FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: December 1, 2005
Contact: Sarah McGreer Hoyt
sarah@maaa.org

Mid-America Arts Alliance Begins Accepting
Regional Touring Program Grant Applications

As of December 1, 2005, Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA) begins accepting Regional Touring Program grant applications for the 2006-2007 program year on a first-come, first-served basis. Applicants must be located in Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, or Oklahoma and be a not-for-profit organization.

“The Regional Touring Program is our primary means of getting financial assistance to arts councils, performing arts centers, and other presenting organizations across our region,” says Jim DeGood, M-AAA Director of Performing Arts. “We’re working very hard to make sure that people know that we have these funds available to help them bring the arts to their communities. It doesn’t matter whether a presenter wishes to bring in a theater production, a dance troupe, a brass quintet, or any other kind of musician or performing artist, chances are they will qualify for support through our Regional Touring Program.”

In partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program, the M-AAA Regional Touring Program (formerly known as the Heartland Arts Fund) supports performing artists’ fees for presenting organizations of all sizes and types. Presentations of any professional performing artist or company outside the presenter's state and metropolitan area are considered. Special incentives are provided for engaging performing artists from within the Mid-America region, and additional incentives are provided to rural or economically distressed communities.

The project that the organization is presenting must include one public performance and a related educational activity, attempt to bring performing arts to an underserved audience, and take place between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007.

Each organization may submit up to three applications. The maximum award per application will be $5,000, with an annual award limit of $13,000. An additional 5% of the performers’ contract fee will be awarded if the organization is located in a rural area. Applications are considered complete when all attachments are received and are evaluated on a first-come, first-served basis.

In 2005, the Regional Touring Program grants helped bring programs such as Chuck Davis and the African American Dance Ensemble, the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet, the Vienna Boys Choir, and many other musicians, theater productions, and dance troupes to the Mid-America Arts Alliance six-state region.

Applications for the Regional Touring Program grants will be accepted until February 28, 2006. To apply, visit the Regional Touring Program’s e-grant page at http://www.maaa.org/rtp/index.html. Additionally, a listing of artists available to perform in the region can be found on the Artist Registry page (other performers qualify for the grant program as well; the registry is simply a sampling of suggested artists provided by the region’s state arts agencies). Please contact Jim DeGood, Performing Arts Director, or Betty Maltbia, Performing Arts Program Associate, at (816) 421-1388 for more information.

The mission of Mid-America Arts Alliance is to enrich communities through cultural experiences. Founded in 1972, Mid-America Arts Alliance is a nonprofit regional arts organization based in Kansas City, Missouri. It is governed by a board of directors drawn from its partner states of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. Major support is for Mid-America Arts Alliance is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, participant state arts agencies, and leading foundations and corporations. For further information, visit the Web site at www.maaa.org.

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