Wilmington, Del. (March 10, 2022) – From a field of ten Delaware high school students, Natalie Kim Ramos, a senior from Saint Mark’s High School, earned the title of 2022 Poetry Out Loud Delaware State Champion at the virtual state finals held on March 10. The first runner-up was Kai Schmiedel from Delaware Valley Classical School and the second runner-up was Aiden Morris from Mount Sophia Academy.

Ramos’ recitation, “How To Triumph Like a Girl” by Ada Limón, earned her high marks with the judges. The full poem can be found on the Poetry Foundation’s website.

As the 2022 Poetry Out Loud Delaware State Champion, Ramos will receive $200 and the opportunity to compete in the virtual national semifinals on Sunday, May 1, 2022, which will be streamed on arts.gov. Saint Mark’s High School will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry materials. Kai Schmiedel, the first runner-up will receive $100, and Delaware Valley Classical School will receive $200 for its school library.

The Poetry Out Loud state competition, sponsored by the Delaware Division of the Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, is part of a national program that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance, and competition.

To learn more about the competition and for a full list of state finalists, please view our website.

Watch the full 2022 Delaware state competition below:

About the Delaware Division of the Arts
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.

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Contact: Leeann Wallett, Program Officer, Community Engagement
302-577-8282, leeann.wallett@delaware.gov

The National Endowment for the Arts grants funding to 567 arts organizations to save jobs and to fund operations and facilities, health and safety supplies, and marketing and promotional efforts

Wilmington, Del. (February 2, 2022) – At the end of January, four Delaware arts organizations – Art Works for All, Inc., The Delaware Contemporary, Delaware Shakespeare, and Wilmington Children’s Chorus – received either $50,000 or $100,000 American Rescue Plan (ARP) grants directly from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). These four organizations are among 567 arts organizations nationwide – located in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington, DC – that will receive a total of $57.75 million in nonmatching funds to save jobs and to fund operations and facilities, health and safety supplies, and marketing and promotional efforts to encourage attendance and participation.

“Our nation’s arts sector has been among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Endowment for the Arts’ American Rescue Plan funding will help arts organizations rebuild and reopen,” said Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson, chair of the NEA. “The arts are crucial to helping America’s communities heal, unite, and inspire as well as essential to our nation’s economic recovery.”

The NEA received more than 7,500 eligible applications requesting $695 million. To review applications, the agency employed more than 450 expert readers and panelists to review and score each application using the published review criteria.

The ARP grant awardees represent the diverse nature of arts organizations around the country, serving both rural and urban communities and representing all 15 of the NEA’s artistic disciplines. Seventy-eight percent of the awardees are small or medium sized organizations with budgets of less than $2 million and 27 percent are first-time NEA grantees due to the NEA’s active encouragement of applications from a variety of organizations for this opportunity while providing numerous resources for navigating the application process.

The ARP was signed into law in March 2021 and included $135 million to the NEA for the arts sector. This is the third installment of ARP funding. In April 2021, the NEA announced $52 million (40 percent) in ARP funding will be allocated to 62 state, jurisdictional, and regional arts organizations for subgranting through their respective programs. With this special award, the Delaware Division of the Arts developed two short-term grant opportunities to help secure jobs and support Delaware’s nonprofit arts organizations and artists that add value to the state’s economy and bolster the creative life of our communities. The Delaware Division of the Arts awarded ARP funds to 36 arts organizations and 13 individual artists.

About the National Endowment for the Arts

Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the Arts Endowment supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Visit arts.gov to learn more.

Image Credit: Delaware Shakespeare’s performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream taken by Alessandra Nicole

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Contact: Kaitlin Ammon, Program Officer, Marketing and Communications
302-577-8280, kaitlin.ammon@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.

Thirty-six arts organizations and 13 artists have received ARP funds

Wilmington, Del. (January 5, 2022) – In Fiscal Year 2021, the Division of the Arts received $753,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts through the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act. With this special award, the Division developed two short-term grant opportunities to help secure jobs and support Delaware’s nonprofit arts organizations and artists that add value to the state’s economy and bolster the creative life of our communities. ARP funds have been awarded to 36 arts organizations and 13 individual artists.

ARP Organization Grants ranged in size from $5,000 to $45,000 and were only available to recipients of General Operating Support in the past three years (FY19, FY20, FY21). The grants were for expenses to support salaried employees, fees for artists and/or contractual personnel, facility costs such as rent and utilities and marketing expenses incurred between December 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022.

ARP Individual Artist Grants provided up to $15,000 to support eligible Delaware artists in the production and presentation of community-focused artistic projects across disciplines through June 30, 2022. Examples of eligible projects included providing presentations (art exhibitions, performances, readings, concerts), workshops and the creation of artwork with tangible outcomes (such as a specific community impact or raising awareness of the arts).

