Arts Resource Center – Artivate, Inc.

This resource list provides a variety of information for artists, educators, parents, and those interested in exploring various local and state arts organizations. Find details on artist residencies and workshops, sources of funding, and how to apply for grants or scholarships.

Maryland

Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC)
www.msac.org
www.msac.org/programs/arts-education (Arts in Education Grants)
410-767-6476 (Arts in Education office)

MSAC Arts in Education Grant (formerly AiE Visiting Performer and Artist-in-Residence)
The MSAC Arts in Education Grant provides matching funds to eligible Maryland-based nonprofit organizations and government entities (including schools) to support educational programming led by artists on MSAC’s Teaching Artist Roster. Browse Artivate’s MSAC Teaching Artist Roster artists and find more information about the grant process on the MSAC’s website. Contact us if you are interested in applying for an Arts in Education Grant with one of Artivate’s artists – we’ll help you plan for programming, connect with your artist, and complete your application.

Funding opportunities may also be available through County Arts Agencies in Maryland – find your county’s arts agency here: www.msac.org/meet-your-county-arts-agency

Virginia

Virginia Commission for the Arts (VCA)
www.arts.virginia.gov
www.arts.virginia.gov/grants_education.html (Artists in Education Grants)
www.arts.virginia.gov/grants_performing.html (Performing Arts Touring Assistance Grants)
804-225-3132

VCA Artists in Education Grants
VCA Artists in Education Grants provide Virginia’s preK-12 students and teachers with opportunities to work with professional artists in a school setting or through after-school or summer activities. Grants may support programs that enhance arts instruction in schools, professional development for artists and educators, or work with adult populations in community settings. Teaching Artists may be proposed in the application with documentation of the artist’s qualifications or selected from the Commission’s Artist Roster, available online. Visit the VCA website to find out more about Artists in Education Grants. Contact us if you’d like to apply for VCA funding for Artivate artists.

VCA Performing Arts Touring Assistance Grants
VCA Performing Arts Touring Assistance Grants support touring by Virginia performing artists and ensembles within the state of Virginia. The touring activities are restricted to those listed in the Commission’s annual Tour Directory. Any not-for-profit organization (including schools) meeting the Basic Eligibility criteria can apply to receive a touring assistance grant to support these activities. Visit the Virginia Commission for the Arts website to find out more about Performing Arts Touring Assistance Grants. Contact us if you’d like to apply for VCA funding for eligible Artivate artists.

City of Alexandria Office of the Arts
www.alexandriava.gov/Arts
703-746-5590

The Humanities Project, Arlington Public Schools
www.apsva.us/arts-education-overview/the-humanities-project-overview/
703-228-6299

ARTSFAIRFAX
www.artsfairfax.org
703-642-0862

Loudoun Arts Council
www.loudounarts.org
571-577-9367

Prince William County Arts Council
www.pwcartscouncil.org
703-792-6189

Find a complete list of Virginia’s county and local arts agencies here: www.arts.virginia.gov/resources_local.html

District of Columbia

DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
www.dcarts.dc.gov
202-724-5613

Other Funding Sources & Resources

Candid (formerly Foundation Center & GuideStar)
www.candid.org
202-331-1400

National PTA
www.pta.org

Parent Teacher Organizations
www.ptotoday.com

Contact Us

Phone: 301-588-7525
Fax: 301-588-1618
info@goartivate.org

Street Address:
8455 Colesville Road, Suite 202
Silver Spring MD 20910

Mailing Address:
PO Box 11242
Takoma Park, MD 20913

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VISION

Professional artists enriching and inspiring every community through culturally diverse arts experiences.

MISSION

Artivate connects artists and communities in order to facilitate engaging, educational, and inspiring arts experiences for all. We partner with professional artists representing a wide range of artistic disciplines and cultural traditions to provide high quality, interactive programs for schools, libraries, theaters, detention centers, and other community sites across Maryland, the District of Columbia, and northern Virginia.

HISTORY

Artivate was established in 1995 as Class Acts Arts, the educational outreach arm of the Institute of Musical Traditions, a Maryland non-profit focused on presenting concerts which preserve and promote American and international folk traditions. Founded by community arts activist, Busy Graham, Class Acts Arts served roughly 25,000 students and teachers with 80 school programs that first year, working with seven touring artists: dancers, storytellers and musicians. Now 25 years later, Artivate facilitates an average of 1,300 programs a year, reaching more than 200,000 children, teens and families at 250 sites across the Greater Washington, DC area, providing programs for libraries, community organizations, local theaters, town festivals, and correctional facilities, as well as schools. Designed in response to a demand for high quality, ethnically diverse cultural arts programs in schools, our roster has expanded to over 32 solo or ensemble artists, one-third of whom tour nationally, and now includes theater and visual arts. Many of the artists embody their cultural heritage, including artists from Argentina, Ecuador, India, Egypt, Ghana, Ukraine, and Quebec. In addition to our partnerships with dozens of professional artists and public and private schools, we collaborate with other arts education organizations and presenters such as Smithsonian Associates, Wolf Trap National Park for Performing Arts, Hylton Performing Arts Center, M-NCPPC’s Publick Playhouse, and other local theaters to develop programming and supplement tours.

In 2000, founder Graham designed and launched Project Youth ArtReach (PYA). Initially created to address the benefit of expressive outlets for incarcerated youth, PYA has grown from one detention site with only a handful of workshops to more than 300 programs per year at some six sites annually, and now engages detained men and women as well as teens. In addition to educational workshops in visual, literary and performing arts, we provide a variety of performances (20-25 per year) for larger groups inside some detention sites. Working with the Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, and The Choice Program of the Shriver Center at UMBC, Project Youth ArtReach has received local and national recognition for its excellent curriculum and meaningful impact.