Welcome to Our New Director |
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On November 12, Secretary of State Jeff Bullock announced that Jessica Ball would serve as the next director of the Delaware Division of the Arts. She started with the Division on November 29th.
Jessica most recently served as the executive director of the Delaware Arts Alliance where she oversaw all aspects of managing a statewide nonprofit organization and developed sector-wide strategies to advance arts and culture. She worked with cultural, community, and civic leaders on policy and funding initiatives to ensure a vibrant creative sector.
She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's School of Design with dual Master's Degrees in Historic Preservation and Landscape Architecture. She has a Bachelor of Architecture from Florida International University. She spent the first part of her career in the fields of design and architecture. She is a visual artist, artisan, and co-founder of Handmade Modern Accessories - a women- and black-owned creative business. Her diverse background gives her perspective on the importance of arts and culture's positive impacts on communities.
Jessica has served as the Delaware State Captain for Americans for the Arts' State Arts Action Network. She volunteers on the Delaware Fund for Women's Young Founders Committee and the Delaware MillSummit Planning Committee.
Please join us in welcoming Jessica to her new position and to the Division.
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In addition to welcoming our new division director, Jessica Ball, we'd also like to welcome Leeann Wallett back to the Division as the community engagement program officer, a new position at the Division. Leeann returns to the Division after serving as the communications and digital media specialist at Rodel, a nonprofit focused on improving education in the First State. Her responsibilities included strategic communications and brand management, content planning and creation, and research and analytics.
Prior to joining Rodel, Leeann was the Division's communications and marketing program officer. With a background in strategic communication and marketing, Leeann has extensive experience supporting organizations and businesses including two nonprofit museums, a bilingual charter school, and a private commercial real estate firm.
Leeann remains active in the community, serving as a co-chair on the MillSummit Cultural Impact and Planning Committees, and as a board member of Great Dames, a nonprofit dedicated to funding initiatives that support women and girls. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Foreign Language and Communications from American University and a Master of Management in International Arts Management through a joint degree with Southern Methodist University, HEC Montreal, and SDA Bocconi.
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Creative Aging Program in Action |
Utilizing a grant awarded from the National Assembly of State Art Agencies and AROHA Philanthropies, the Division's Access Creative Aging initiative has provided training to 25 teaching artists and staff from 10 Delaware public libraries to create, administer, and present up to 20 free courses at libraries across the state. These programs are designed to support the health and well-being of older adults through meaningful arts experiences that provide opportunities for artistic expression as well as social interaction. The programs have been popular additions to the activity schedule at each presenting library, and five have recently been completed. |
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Participants learn how to work with pastels in the Selbyville Public Library's Whimsical Masterpieces Creative Aging Program with teaching artist John Donato. |
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Delaware State Employee
Art Exhibition
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Delaware state employees: don't miss your chance to be recognized in Delaware for your creativity! Enter your artwork in The Delaware State Employee Art Exhibition. Sponsored by The National Arts Program® in support and cooperation with the State of Delaware and the Delaware Division of the Arts, the exhibit is judged by professional artists and visual art professionals. The Delaware State Employee Art Exhibition is designed to give artists at all skill levels a unique opportunity to exhibit their creative work.
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Winners' wall from the 2021 Delaware State Employee Art Exhibition |
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Start a new family tradition and attend a holiday arts event together. Our "Holiday Happenings" list has dozens of holiday arts events and shopping opportunities happening across the state. Find classics like A Christmas Carol and The Nutcracker to craft shows and winter festivals. There is something for everyone!
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On the Mezzanine: Siobhan Duggan |
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Images: Quiet Distance, August 2021, pastel, 8" x 10," Intersection, Knit Together, June 2021, pastel, 12" x 23," and Delaware on My Heart, January 2021, pastel, 12" x 16"
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Fleeting, an exhibition of pastel drawings by Siobhan Duggan, will be on view in the Mezzanine Gallery from December 3, 2021 through January 7, 2022. Duggan is the recipient of a 2021 Emerging Artist Fellowship in the category of Works on Paper from the Delaware Division of the Arts. Guests are invited to attend the artist's free, opening reception on Friday, December 3 from 5-7p.m.
Duggan's work truly could be described as a visual love letter to Coastal Delaware. The artist's exhibit of pastel drawings purely captures her fondness of the regional scenery, from farm fields to beaches. "My work is inspired by the varying landscapes and inspiring world that is Coastal Delaware," she says. "I've always enjoyed drawing in quiet, open spaces, recoding places I've been, connecting with my local community. I find it rewarding to notice those brief moments when the color changes in the landscape around me."
Duggan's technique reflects both realistic and abstract interpretations of her journeys throughout lower Delaware. "I've been exploring color, expanding scale, and experimenting with abstraction," she says. "I'm focusing on fleeting moments of color as I travel Route 1." This exhibit, Fleeting, encompasses those moments in between that she aimed to capture.
For more information about Siobhan Duggan and her upcoming exhibition, watch her Meet the Artist video on YouTube. |
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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. Visitors must wear face coverings and maintain 3 feet distance from other individuals not in their household. |
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Njideka Wiggins
2021 Emerging Professional Fellow, Literature: Playwriting
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Though she was always in love with words - "while other little girls played with dolls, I was informed by Reader's Digest" - Njideka Wiggins never thought of herself as a potential writer or artist. She loved music and read all the "European classics," but Wiggins "rarely encountered a creative in the literary world who looked like me."
