Arts Spotlight written on a dark blue background with unfocused orbs of light

 

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

November 2023

 

Image for Rehoboth Beach Film Festival

Rehoboth Beach Film Society
25th Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival
Lewes and Rehoboth Beach
General Operating Support

The award-winning Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival (RBIFF) celebrates its 25th Silver Screen Anniversary of the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival (November 8-12, 2023) at its Cinema Art Theater in Lewes! Festival attendees can expect 23 first-run documentaries, features, foreign films and shorts packed into five-days.

In addition to a fabulous diverse line-up of films that cross multiple genres, there will be opportunities to connect with other film goers through post-party gatherings, and participate in post-film discussions with Directors and talent.

The Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival has attracted film goer’s from local residents to folks form the Mid-Atlantic region for the past 25 years. This year, the Cinema Art Theater will welcome more than 2,000 attendees through its doors over the course of five-days. The Film Society will spend over $42,000 in the production of this year’s Independent Film Festival of which 60% will be purchases made to local businesses and vendors in Sussex County.

To learn more visit: https://www.rehobothfilm.com/rehoboth-beach-independent-film-festival

Show Art for The REP's IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT

Resident Ensemble Players (The REP)
John Ball’s IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT
Newark, Delaware
Project Support

The Resident Ensemble Players (REP) delivers suspense and intrigue with John Ball’s IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT – performing Nov. 2 – Nov. 19. Adapted for the stage by Matt Pelfrey from the book that inspired the Oscar-winning film, this play is sure to be a compelling evening of theatre, filled with murder and mystery.

Set in 1962 — a white man is discovered dead in a small town of Alabama. Local police arrest the only stranger in town, a black man named Virgil Tibbs. Little do they know that their suspect is an expert homicide detective from California. Left with no witnesses, no motives, and no clues, Detective Tibbs becomes this racially tense community’s only hope of solving the brutal murder.

While this story hits all the check boxes for an entertaining detective story, it’s also a compelling social commentary. John Ball’s IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT perfectly captures the anger and open hostility of racial tensions in the 1960’s. Something that is uncomfortably relevant today.

“We are at a moment in our country, with our art, politics, and even our interactions, where we operate in extremes: extreme rage, patriotism, protesting, etc.” says Director Cameron Knight. “For many, it makes any conversation of our history; our journey to this moment and how we deal with each other a delicate subject and often avoided. I believe we must be able to go towards difficult, uncomfortable conversations and at times, actions, in order to grow positively. We are fractured as a society and if we don’t begin to confront our past and the needs of our future, we are on a path towards despair.”

The Resident Ensemble Players production of John Ball’s IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT runs Nov. 2 – 19, at the Roselle Center for the Arts in Newark, DE. Tickets can be purchased at the box office, online at www.rep.udel.edu, or by phone at (302) 831-2204.

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.