Call for Artists: Our Town Grants

by

Baltimore Office of Promotion and The Arts / City of Baltimore solicit proposals for the FY2018 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Our Town grant program. Due date for proposals: September 1, 2017 

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Our Town grant program supports creative placemaking projects that help to transform communities into lively, beautiful, and resilient places with the arts at their core. Creative placemaking is when artists, arts organizations, and community development practitioners deliberately integrate arts and culture into community revitalization work ‐ placing arts at the table with land‐use, transportation, economic development, education, housing, infrastructure, and public safety strategies. This funding supports local efforts to enhance quality of life and opportunity for existing residents, increase creative activity, and create a distinct sense of place. 

Read More →

2017 Creative Baltimore Fund Recipients Announced

by

Mayor Catherine E. Pugh and the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts announce the recipients of the Creative Baltimore Fund.  More than 40 established organizations and individual artists will receive grants from $225,000 available in funding.  The Creative Baltimore Fund is administered by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts.

The Creative Baltimore Fund provides support to artists and organizations through two grants.  The Mayor’s Individual Artist Award provides project support of $5,000 for programs that promote public access and encourage the breadth of arts and/or cultural programming in the community.  Recipients of this year’s award are Bruce McKaig, Lola Pierson, Caitlin Carbone and Josh Thomas, James Carter and Julie Lin.  Descriptions of their proposed projects are listed below.

Read More →

Arts Advocacy Action Needed!

by

The White House released its proposed budget to Congress today, officially recommending full termination of funding of both the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for FY2018. This is the first American President in history to propose zeroing out all funding for the nation’s federal cultural agencies.

Eliminating the NEA would be a devastating blow to the arts in America. For more than 50 years, the NEA has expanded access to the arts for all Americans, awarding grants in every Congressional district throughout all 50 states and U.S. Territories as well as placing arts therapists in 12 military hospitals to help returning soldiers heal from traumatic brain injuries. The NEA is also an economic powerhouse, generating more than $600 million annually in additional matching funds and helping to shape a $730 billion arts and culture industry that represents 4.2% of the nation’s GDP and supports 4.8 million jobs.

The federal appropriations process does not end here. We now begin a concerted grassroots effort to convince Congress to #SaveTheNEA. Here are the actions you can take right now:

  1. The most important thing you can do is to take two minutes to send a customizable message to your elected representatives in Congressand urge them to oppose any attempt to eliminate or cut funding to the NEA.
  2. Post on Facebookand Twitter to help rally national support to save the NEA. There is strength in numbers and your social media friends can help. 

We’ll be at Arts Advocacy Day next week, helping to ensure there is a strong voice in support of the arts. In the meantime, make sure to watch our social media accounts to stay up to date on the latest news. Find us on Facebook. Find us on Twitter. 
Thank You,

Baltimore Office Of Promotion and The Arts

Art@Work is Hiring!

by

(image credit: The Thoughts In My Head by Megan Lewis, detail)

Art @ Work is a five-week mural artist apprenticeship program for Baltimore City youth enrolled in the city’s YouthWorks program. Dozens of young people ages 14-21 are hired each summer to work side by side with professional artists to create highly visible murals and mosaics throughout their neighborhood.

The goal of Art @ Work is to introduce youth to career opportunities in the arts, offer gainful employment in a positive learning environment and to provide youth with the tools to express themselves through the arts, all while beautifying their community. Since its launch in 2015, Art @ Work has produced 19 indoor and outdoor public art projects in the Sandtown and Upton communities, employing over 150 Baltimore City youth.

ART @ WORK IS HIRING!

The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, Jubilee Arts, and 901 Arts seek artists, artist interns, and teen apprentices for the 2017 Art @ Work program. Apply today!

Art@Work: Looking for Mural Apprentices

by

Photo by Nate Larson

LOOKING FOR A SUMMER JOB? | ARE YOU 14-21 YEARS OLD? | INTERESTED IN PAINTING MURALS?
Jubilee Arts, 901 Arts, and the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts are hiring motivated and hardworking young leaders with an interest in painting and drawing to create murals and mosaics this summer for the Art @ Work artist apprenticeship program. Learn how you can be a part of the art! Parents are encouraged to attend.

Read More →

Creative Baltimore Fund Application is Open!

by

Mayor Catherine E. Pugh and the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts announce the FY18 Creative Baltimore Fund. Through the Creative Baltimore Fund, BOPA grants funds to qualified artists, and arts and cultural organizations based in Baltimore City.

Grant Programs
Creative Baltimore has two primary grant programs:

Mayor’s Individual Artist Award – Project Support (PS) provides support for arts or cultural programs that promote public access and encourage the breadth of arts and/or cultural programming in our community.

General Operating Support (GOS) provides core support for established arts or cultural organizations that benefit the public and are artistically or culturally vibrant.

Read More →

Call for Action via Wide Angle Youth Media

by

RESOURCES AND INFORMATION:

1. The U.S. Department of Education recently released resources for educators that focus on creating safe and supportive learning environments. As an organization committed to positive school climate, we are excited to share their Resource Package with you – click here.

2. Here at Wide Angle we embrace inclusivity, and we are paying close attention to how changes to healthcare may affect young people, as well as adults and youth with disabilities. For more information, here is a toolkit of webinar information compiled by multiple disability rights organizations. You can also follow our community partner, Disability Rights Maryland.

TAKE ACTION: 

1. Governor Hogan’s latest budget proposal cuts millions of dollars in education supports to Baltimore. You can contact the Governor and Comptroller to share your voice on why you think these funds are vital for quality educational programming for young people.

2. Recent news indicates that our federal administration may propose to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and absorb the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Each one of those budget actions would have devastating effects to the cultural community. To express your support of the arts & humanities, there are multiple online petitions that you can sign, as well as a mailing list you can join here.