Delaware’s arts and culture sector is facing close to $20 million in COVID-related expenses and losses through August due to the ongoing economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Delaware Arts Alliance, in conjunction with the Division of the Arts, the Department of State, and arts and culture organizations, collected data to quantify the economic impact of COVID-19 on the sector in the COVID-19 Arts & Culture Industry Impact Report, which will be used to educate the public and decision makers. The report, created in June, will be updated with new data in August.
D AA continues to work with the Governor’s administration to ensure that the arts & culture sector has access to critical CARES Act funding when the state rolls out its own CARES Act recovery funding plan. You can participate in DAA’s CARES act funding campaign on our website.
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During the week of June 15, DAA expanded Delaware Arts Advocacy Day to Delaware Arts Advocacy Week. The week focused on how “The Arts Are Essential” messaging and included a virtual workshop for arts advocates, a social media, video and letter-writing campaign in support of COVID-19 relief funding, and preserving funding in the FY21 state arts budget.
DAA ended the week with a virtual arts town hall, launching the General Assembly’s (GA) Arts and Culture Caucus with co-chairs Senator Elizabeth Lockman and Representative Bryan Shupe. The bipartisan, bicameral Caucus is dedicated to greater understanding of the importance of arts and cultural offerings in Delaware and will support and advance appreciation of and participation in diverse arts disciplines and cultural programs. The Caucus will be an important space for legislators and constituents to collaborate on policies that will advance arts and culture. You can invite your GA members to join the Caucus through DAA’s website. |
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Arts Funding - Federal and State |
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DAA's advocacy efforts also focus on national legislation, advocating for COVID-19 relief legislation and an increase in federal arts funding in the FY21 budget.
As of July 2020, the US arts and culture sector has suffered approximately $9.1 billion in COVID-related expenses and losses, with a 67% unemployment rate among artists and gig workers. DAA has ongoing advocacy efforts in support of COVID relief for arts and culture organizations, workers, artists, and creative entrepreneurs.
You can write your Members of Congress about your support here and about your support for particularly hard-hit performing arts here. Arts advocates have also asked for a $7.75 million increase to the FY21 budget for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). With bipartisan support, the House voted to increase both the NEA and NEH’s budgets to $170 million, matching arts advocates’ ask for an increase; the Senate will begin their appropriations process in the fall. |
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On July 1, the 150th General Assembly finished its 2020 session, approving a $4.54 billion spending plan that was smaller than the Governor’s original proposed budget due to a state deficit from COVID-19 revenue losses.
The threat of a cut to the state arts budget during the pandemic and the state budget deficit was a stark reality. DAA, arts and culture organizations, and advocates across the state rallied in support of preserving the state arts budget.
Public officials got the message--the FY21 state arts budget was in fact level-funded. You can thank your public officials for supporting arts and culture through DAA’s website.
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Library Performing Art Series |
For more than 20 years, the Division of the Arts and the Division of Libraries have partnered to introduce children throughout Delaware to music, theater, dance, and storytelling at their local public library as part of the Summer Library Reading Program's Performing Arts Series. Watch now
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Mid Atlantic Arts Tour Engagements Announced |
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The Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation has awarded $148,520 in grants supporting 59 performing arts engagements through its 2020-2021 Mid Atlantic Tours program. The grants, awarded directly to presenting organizations, will support engagements by the following artists at venues throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Learn more
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Arden Concert Gild, Arden
- Ak Dan Gwang Chil (North Korea)
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The Freeman Stage, Selbyville
- Choir!Choir!Choir! (Toronto)
- The Honey Dewdrops (Baltimore)
- Sonia de los Santos (Mexico)
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Established Professional, Folk Arts: Music |
Ralph Gresham Lam has always had music in his life and in his home. He started playing at the age of eight and has been making music for 52 years. “I came to work in my discipline as a matter of fate:” His great-grandparents, who hailed from the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, played and sang mountain music and bluegrass. Read more
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Emerging Professional, Visual Arts: Painting |
A farm girl from a very small Ohio town, Chloe McEldowney was the second oldest of nine children. “Growing up in a large family was beautiful and chaotic and exhausting and wonderful,” and it gave her endless freedom for exploration. None of her siblings cared as much about art as she did, so she adopted drawing as a way to set herself apart in the family. Read more
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Tart, an exhibition of paintings by 2020 Artist Fellow Chloe McEldowney will be on view in the Mezzanine Gallery from August 7 – September 18, 2020. For those unable to visit the Gallery in-person, a link to the online gallery will be available on August 7 on our Facebook event page.
McEldowney’s portraits are an exploration of femininity and a personal search for self. Fascinated by the intricacies of women, she uses paintings to take an intimate look at the concepts of femininity, anxiety, growth, and self-expression. By overlapping bits of textures and colors in paint, she creates collage-like work that reflects the complexity and vulnerability of the women she paints. McEldowney explains, “By using paint and color to reshape observations and experiences of humanness, I hope to offer a line of emotional connection to the viewer.”
Image: Rinse in Rose, oil on panel, 2020, 36" x 48"
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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.
Visitors must wear face coverings and maintain 6 feet distance
from other individuals not in their household.
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Award Winners XX Exhibition
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Award Winners XX, the exhibition featuring the work of the 19 artist fellows will be at CAMP Rehoboth for the month of August. If you can't make it in person, visit the Division’s website to read profiles of the Fellows and get a preview of their art. |
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CAMP Rehoboth
Now through August 30, 2020
Open to the public Tuesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Capacity limited).
Also open with advanced reservations on other days and times.
Phone: 302-227-5620
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Each month we'll feature a handful of arts and community-based organizations and their programs and projects funded by the Delaware Division of the Arts. Funding for Division of the Arts grants is provided by the Delaware General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts. To view past grants awarded (2000 to present), please visit our Grants Awarded page. |
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Musical Theater Summer Intensives
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Virtual Programs for Adults
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During these difficult times, the Delaware Division of the Arts is working closely with the Delaware Association for Nonprofit Advancement and the Delaware Community Foundation to assist the arts and culture sector of Delaware in identifying funding and technical assistance resources.
Resources available include Delaware-specific guidance for organizations, nonprofits, unemployment and up-to-date news on the State of Emergency. In addition, there are regional and nationwide grants, technical assistance, and arts industry-specific reports. Learn more
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We remind and recommend that organizations, businesses and individual artists, submit their remaining 2020 and 2021 events as soon as they are scheduled, and no later than the recommended deadlines below: |
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Event Date
September & October 2020
November & December 2020
January & February 2021
March & April 2021
May & June 2021
July & August 2021
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Submit before
As soon as possible
September 15, 2020
November 15, 2020
January 15, 2021
March 15, 2021
May 15, 2021
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Ongoing Division Grant Deadlines |
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Artist Opportunity: deadline 10/1/2020, for activities happening between 11/15/2020 - 2/15/2021
Artist Residency: rolling deadline, submitted at least 6 weeks prior to start of scheduled residency
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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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