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

 

June 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Rainbow Chorale of Delaware
Curtain Up!
Wilmington
General Operating Support

The Rainbow Chorale “Does Broadway” with our June 21 concert “Curtain Up!” at Skyline UMC, 3100 Skyline Dr, Pike Creek. Selections from “Hamilton”, “Chicago”, “Jekyll & Hyde”, “Ragtime”, “Phantom of the Opera”, “Hadestown”, “Six” and more. Both GA and live-stream tickets are available for this fun-filled musical evening at https://therainbowchorale.org/curtain-up-tickets.

The Rainbow Chorale also supports other institutions through out-reach performances at events. This June, in addition to our concert, we will be performing at the Delaware Pride Festival, at our joint Spring Bingo fundraiser with AIDS Delaware, and the national anthem at both Philadelphia Union and Blue Rocks games.

The Rainbow Chorale of Delaware is an inclusive, non-profit community chorus that provides LGBTQ+ individuals, with their friends and allies, the opportunity to perform high-quality choral music in an affirming environment that serves as a positive force for change. Love of music is common to everyone. When we sing, we hope to impart the ideals, hopes, dreams, and aspirations of our community. Our goal is that with our listening audience we will strike a chord of commonality, and bridge the differences of our life experiences.

To learn more, visit therainbowchorale.org.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cornerstone West CDC / West Side Grows
United Neighbors
Wilmington
Project Support

United Neighbors, a collaborative of residents, stakeholders, and leaders from both sides of I-95 through Wilmington, with support from Wilmington Mayor Michael S. Purzycki, will install a mural on the Delaware Avenue Bridge, a major corridor in Wilmington. Professional artist and local muralist Christian Kanienberg will be creating and installing the mural in the month of May, starting on Wednesday, May 10. The mural will be installed on the I-95 overpass bridge on Delaware Avenue between Jackson and Adams Streets.

United Neighbors has completed five murals on bridge overpasses between Jackson and Adams Streets over the past four years. With the involvement of hundreds of community members, residents, local organizations, and churches, United Neighbors celebrates the communities bordering I-95, emphasizing their unique experiences, rich history, and impact of the construction of I-95, as well as hope for the future of the community. The intent of the mural installations is to grow the communities together and “bridge” the gap between the neighborhoods that I-95 divided back when it was introduced. The mural artist for the final bridge mural on Delaware Avenue was selected by a committee of local business owners, elected officials, neighborhood residents, and the City of Wilmington. The committee put out a public artist call, a public community vote on proposed submissions and facilitated discussions with the Mayor’s office.

The Delaware Avenue mural, in conjunction with the 9th & 10th Street murals completed in 2022, was made possible by the support of the Delaware Division of the Arts, New Castle County, Healthy Communities Delaware, M&T Bank, Kiewit Construction, University of Delaware, Wilmington City Council, DelDOT, Flux Creative Consulting, Community Nation, Interfaith Community Housing of Delaware, Charity Crossing, West Side Grows Together, Be Ready CDC, Hilltop Lutheran Neighborhood Center, Jarret “Posi” Harris, Francesco Lacono, and Lewis Elementary School.

To learn more visit www.westsidegrows.org/news/mural-coming-to-delaware-avenue-bridge-in-wilmington

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wilmington Ballet Academy of the Dance
Juneteenth Freedom Day Celebration
Wilmington
General Operating Support

The Wilmington Ballet Academy of the Dance is a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to excellence in arts education & performance. Intentional and steadfast in expanding the artistic capacity of it’s students and community, the organization provides career centered multidisciplinary, multicultural arts education to youth and adults in the local and surrounding regions.

Celebrate Juneteenth Freedom Day with the Wilmington Ballet at Winterthur! Storytellers, musicians, artisans, and dancers will fill the Enchanted Woods with family fun activities and performances enriched by and deeply rooted in African American arts and culture. An immersive day of joy to be enjoyed by all!

Don’t miss the Whitney Project’s “A Celebration of Black Joy” in the Copeland Lecture Hall at 11:00 am and 3:00 pm! TWO wonderfully spirited concert experiences featuring Jonathan Whitney, Jea Street, Kim Graham, and Nadja Nicole!

Musician and producer Jonathan Whitney has been a frequent guest Teaching Artist in our summer programs, teaching and connecting students to rhythm utilizing  djembe African drumming. Jonathan initially produced our Nutcracker Experience Livestream from the Delaware Art Museum in 2020. We are thrilled to center the vibrant and talented artists of The Whitney Project in our inaugural Juneteenth Freedom Day Celebration in collaboration with the Winterthur Museum.

Winterthur commissioned The Wilmington Ballet to create a new work for their East Room Revisited performance series, in conjunction with The Jackie Kennedy exhibit, and hosted  Global Movement, a celebration of dance and culture from around the globe. The two organizations have much more in the works, and look forward to bridging cultural divides together.

To learn more visit www.winterthur.org/calendar/juneteenth-freedom-day-celebration/

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.