Arts and community organizations across Delaware are sharing more than $5 million in new grant funding awarded this summer by the Delaware Division of the Arts.
Ranging from some of the state’s pre-eminent performing and visual arts organizations to individual artists working on meaningful projects, the grants provide funding for general operations, education outreach, and other projects.
At the heart of the sweeping grants program is the drive to increase the availability of the arts across the state, says Division of the Arts Director Jessica Ball.
“Our mission at the division is to provide more and more access to the Delawareans to these arts opportunities, really with an end goal of improving quality of life,” she says.
That means not only supporting opportunities to see a concert or visit an exhibition, but also giving people a chance to participate in the arts. Ball says that is a trend that spiked during the Covid-19 pandemic, and one that is still with us today.
“What we're seeing post-pandemic is that people still want to engage in the arts by being a patron, a spectator, an audience member, but more and more people are wanting to actually participate in art making themselves, and we're here to support that,” Ball says. “We love to see it.”
Arts organizations, even on the largest level, often operate on a lean budget. The financial challenges facing them have only grown in recent years with drastic federal funding cuts and rising costs for everything from energy to office supplies to equipment and materials. Ball says arts organizations and community groups that promote the arts are fortunate to be in Delaware.
“Delaware continues to invest heavily in the arts because we know that it's good for communities. We know that creativity and innovation are at the heart of the way to build a stronger state,” she says.
Part of the arts’ role is increasing wellbeing in communities, she adds.
“The arts really bring joy to people's lives. They help combat social isolation. They help make us feel connected to something larger than ourselves, make us feel like we're part of a community,” she says.
Arts also contribute to the state’s economic health. According to a 2023 study by Americans for the Arts, the state’s overall creative economy is a $3.7 billion industry. Arts and culture nonprofits alone generate more than 3,000 jobs and more than $200 million in economic activity.
Joining the ranks of grantees this year are three new recipients: the Nanticoke Indian Association, Imperial Dynasty Arts Program, and Resolution Steel Orchestra, which received funding from the division’s StartUp program, and are on the path to eligibility for further grants in the future.
Ball praised the transparency of the overall grant process. Applications from organizations are evaluated by panels made up of members of the public who score the applications against a set of criteria. Feedback and scores from the panel reviews go to the State Arts Council, which puts together a final funding plan.
While this round of grants is the division’s largest yearly outlay of funding, it also provides support through the year with Arts Access grants, Artist Residencies, Individual Artist Fellowships, Creative Aging Programs, and Individual Artist Opportunity grants.
Delaware Public Media's arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
