Thursday, February 17, 2022

Delaware Division of the Arts Hosts Annual State Employee Art Exhibit

The content of this post comes from a Delaware Division of the Arts press release...










The Delaware Division of the Arts will host the 11th annual Delaware State Employee Art Exhibition, from February 21 to March 14, 2022 at the Art Center/Gallery at Delaware State University, Dover. 

This year, more than 200 State of Delaware employees and their family members submitted artwork and will be competing for awards and cash prizes. The exhibition is free and open to the public. 

Prizes include:
  • Adult, Amateur, Intermediate & Professional
    • First Place Awards of $350
    • Second Place Awards of $250 
    • Third Place Awards of $150
  • Youth/Teen
    • First Place Awards of $150
    • Second Place Awards of $100
    • Third Place Awards of $50
  • A Best of Show Award of $400
  • An Art Education Award of $200 for reimbursement for arts instruction and materials
  • People’s Choice Award, Facebook and in-person ballot
Additional awards including Honorable Mentions will be awarded at the discretion of the judges. Awards are limited to one cash award per artist per classification.

Visitors are invited to join Division and Art Center/Gallery staff for a special, weekend-long celebration of all this year’s participants and to see the winning artwork during the exhibition’s final weekend, Saturday, March 12 and Sunday, March 13 from 12:00-4:00pm. There will be activities, snacks, and giveaways for Gallery visitors.

The exhibition at the Arts Center/Gallery can be viewed during these hours:
  • Monday: Closed to the public
  • Tuesday: 10:00am-6:00pm
  • Wednesday-Friday: 10:00am-4:00pm
  • Saturdays, March 5 & 12: 12:00-4:00pm
  • Sunday, March 13: 12:00-4:00pm
Sponsored by the National Arts Program in support and cooperation with the State of Delaware and the Delaware Division of the Arts, the exhibit is judged by professional artists and visual art professionals. The Delaware State Employee Art Exhibition is designed to give artists at all skill levels a unique opportunity to exhibit their creative work and to compete for cash prizes.

Participants must be a current employee, or immediate family member of a current employee of the State of Delaware. All entries must be the original work of the applicant and completed within the last three years.

Friday, February 11, 2022

Delaware Theatre Company Brings the "Other World" to Wilmington

Delaware Arts Info reviewer Charles "Ebbie" Alfree III got a rare treat to virtually sit down with the creative team of Other World, the World Premiere musical debuting at Delaware Theatre Company. 

He chats with Book Writer, Hunter Bell; Co-composer and Lyricist, Jeff Bowen; Director, Adrienne Campbell-Holt; Co-composer and Lyrcist, Ann McNamee; and Choreographer, Karla Puno Garcia. 

Other World begins at the Delaware Theatre Company on February 23, 2022. For information and tickets, visit www.delawaretheatre.org.



Monday, January 17, 2022

DDOA Announces 2022 Individual Artist Fellowship Awardees

The content of this post was taken from a press release by the Delaware Division of the Arts

Twenty-five Delaware artists are being recognized by the Delaware Division of the Arts for the high quality of their artwork. Work samples from 132 Delaware choreographers; composers; musicians; writers; and folk, media, and visual artists were reviewed by out-of-state arts professionals, considering demonstrated creativity and skill in their art form. The 25 selected fellows reside throughout Delaware including Dover, Georgetown, Hockessin, Lewes, Magnolia, Middletown, Newark, Smyrna, Townsend, and Wilmington.

Awards were given in three categories: $10,000 for the Masters Award; $6,000 for the Established Professional Award; and $3,000 for the Emerging Professional Award. Fellows are required to offer at least one exhibit or performance during the upcoming year, providing an opportunity for the public to experience their work. Additionally, the work of the Fellows will be featured in a group exhibition, Award Winners XXII, at the Biggs Museum of American Art tentatively set for June 3 through July 23, 2022.

“Individual Artist Fellowship grants recognize Delaware artists for their outstanding work and commitment to artistic excellence,” said Jessica Ball, director of Delaware Division of the Arts. “The financial award allows them to pursue advanced training, purchase equipment and materials, or fulfill other needs to advance their careers. The Division of the Arts understands that artists have been hard hit by the economic fallout of the pandemic and was pleased to be able to allocate some additional funds to recognize more artists this year.”

The Masters Fellowship is open to different artistic disciplines each year. In Fiscal Year 2022, Masters Fellowship applications were accepted in Literary Arts and Media Arts from artists who had previously received an Established Professional Fellowship. In addition to exemplifying high artistic quality, Masters Fellowship applicants must demonstrate their involvement and commitment to the arts in Delaware and beyond. Listed below are the Delaware Division of the Arts 2022 Individual Artist Fellows.

Linda Blaskey has been awarded this year’s Masters Fellowship in Literature: Poetry. Blaskey’s work has been chosen for inclusion in Best New Poets, 2014, and in North Carolina’s Poetry on the Bus project for National Poetry Month. She is poetry/interview editor emerita for Broadkill Review, is coordinator for the Dogfish Head Poetry Prize, and current editor for the new online journal, Quartet. She organized a presentation of Icelandic poetry for the Rehoboth Beach Film Festival, and her work was included in Southern Delaware Choral Society’s presentation of Haydn: “Mass in the Time of War.” She sat on the panel, “Collaborative Publishing,” for Western Maryland Indie Lit Festival at Frostburg State University. Blaskey’s work has been published in numerous journals and anthologies, and she is the author of four poetry collections, two of which are collaborations, one forthcoming in 2022. She lives with her husband on a small horse/goat farm in Sussex County, Delaware.

2022 Individual Artist Fellows
Masters Award ($10,000)
  • Linda Blaskey, Lincoln - Literature: Poetry
Established Professional Award ($6,000)
  • JoAnn Balingit, Newark - Literature: Creative Nonfiction
  • Joseph Barbaccia, Georgetown - Visual Arts: Crafts
  • Tim Broscious, Townsend - Music: Contemporary Performance
  • Jamie Brunson, Wilmington - Literature: Playwriting
  • Caleb Curtiss, Newark - Literature: Poetry
  • t. a. hahn, Middletown - Visual Arts: Sculpture
  • Jeff Knoettner, Wilmington - Jazz: Performance
  • Roger Matsumoto, Newark - Visual Arts: Photography
  • Isai Jess Muñoz, Hockessin - Music: Solo Recital
  • Mia Muratori, Wilmington - Visual Arts: Painting
  • Tad Sare, Wilmington - Media Arts: Video/Film
  • Aaron Terry, Wilmington - Visual Arts: Works on Paper
  • William Torrey, Middletown - Literature: Fiction
Emerging Professional Award ($3,000)
  • Stephanie Boateng, Newark - Visual Arts: Painting
  • Christina Durborow, Wilmington - Literature: Creative Nonfiction
  • Kiara Florez, Magnolia - Visual Arts: Painting
  • Gregory Hammond, Wilmington - Literature: Fiction
  • Jim Hawkins, Smyrna - Literature: Playwriting
  • Gail Husch, Wilmington - Visual Arts: Crafts
  • Alice Morris, Lewes  - Literature: Poetry
  • Maia Palmer, Wilmington - Visual Arts: Works on Paper
  • TANKSLEY, Middletown - Music: Contemporary Performance
  • Leanna Thongvong, Dover - Folk Art: Visual Arts
  • Katie West, Wilmington - Visual Arts: Photography
To contact an individual artist, please email or call: Roxanne Stanulis, Program Officer, Artist Programs and Services, Roxanne.Stanulis@delaware.gov or 302.577.8283. The next deadline for Individual Artist Fellowship applications will be Monday, August 1, 2022.