We are beginning our fiscal year this month with exciting news about additional funding and a newsletter filled with opportunities for you! 

The State’s 2022 supplemental budget included $40 million in Arts Relief funding allocated to MSAC to support arts grants. Over the past two weeks, the Council and Secretary of Commerce, Mike Gill, approved a plan to equitably distribute Arts Relief funding across Maryland’s arts sector with the aim of providing economic stability as we continue to navigate the effects of the COVID pandemic. The plan includes a mix of additional general operating support for organizations with expanded allowable uses, additional project funding to be distributed through MSAC’s existing grant programs, and funds to pilot a new grant program that will support working and living expenses of Maryland artists. 

See the next section for an outline of the plan, and further detail pertaining to programs throughout this newsletter. I invite you to join MSAC staff and council members for Coffee with the Council at 9 a.m. on July 19th where we'll review the different components of the plan, answer questions about accessing Arts Relief funding, and engage in discussion about what the sector is facing in the coming year. Click here to register for Coffee with the Council.

I want to take a moment to acknowledge and thank: first, the Governor and state legislators for recognizing the importance of the arts to our state’s vitality; Maryland Citizens for the Arts, artists, arts leaders, and arts advocates for your role in advocating for this crucial support for the sector; the council members, Secretary, and Department of Commerce for their support; and the incredible MSAC staff for whom this funding represents an opportunity to significantly impact the arts sector as well as a great deal of administrative work to deliver the funding across the state. 

I want to underscore that Arts Relief funding comes on top of record funding for MSAC of $28.9 million, for a total of $68.9 million in State support for the arts in FY23! We are excited to see what an investment of this magnitude can do for the arts in Maryland, and we encourage you to take advantage of every opportunity offered in the coming year. Stay tuned for more! 

Steven Skerritt-Davis, Executive Director

Click Here to view the Updates From The Maryland State Arts Council - July 5, 2022