• Message from the Chair 
• December Commission Meeting 
• Introducing Dwayne Lawson-Brown 
• Color the Curb – School Safety Program RFA 
• The LEAD 2024 Call for Proposals
• DC Independent Film Festival Submission
• Bethesda Film Fest Application 
• VSA Creative Career Programs Applications Open
• Arts Midwest National Grant Programs  
• Performing Arts Readiness Project Grants 
• Mid-America Arts Alliance Creative Forces Program 
• ArtsHERE
• Mid Atlantic Art Programs 
• Artist Communities Alliance Seeks a Grantmaking Manager 
• FY24 Fellowship Grantees on Spotify 
• Resoucres
• Visit our e-Museum 
• Update Your Profile 

I want to share a brief update on recent developments at the Commission on the Arts and Humanities (CAH) and our steadfast commitment to equitable grant-making practices. 

Over the past year, CAH has seen notable budget growth, enabling us to expand community initiatives and grant-making efforts. Despite pandemic challenges, we provided emergency relief grants, reinforcing our dedication to supporting the arts during crises.  

Our commitment to fostering the arts is reflected in a substantial increase in awards to individual artists and humanities practitioners by 48%, and to non-profit organizations by 15% from October 2022 to October 2023. This highlights our successful engagement with grantees and our mission to bring the transformative power of the arts to every Ward and neighborhood in the District.  

Our next Full Commission regular meeting will begin at 5:30 ET on Monday, December 18. Members of the public are invited to observe the meeting live online on CAH’s YouTube channel.

Members of the public may request three minutes to speak during the public comment period held at this meeting. Requests must be submitted by no later than Noon ET on Thursday, November 16. Written comments may also be submitted by no later than Noon ET on Thursday, November 16, as an alternative or in addition to spoken comments. Public comments, both spoken and written, will be included in the public record of the meeting.

This meeting is governed by the Open Meetings Act. Please address any questions or complaints arising under this meeting to the Office of Open Government at opengovoffice@dc.gov.

Hello there! My name is Dwayne Lawson-Brown, and I am the Community Engagement Specialist at the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. While I am only in my second month at the agency, I have been involved and engaged with DCCAH for quite some time.

I’ve been the recipient of multiple grants including the Arts and Humanities Fellowship, and Performances, Events, and Festivals grant. I also served as a member of the Grant Application Assistance Program – a team of grantees devoted to helping applicants put their best foot forward by offering education, outreach, and first-hand advice.  

I’ve been the recipient of multiple grants including the Arts and Humanities Fellowship, and Performances, Events, and Festivals grant. I also served as a member of the Grant Application Assistance Program – a team of grantees devoted to helping applicants put their best foot forward by offering education, outreach, and first-hand advice.  

I am a person built by community. I was raised in Southeast, DC. Ward 8. East of the river. I benefitted from many community programs that instilled a need to show up the way others had shown up for me. In 1999, I joined Metro TeenAIDS as a member of the “New School Activist” – the organization’s peer education program designed to use poetry and hip-hop as a tool for social change.  

The District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities (CAH), in partnership with the District of Department of Transportation (DDOT), and District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), seeks District-based artists experienced in large-scale exterior murals, youth engagement, and community-based projects to design and install ground murals in the intersections near four DCPS schools in Washington, DC. Selected artists will be awarded grant funds to be used for design, materials, fabrication, installation, personnel, and project management. 

The deadline is 9 pm on Friday, December 28, 2023. 

This is your opportunity to share knowledge and experience - or to propose a discussion on a topic you'd like to explore with others in the field!

There are a variety of formats to fit different presenting styles and topics - from day-long capacity-building workshops to 75-minute conference sessions to 15-minute lightning talks to 90-minute ED @ LEAD sessions. 

The deadline to submit a proposal is December 11 at 11:59 PM Eastern. LEAD 2024 will be held July 29-August 2 in Seattle, Washington.

As of 2022, DCIFF, the oldest independent film festival in Washington DC, is a Film Festival & Forum with a storied history of presenting extraordinary films. They showcase cutting-edge features, animation, experimental films, shorts, and documentaries on every subject, from every country, and with every budget and subject imaginable. 

Submissions are open to December 25, 2023.

The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District invites filmmakers to submit recent short documentary films to the Bethesda Film Fest.  

Up to five films will be selected to be shown. A film by a young filmmaker, under the age of 18, may also be chosen. Filmmakers whose films are selected will receive an honorarium of $1,000. Young filmmakers will receive a $250 honorarium. Short (5-30 minutes), documentary films by filmmakers in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. will be considered. Films must have been completed within the last two years. All topics are eligible. Filmmakers chosen for the 2023 festival are not eligible and may submit again for the 2025 festival.  

The application deadline is January 9, 2024. 

Know a talented young writer or musician who is part of the Deaf and/or disability* communities? Make sure they know about the Kennedy Center's creative careers programs and encourage them to apply by the deadlines noted below. In addition to financial awards, both programs provide exclusive workshops, connections with professional mentors, a trip to Washington, D.C. and more.

Young writers enrolled in senior high school (generally, ages 14-19) with disabilities are invited to submit a ten-minute script of any genre for the opportunity to participate in a playwrights program. Entries may be the work of an individual student or a collaboration between two students (at least one student with a disability). A panel of theater professionals selects winners.

The deadline is 11:59 pm (EST) on January 10, 2024.

