Each month we feature arts and community-based organizations and their programs and projects funded by the Delaware Division of the Arts in our Arts Spotlight which will be included on our monthly e-newsletter, Arts E-News and online. If you haven’t signed up yet for Arts E-News, please do so here.

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 (1999 to present), please visit our Grants Awarded page.

Grant Types: GOS – General Operating Support; PS – Project Support

 

February 2023

 

The Choir School of Delaware
We Hold These Truths: A Celebration of Black Excellence
Wilmington
GOS

The Choir School of Delaware, in partnership with Delaware Humanities, is proud to present We Hold These Truths, its annual Black History Month concert. This free community event celebrates Black excellence and explores Black history through song. The Choir School’s intergenerational choir, where professional musicians, adult volunteers, and talented youth sing side-by-side, will perform.

Weather by composer Rollo Dilworth anchors the program, setting to music the poem of the same name by Claudia Rankine. Weather speaks to our national climate at the intersection of the pandemic and racial injustice, including the death of George Floyd in June 2020. An introduction by the composer and a panel discussion will invite further conversation. Reflection will turn to celebration with inspiring works including “Glory” from Selma, “Stand Up” from Harriet, and “Total Praise” by acclaimed gospel artist Richard Smallwood.

The concert celebrates Black excellence by amplifying the voices and work of Black composers and by featuring the young vocal artists of the Choir School, who are predominantly Black. Admission is FREE. A suggested donation of $25 aids in keeping the Choir School programs accessible and affordable to all regardless of income. Advance registration is recommended, as space is limited.

The Choir School of Delaware, a “Community Center that Sings,” provides life-changing after-school and summer programs for Wilmington children ages 7-17. Programs combine professional-level choral training and performance opportunities with homework help, mentoring, and social services, creating a safe, inspiring environment where young people realize their full potential.

To learn more, visit https://choirschoolofdelaware.org/events/black-history-2023/

 

Biggs Museum of Art
Exhibition: “Art Deco Glass from the David Huchthausen Collection”
Dover
GOS

Since opening in November, thousands of visitors of all ages have enjoyed the exhibition, “Art Deco Glass from the David Huchthausen Collection”. Clean lines, geometric shapes and bright colors characterize this exhibition of more than 100 early 20th century works by iconic Art Deco Studios such as René Lalique, Daum Frères, Steuben Glass Works, and many others. Assembled through the keen and practiced eye of renowned contemporary glass artist David Huchthausen, each piece in this exhibition takes viewers back to an extraordinary time in glass history.

Through the run of this show, The Biggs has offered guided tours at 11:30 a.m. on Fridays as a complimentary add-on to paid admission. This exhibition comes to a close on February 20, but the good news is that the Museum is offering Free Admission Fridays in February as part of Dover’s Citywide Black History Celebration. The remaining three tours on February 3rd, 10th and 17th are available free of charge to the community. On these dates there will also be a 12:30 p.m. tour highlighting “African American Artists of the Biggs”. Visitors can spend the day learning about items in our special exhibition and in our collection. “Art Deco Glass from the David Huchthausen Collection” is organized by the Museum of Glass, Tacoma Washington.

The Biggs Museum of American Art preserves, celebrates and advances the fine and decorative arts and encourages greater public engagement with the cultural heritage of Delaware and the Mid-Atlantic region.

To learn more visit www.biggsmuseum.org/exhibitions/

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The Music School of Delaware, Serafin Ensemble, Grace United Methodist Church, and Trinity Episcopal Parish
HALLELUJAH HANDEL!
Wilmington
GOS

The Serafin Ensemble pays and plays tribute to 17th century composer Georg Frideric Handel nin this three-day festival. Featured Performers: Luigi Mazzocchi and Kate Ransom, violin; Amadi Azikiwe, viola; Jacques-Pierre Malan, cello; Eileen Grycky, flute; John Dee, oboe; Augustine Mercante, countertenor; Gabriel Benton, harpsichord, choir director; David Simmons, choir director; and the choirs of Grace United Methodist Church and Trinity Episcopal Parish.

Program I: HANDEL and HIS CONTEMPORARIES
Thursday, February 23, 2023 at 7:30pm
Instrumental and vocal works by: Georg Frideric Handel; J.S. Bach; Domenico Scarlatti; Antonio Vivaldi; Georg Phillip Telemann; Benedetto Marcello; Jan Dismas Zelenka

Program II: HANDEL – BEFORE and AFTER
Friday, February 24, 2023 at 7:30pm
Instrumental and vocal works by: George Frideric Handel; Henry Purcell; Archangelo Corelli; Luigi Boccherini; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Franz Josef Haydn

Program III: HALLELUJAH HANDEL!
Saturday, February 25 , 2023 at 7:30pm
Works by Georg Frideric Handel. A program of vocal, instrumental, and choral works closing with a sing-along of the Hallelujah Chorus from The Messiah

To learn more, or for tickets, visit www.musicschoolofdelaware.org/halleluja-handel

The projects above are supported, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes these and other Delaware arts events on DelawareScene.com.

The Division offers a variety of grant programs for individual artists; nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations chartered and based in Delaware; and schools and government entities that support arts activities. View a full list of Division grants on the Grants Overview page.