started changing her appearance using wigs and costumes as armor, projection, mirage. She created source photos by taking selfies with her cell phone and used them as the base material upon which she adds and subtracts layers of meaning. She hopes that the oil paintings join the legacy of portraits trying to stake a claim in existence, “I am running full force, smashing my body into my own stories and a shared history to see what sticks.”

The theme for this show was inspired by Peters’ recent reading of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and builds on the term “art monster” penned by Jenny Offill. In this series of paintings, Peters explores identity, societal pressures, and transcending conformity as ways to free herself and become her own creature. Peters says, “Choose your own adventure. We are both Frankenstein and monster. Creator. Created.”

Peters began painting self-portraits for a small exhibit in 2016 after an extended hiatus from painting. She continued to develop this body of work and in 2018 was awarded the Delaware Individual Artist Fellowship in painting for her self-portraiture.

In 2021, Peters curated a group exhibition, “Appearances,” at The Delaware Contemporary with 16 other artists creating a piece based on an early self-portrait. She saw the public installation of her portrait of “Wilma,” the namesake of a new restaurant/bowling alley in downtown Wilmington. In 2022 Peters attended the Soaring Gardens Residency and will attend a residency at the Vermont Studio Center in the spring of 2024.

Peters is currently the recipient of the 2023 Established Fellowship in Painting from the Delaware Division of the Arts. She lives and works in Wilmington, Delaware.

The Mezzanine Gallery, open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is located on the second floor of the Carvel State Office Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington.

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The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is dedicated to cultivating and supporting the arts to enhance the quality of life for all Delawareans. 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. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit arts.delaware.gov or call 302-577-8278.