Each year outstanding young musicians with disabilities from around the world receive the VSA International Young Musicians Award, $2,000, and the opportunity to perform and participate in professional development and music coaching activities provided by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. This program is open to soloists and ensembles of any instrument or genre.

The deadline is 11:59 pm (EST) on January 17, 2024.

Applications are now open for the 2024-25 cycle of Arts Midwest’s two national grants programs: the NEA Big Read and Shakespeare in American Communities. 

NEA Big Read 

An initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest, the NEA Big Read supports community reading programs designed around a single NEA Big Read book. The goal of this program is to inspire meaningful conversations, celebrate local creativity, elevate a wide variety of voices and perspectives, and build stronger connections in each community. 

Grants range from $5,000 to $20,000 each, and the Intent to Apply is due on January 10, 2024. 

Shakespeare in American Communities 

Shakespeare in American Communities is a theater program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. Through grants to theater companies, this program supports high-quality productions and educational activities to young audiences throughout the United States. Applicants can choose from two paths: Schools or Juvenile Justice. 

Grants range from $15,000 to $25,000 each, and the Intent to Apply is due January 25, 2024.  

Two preparedness grant opportunities are available from the Performing Arts Readiness (PAR) project with application deadlines in early 2024.  

Grants of up to $7250 for 9 performing arts organizations for the creation of individual institutional emergency preparedness or Continuity of Operations (CoOP) plans (deadline Jan. 15, 2024). 

Grants of $5,000 - $25,000 each will be awarded for 4 projects to support both the development of new or emerging disaster preparedness networks that include performing arts and culture organizations, or the expansion of existing networks to increase participation among performing arts organizations (deadline March 1, 2024). 

The Creative Forces Community Engagement 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 experiences of art or art making. 

 The Creative Forces Community Engagement Grant is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in partnership with Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA). 

The deadline is January 17, 2024 

Through grants and peer learning opportunities, ArtsHERE invests in organizations that have demonstrated a commitment to equity within their practices and programming, with the goal of increasing arts participation for underserved groups/communities, and sharing insights that may inform similar funding programs in the future. 

Applications are welcome from organizations that are diverse in terms of geography, scale of operations, and focus of arts programming; as well as organizations that work at the intersection of the arts and other domains, such as community development, health/well-being, climate/environment, or economic development. 

The Statement of Interest [SOI] deadline is January 19, 2024. 

ArtsCONNECT supports performing arts touring projects collaboratively developed by presenters working together in the mid-Atlantic region. 

The tours include performances as well as complementary engagement activities designed to create greater understanding or connections between artists, audiences, and communities. 

The deadline is March 7, 2024. 

The Special Presenter Initiatives provide additional opportunities for the support of small to mid-sized performing arts presenters in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, West Virginia, and Native nations that share this geography.  

Want to learn more about our Special Presenter Initiatives grant for the 2024-2025 cycle? Register for our informational webinar on December 5, 2023 from 1-2pm EST. 

Fee support is available for engagements of performing artists based anywhere worldwide. Engagements include performances as well as community activities that offer meaningful exchanges between touring artists and a presenter’s community. 

The deadline is March 14, 2024. 

The Mid Atlantic Tours program is a roster-based program for presenters in the mid-Atlantic region to receive up to 50% of the roster artist's artist fee plus up to $2,000 in other program expenses. The roster is live now.

Connect with a Tour Manager and complete a letter of agreement by March 28, 2024 to be considered for this program. 

The Artist Communities Alliance (ACA) is an international nonprofit association, providing services to more than 300 organizational and individual members working in the field of artist residencies. Based in Providence, RI and operating fully remotely, the ACA conducts research about artist residencies, hosts field-wide discussions and professional development convenings, manages several grantmaking programs, offers consulting services, develops informational tools, and advocates on behalf of artist residencies and artists. 

Apply by 5pm ET on Wednesday December 6, 2024. Start date is January 2, 2024 

If you’re looking for a playlist to check out, we’ve created one featuring selections from our FY24 Arts and Humanities Fellowship Grantees who are on Spotify. While by no means comprehensive, this playlist features a variety of District artists and genres. So please check it out. 

To Scan a Spotify Code

For: Mobile and tablet

Note: Spotify needs access to your phone’s camera for this.

1. Tap Search 🔍 . 

2. Tap the search bar.

3. Tap the camera 📷

4. Tap SCAN.

5. Point your camera at a Spotify Code.

Introduction to proposal writing

Wednesday, December 13, 2023; 2:00–3:30 pm ET

Join Candid Learning's course to write a foundation proposal to get more funding with ease. Through the training, attendees will better understand what information to include in a standard project proposal and how to follow up with the funders whether the answer is yes or no.

Introduction to project budgets

Tuesday, December 19, 2023; 2:00–3:15 pm ET

Are you new to proposal writing or want a quick refresher? If so, you don't want to miss one of Candid Learning's most popular classes! This class will provide you with an overview of how to write a standard project proposal to a foundation.

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities online database showcases our Art Bank Collection, a collection of moveable artworks loaned to other District government agencies for display in public offices, as well as our Public Art Collection of installations of large-scale artworks in public sites/places throughout the District of Columbia.

We understand that the frequency with which we send emails can be a lot at times for some of our subscribers, and so we invite you to instead opt into a monthly e-newsletter. You may also select email lists specifically for Grants and Public Art opportunities.

You can update your profile at the bottom of this and every email we send by clicking on “Update Profile”.

Please note: If you leave GENERAL LIST selected, this will override any other selections and you will still receive every email. Please be sure to deselect this if you choose one or more of the other options.