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Eric Zippe
2021 Established Professional Fellow, Visual Arts: Photography
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Throughout a busy professional career, Eric Zippe has traveled and worked as an event photographer nationwide. But he has lived in Delaware all his life. The artist was raised near Clayton in southern New Castle County, working on the family farm and involved with area 4-H Clubs, whose motto is to "Make the Best, Better."
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Visions & Voices: A juried exhibition of Mid-Atlantic African American Artists |
Visions & Voices is a new juried exhibition that will highlight the work of regional African American artists at The Biggs Museum of American Art in Dover, DE. The competition is open to African American visual artists from the Mid-Atlantic states. The application deadline is January 4, 2022.
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Dance/USA Fellowships to Artists |
Letter of Inquiry Deadline:
December 8, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. EST
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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 6:00 p.m. EST.
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National Endowment for the Arts and Mid-America Arts Alliance
Creative Forces Community Engagement Grants
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Application Deadline: December 15, 2021 |
The Creative Forces Community Engagement Grant program is part of the Creative Forces®: NEA Military Healing Arts Network and managed in partnership with Mid-America Arts Alliance. This grant program aims to improve the health, well-being, and quality of life for military service members and veterans exposed to trauma as well as their families and caregivers through support of non-clinical arts engagement projects. Matching grants of $10,000 to $50,000 are available to eligible organizations for emerging and established projects that take place after July 1, 2022. Deadline for applications: December 15, 2021. Read the Creative Forces Community Engagement Grant full press release for more information.
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Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
Creative Fellowships
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Application Deadline:
January 15, 2022
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The Virginia Center for Creative Arts (VCCA) is currently accepting applications for Fall 2022 residencies (September 1-December 31, 2022) at Mt. San Angelo. All Delaware writers, visual artists, and composers who apply for a two-week or one-month long VCCA residency at Mt. San Angelo are eligible for a fully-funded residency through the Mid Atlantic Arts Creative Fellowships program, supported by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. All fellows in residence are provided with a private individual studio, a private bedroom with an en-suite bathroom, and three meals a day in a community of cross-disciplinary artists. Delaware writers, visual artists, or composers who complete the Application for a Mt. San Angelo Residency by the deadline of January 15, 2022 will automatically be considered for a Mid Atlantic Arts Creative Fellowship. |
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National Endowment for the Arts
Big Read
Managed by Arts Midwest
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Application Deadline: January 26, 2022 |
Bring the NEA Big Read to your community! Fifteen books representing a diverse range of contemporary themes, voices, and perspectives are available for organizations interested in applying for a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Big Read grant to hold a project between September 2022 and June 2023. An initiative of the NEA in partnership with Arts Midwest, the NEA Big Read supports programs held around the country, each designed around a single NEA Big Read book selection with the goal of inspiring meaningful conversations, artistic responses, and new discoveries and connections in each community. The deadline for applications is January 26, 2022.
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MLK VOICE 4 YOUTH Contest |
Registration Closes:
Friday, December 17, 2021
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Registration for the MLK VOICE 4 YOUTH contest, presented by the YWCA Delaware and Christ Church Christiana Hundred, is now open. The MLK VOICE 4 YOUTH contest is a statewide, spoken word contest for high school students in grades 9-12 that challenges students to reflect and creatively share how Dr. King's legacy guides their response to today's challenges. The contest's mission is "to empower, inform, engage, and value youth voices to promote a just, inclusive, and equitable society."
Free workshops are available to help contestants prepare for the competition.
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2022 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards |
Writing Deadline: The Delaware Writing Region deadline is December 11, 2021.
Art Deadline: The Delaware Art Region deadline is January 5, 2022.
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The Delaware Writing Region and the Delaware Art Region are accepting submissions for the 2022 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have supported creativity in teens since 1923. Teens in grades 7-12 (ages 13 and up) are eligible to apply in 17 different art categories and 11 different writing categories. All entries are eligible for regional awards, and regional Gold Key award winners are eligible for national awards and scholarships. Award-winning works are chosen t be included in exhibitions and publications. Learn how to enter the Scholastic Awards.
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Each month we 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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Rehoboth Concert Band
Holiday Peace Concert
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Art Works for All
Artist Residency Program
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Kent County Theatre Guild
You Better Watch Out
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The Division recommends that organizations, businesses, and individual artists submit their 2021 and 2022 events as soon as they are scheduled, and no later than the recommended deadlines below. Submit an event to DelawareScene now. |
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Event Date
December 2021 - February 2022
March & April 2022
May & June 2022
July & August 2022
September & October 2022
November & December 2022
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Submission Deadline
As soon as possible
January 1, 2022
March 1, 2022
May, 2022
July 1, 2022
September 1, 2022
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Delaware State of the Arts Podcast |
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Do you have an exciting arts program, project, or story to share? Are you interested in being interviewed, either to promote an upcoming event, your work in the arts, or an issue relevant to Delaware’s arts and entertainment sector? Send an email to delarts@delaware.gov with "DE State of the Arts Podcast" in the subject line.
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Ongoing Division Grant Deadlines |
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Arts Access Grants: rolling deadline, submitted at least 6 weeks prior to project start date
Artist Opportunity: deadline 1/3/2022, for activities occurring between 2/15/2022-5/15/2022
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Please note: All applications for grants must be submitted through smARTDE. |
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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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