VCA-ARP (American Rescue Plan) Arts Recovery Grant Now Open

The VCA-ARP (American Rescue Plan) Arts Recovery Grant officially opened on November 1, 2021. This grant is available to all arts-focused organizations who did not receive a VCA FY22 General Operating Support grant, as that group (GOS Grantees) were addressed in a prior phase of the VCA-ARP grants program. The VCA-ARP Recovery grant will provide relief funds of up to $2,500 from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) via VCA’s allocation from the National Endowment for the Arts. Funds are to support the day-to-day business and operating expenses of an arts organization as they get back to doing what they do best – providing accessible arts opportunities that strengthen Virginia communities. Eligible applicants include arts-focused organizations who are 1) current FY22 Artists in Education grantees; 2) current FY22 Project grantees; or 3) new organizations who have either not received a VCA grant in recent years, if ever. The deadline for applications to the VCA-ARP Arts Recovery Grant program is 5 PM, December 1, 2021. 

An informational webinar was held on December 1, to explain in greater detail, the VCA-ARP Arts Recovery grants. You can view the webinar recording here: Get to Know the VCA ARP Recovery Grant Program

Webinar Password: ArtsRecovery2021

For more information, see the full VCA - ARP Arts Recovery Grant Guidelines for Funding.

The VCA Presents: Virtual Artist Showcase was developed in direct response to the many performing artists and ensembles of the VCA's Performing Arts Tour Directory, a resource for performance venues and other community settings all across the Commonwealth to utilize in order to bring high-quality arts performances to their community. It's one of the primary ways in which the VCA works to make the arts accessible to all the citizens of the Commonwealth. Check out our website for the link, or subscribe to and check the VCA's YouTube channel by 7 PM on each release date.   

The words of great poets literally come to life in Poetry Out Loud, a literary arts program created by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation. The Virginia Commission for the Arts (VCA) supports students across the Commonwealth enriched by this arts education program that encourages memorization, performance and public speaking skills. Since 2005, nearly 4.7 million students have participated in the program and committed at least one poem to memory. In Virginia, approximately 100,000 students have participated since the program’s inception.

Dance/USA announced a new round of Dance/USA Fellowships to Artists (DFA). As our society grapples with unprecedented challenges and increasingly recognizes the inequity and injustice of our systems, Dance/USA is reaffirmed that the work of supporting artists who engage in art for social change is pivotal and overdue. DFA offers direct support to individual artists who have a sustained and intentional practice of working through dance or movement-based modalities to address social change.

DFA will award 30 Fellowships of a minimum of $30,000 per artist by August of 2022. Fellowship funds may be used at the artist’s discretion. Artists are invited to submit a Letter of Inquiry by December 8, 2021 at 6:00pm EST. Find the DFA program overview and guidelines here.

For questions, please contact Haowen Wang, Dance/USA Director of Regranting, at fellowships@danceusa.org or (202) 725-4028. 

The proposed FY2023 Guidelines for Funding are open for Public Comment. The Guidelines may be found here, and will be open for Public Comment until Monday, November 22, 2021.

Comments may be emailed to Executive Director Janet Starke.