“These relief funds are critical to arts organizations and their ongoing service to the community,” said Jessica Ball, director of the Division of the Arts. “Public funds represent only a small portion of the revenue that arts organizations generate. In addition, individual practicing artists have seen their opportunities postponed or canceled due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Artists’ work in communities, schools and businesses is crucial to the creative life of our communities, the well-being of individuals and adds distinct value to the state’s economy.”

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Contact: Kaitlin Ammon, Program Officer, Marketing and Communications
302-577-8280, kaitlin.ammon@delaware.gov

Image: The Grand Opera House, Moonloop Photography

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 National Endowment for the Arts grants funding to 855 organizations to support staff salaries, fees for artists or contractual personnel, and facilities costs

Wilmington, Del. (July 10, 2020) – Earlier this month, four Delaware arts organizations—Delaware Art Museum, Delaware Shakespeare, OperaDelaware and State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education—received $50,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. These four organizations are among 855 organizations nationwide—located in every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico—that will receive a total of $44.5 million in nonmatching funds to support staff salaries, fees for artists or contractual personnel, and facilities costs.

The National Endowment for the Arts received more than 3,100 eligible applications requesting $157 million for the $45 million available in direct assistance. To review the applications, the agency used more than 200 application readers and panelists to review and score each application using the published review criteria.

“All of us at the National Endowment for the Arts are keenly aware that arts organizations across the country are hurting, struggling, and trying to survive and that our supply of funding does not come close to meeting the demand for assistance,” said Arts Endowment Chairman Mary Anne Carter. “That said, I am enormously proud of the over-and-above efforts of the Arts Endowment staff to swiftly and professionally manage such a large amount of additional work in a relatively short period of time on behalf of the American public.”

These awardees represent the diverse nature of arts organizations around the country. Overall funding is divided nearly evenly between small, medium, and large arts organizations.

CARES Act grants chart by organization size

In April, the agency announced the distribution of the required 40 percent of the CARES Act’s $75 million appropriation to the state and regional arts agencies for their granting programs. With this special award and additional federal funds, the Delaware Division of the Arts developed two short-term grant opportunities to help secure jobs and support Delaware’s nonprofit arts organizations and artists that add value to the state’s economy and bolster the creative life of our communities.

Of the approximately 60 arts organizations that receive General Operating Support, and an additional 25 community-based arts programs, 55 arts and community-based organizations and 11 artists received relief funds.

The Division has also opened up a second cycle of the CARES Artist Relief program which provides grants up to $500 to Delaware artists impacted by the cancellation of a specific, scheduled event, gig, or opportunity (e.g. commissions, performances, readings, contracts, teaching classes, etc.) because of COVID-19.  Guidelines and application link here. Deadline to apply July 31, 2020.

About the National Endowment for the Arts

Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the Arts Endowment supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Visit arts.gov to learn more.

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Contact: Leeann Wallett, Program Officer, Communications and Marketing
302-577-8280, leeann.wallett@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.

Fifty-five arts organizations and 11 artists have received relief funds

Wilmington, Del. (June 10, 2020) – Earlier this year, the Division of the Arts received $423,600 from the National Endowment for the Arts through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. With this special award and additional federal funds, the Division developed two short-term grant opportunities to help secure jobs and support Delaware’s nonprofit arts organizations and artists that add value to the state’s economy and bolster the creative life of our communities. Of the approximately 60 arts organizations that receive General Operating Support, and an additional 25 community-based arts programs, 55 arts and community-based organizations and 11 artists received relief funds.

CARES Organization Relief Grants ranged in size from $1,000 to $12,500 and were only available to recipients of General Operating Support (GOS) in the past three years (FY18, FY19, FY20), or Project Support (PS) in the current fiscal year (FY20). The grants were for expenses to support salaried employees, fees for artists and/or contractual personnel, as well as facility costs such as rent and utilities, incurred between March 15 and August 31.

CARES Artist Relief Grants provided up to $500 to eligible Delaware artists impacted by the cancellation of a specific scheduled event, gig, or opportunity (e.g. commissions, performances, readings, contracts, teaching classes, etc.) because of COVID-19.

“These relief funds are critical to arts organizations’ and their ongoing service to the community,” said Paul Weagraff, director of the Division of the Arts. “Public funds represent only a small portion of the revenue that arts organizations generate. In addition, individual practicing and teaching artists have seen their opportunities postponed or even canceled due to the social distancing guidelines set forth by the state. Artists’ work in communities, schools and businesses is crucial to the creative life of our communities and adds distinct value to the state’s economy.”

In addition to the CARES Act relief grants, the Division also released the final General Operating Support grant payments in mid-March (usually dispersed in September) to assist arts organizations with cash flow challenges resulting from cancelled and postponed, revenue generating programming.

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Contact: Leeann Wallett, Program Officer, Communications and Marketing
302-577-8280, leeann.wallett@delaware.gov

Image: “Tides of Change,” acrylics, 36” x 36”, 2019, artist: Shawn Faust

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.