Celebrate National Poetry Month
Each Monday in April, we will post our poem of the week. We are excited that many of our featured poets have sent videos to share! National Poetry Month content will be available on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, so follow along on your favorite platform.

  • April 5 – Jack Mackey, 2021 Emerging Fellow in Poetry
  • April 12 – Scholastic Art & Writing Silver Medal Winner Christine Chen
  • April 19 – Jane C. Miller, 2021 Established Fellow in Poetry
  • April 26 – Poetry Out Loud State Champion Rebecca Wisniewski

Other poetry highlights for the month include:



For a full listing of local poetry events, visit https://www.delawarescene.com/feature/8/literature-poetry
Recognition in the Arts
Rebecca Wisniewski Named Delaware Poetry Out Loud Champion
From a field of 10 Delaware high school students, Rebecca Wisniewski, a senior from Milford High School, earned the title of 2021 Poetry Out Loud Delaware State Champion at the state finals held virtually on March 2, 2021.

Rebecca is a member of the school drama club and has acted in plays and musicals for years. She unexpectedly found that learning poetry has made her a better performer in general, stating, “You have to put yourself in the background – while you are forming a deeper connection to the pieces. Reciting a poem means you have to pull from your emotions. It’s about being self-aware, even while forming a deep connection to the voices in the poems.” Read more...

Scholastic Awards in Visual and Literary Arts

Congratulations to the 2021 participants in National Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Coordinated by the Art Center Gallery at Delaware State University, the Delaware Division of the Arts, and the National League of American Pen Women (Diamond State Branch), students from across the state participate in this highly competitive program each year.
2021 Do More 24 Delaware Giving Day
Including the stretch pool provided by the Delaware Division of the Arts, arts organizations raised more than $800,000 in one day of giving in the recent Do More 24 Delaware Day of Giving. Kudos to Opera Delaware for raising the most money of all nonprofits in Delaware. To see the results, visit: https://www.domore24delaware.org/.
2021 DE State Employee Art Exhibition
Winners Wall at Art Center Gallery, DSU
Congratulations to the 2021 Delaware State Employee Art Exhibition award winners! This was the 10th year that the Division has sponsored the exhibition in partnership with the National Arts Program. 
On the Mezzanine
Good Bye
by Eileen Olson
Goodbye, acrylic painting by Eileen Olson
Good Bye, 2020, acrylic on canvas, 36 x 48 inches
Visceral Memory Cache, an exhibition of abstract paintings by Eileen Olson, will be on view in the Mezzanine Gallery from April 5-29, 2021. The paintings are a result of a six-month creative journey around the question, “How much does my own visceral memory impact my art?” Olson is planning to be in the Gallery on Thursday, April 29 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. to meet visitors.

Through this journey, Olson discovered that the only limits to her creative process was her imagination. She describes the process as dismantling and rearranging idyllic visions from her cerebral storehouse that she calls her “cache.” To minimize external influences and tap into her memory cache, Olson begins each painting session with a short meditation.

Olson creates visually interesting paintings by using the principles of design in her shape-making and her use of color with differing values. The work may include representational shapes, like birds, and calligraphic strokes. Her goal is to capture the viewer’s interest and create an emotional reaction to the work.

Watch the Meet the Artist video: https://youtu.be/KxAbJSia1Do
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 6 feet distance from other individuals not in their household.
Profiles of the 2021 Fellows are Now Available
2021 Artist Fellows Banner
The prestigious Individual Artist Fellowships from the Delaware Division of the Arts recognize artists in a variety of disciplines for their outstanding quality of work. From fiction writers to visual artists to musicians, each of this year's 25 award-winning Fellows has a unique story and outstanding talent. Profiles and work samples from each of these Fellows are now available on the Division’s website.
Meet the Fellows

In honor of National Poetry Month, we are introducing the 2021 Fellows in Poetry. They have graciously provided videos of poetry readings that we will feature throughout April on our National Poetry Month webpage.

Jane C. Miller
2021 Established Professional, Literature: Poetry
Headshot of Jane C. Miller
Among Miller’s recent accolades and awards are first prize in the 2020 Naugatuck River Review’s annual narrative poetry contest, as well as finalist and honorable mention in the Sandy Crimmins National Prize for Poetry and the Red Wheelbarrow poetry contest. She also earned first prize for her poem “Great Green Room” and second prize for Walking the Sunken Boards from the National Federation of Press Women. Read more.
Jack Mackey
2021 Emerging Professional Fellow, Literature: Poetry
Since moving to the First State, Mackey’s elegiac, insightful work is beginning to be widely published. “Life experience is invaluable to writing, and I’ve lived long enough...to have shed the burden of self-consciousness.” He believes that writing requires “perception [and] the skill of distillation, weaving language in magical ways...to explore meaning and shape a sculpted piece.” Read more.
Headshot of Jack Mackey
Funding Opportunities
Shuttered Venues
The Small Business Administration (SBA) will begin accepting online applications on April 8 for more than $16 billion in grants for performing arts centers, movie theaters, and museums that have been shut down during the pandemic. Venues may qualify for grants valued at 45% of their gross earned revenue up to a maximum of $10 million. $2 billion in funding is reserved for applicants with 50 or fewer employees. 
Special Presenters
Application Deadline: Friday, May 28, 2021 for projects taking place between September 1, 2021 and December 31, 2022
Grants up to $2,000 per project
 
Special Presenter Initiatives support the presentation of professional performing artists in all disciplines at venues, cultural series, and festivals in Delaware, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and West Virginia. 
 
Nonprofit presenters in DC, DE, and WV can request up to $2,000 of fee subsidy support, and up to $5,000 for presenters in the U.S. Virgin Islands, plus additional support to cover project expenses. Proposed artists can be from anywhere worldwide.
 
Six Artists from the Mid-Atlantic Region Selected
for the 20212022 Mid Atlantic Tours Roster
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation has announced the artists for its 20212022 Mid Atlantic Tours program. Project support grants are available to mid-Atlantic presenters (DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA, USVI, VA, WV) booking roster artists for engagements taking place between September 1, 2021 and December 31, 2022.

Booking deadline is Friday, May 7, 2021.

There is no application process for Mid Atlantic Tours funding, but funds are limited. Presenters are encouraged to pursue this opportunity and secure artist engagements as soon as possible by directly contacting the artists' respective representatives.

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.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Delaware
Arts Wowzers!
The Freeman Arts Pavilion
Celebrate National Poetry Month:
Haiku Garden
Rehoboth Art League
Lee Wayne Mills -- Memorial Exhibition
The Ministry of Caring
Storytelling Project
Wilmington Wintergrass
Wilmington Bluegrass Free Virtual Concert (recorded in Townsend)
The Division has embarked on a year-long digital advertising campaign to increase reach and engagement on DelawareScene.com. We remind and recommend that organizations, businesses, and individual artists submit their 2021 events as soon as they are scheduled, and no later than the recommended deadlines below. Submit now
Event Date
April June
July & August
September & October
November & December
Submission Deadline
As soon as possible
May 1
July 1
August 1
Delaware State of the Arts Podcast
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.
Ongoing Division Grant Deadlines
Arts Access Grants: rolling deadline, submitted at least 6 weeks prior to project start date

Artist Opportunity: deadline 7/1/2021, for activities happening between 8/15/2021 1/15/2022

Artist Roster: rolling deadline
Please note: All applications for grants must be submitted through smARTDE.
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.