July 6, 2021
Virginia Commission for the Arts Announces $5,000 Artist Fellowships to be Awarded in Literary Arts: Poetry

The Virginia Commission for the Arts (VCA) has announced the opening of its 2021-2022 Artist Fellowship program, this year highlighting Literary Arts, and most specifically, POETRY. All eligible Virginia-based poets are encouraged to apply.
 
Five (5) Artist Fellowships in the amount of $5,000 will be awarded by the Commission to recognize the creative merit of individual Virginia artists and to support their pursuit of artistic excellence. The application deadline is October 1, 2021, at 5 PM. Interested artists may apply via Foundant (the agency’s online grants system), which can be accessed at the top left of the homepage of the VCA's website (www.arts.virginia.gov).
 
“We are excited to return to a greater sense of normalcy, in part, through the return of the artist fellowship program this year,” said Janet Starke, Executive Director of the Virginia Commission for the Arts. “Further, we are looking forward to this year’s focus on poetry, as we demonstrate investment in many of Virginia’s talented literary artists.” 
 
Artists in the discipline of poetry who are legal Virginia residents at the application deadline and who plan to remain in the state for the coming year, are eligible to apply for 2021-2022 Artist Fellowship. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age. An individual may receive only one fellowship from the Commission within any four-year period. 
 
The Virginia Commission for the Arts is the state agency that supports the arts through funding from the Virginia General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Commission distributes grant awards to artists, arts and other not-for-profit organizations, educational institutions, educators and local governments, and provides technical assistance in arts management.
 
For more information about the Virginia Commission for the Arts, or its programs and resources visit www.arts.virginia.gov. 
 
###

NEA is offering a subgranting program for Local Arts Agencies with an application deadline of July 22, 2021. Please watch our latest Americans for the Arts ArtsU Free Webinar to learn more about the specific guidelines for this program.

NEA is also offering direct grants to nonprofit arts and culture organizations with an application deadline of August 12, 2021. Please register now for the Americans for the Arts ArtsU Free Webinar on Tuesday, July 6th @ 3:00pm ET to learn more about the specific guidelines for this program or watch the simulcast on Arts Action Fund’s Facebook Live.
English: Need vaccine? Learn how to get your shot at Vaccinate.Virginia.gov or call 1-877-VAX-IN VA. Language translation and TTY services available

Spanish: ¿Necesita vacunarse? Infórmese de cómo obtener su vacuna visitando Vaccinate.Virginia.gov o llamando 1-877-829-4682. Servicios de traducción y teléfonos de texto (TTY) están disponibles.
Learn more about the NEA's Direct COVID-19 Relief Grants - TODAY, July 6

Studio Two Three, based in Richmond, is offering an NEA Relief Grant Clinic for arts organizations interested in applying (directly) to the NEA's COVID-19 Relief Grant program. The first session begins TODAY at 12 Noon, running until 3 PM, when Studio Two Three will walk you through all the necessary steps to applying for federal funding and to the NEA. 

Americans for the Arts is then hosing an information webinar on the direct grants available to arts and culture organizations, TODAY, JULY 6, at 3 PM. Click here to register. 

As was shared in the VCA's Town Hall on the American Rescue Plan (ARP) on June 29, the VCA is not limiting eventual recipients of its (the VCA's) ARP funds to those who have not received from other sources. That is to say, that applicants may apply to other direct ARP grants programs National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, etc.
ICYMI - VCA Town Hall on the American Rescue Plan (ARP)

A recording of the VCA's Town Hall is now available online here. Community members joined to discuss the most current needs of the field as it continues to more fully reopen, and ideas for the disbursement of the funds awarded to the VCA by the National Endowment for the Arts through the American Rescue Plan (ARP). 
Webinar - July 13: Navigating Virginia's Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program for Artists

The uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic created a need for expanded unemployment insurance benefits. The CARES Act includes a provision that extends temporary benefits to individuals who are not eligible for traditional Virginia state benefits.

Join presenter Renee Chalmers on Tuesday, July 13 at 9 AM, as she provides a general overview of the PUA program and answers frequently asked questions.

Artists and performers ONLY, please.
Spaces limited to 100 participants.
Info to Apply for Our Town Grants

Our Town is the National Endowment for the Arts’ creative placemaking grants program. These grants support projects that integrate arts, culture, and design activities into efforts that strengthen communities by advancing local economic, physical, and/or social outcomes.

Our Town grant guidelines are now available here, with a deadline of August 5, 2021. There is an increased focus in the guidelines on systems change.
 
Photo: "Cribs" by Brenda Baker was a featured stop on the 2012 Farm/Art DTour as part of Fermentation Fest. Photo courtesy of Wormfarm Institute
Virginia Commission for the Arts | arts.virginia.gov