US Regional Arts Organizations Launches National Funding Program, Walking Together

US RAOs recently released their new funding program, Walking Together, which offers grants from $15,000 – $50,000. Webinars and office hours are available for additional information. The initial self-nomination deadline is Wednesday, March 19.

US RAOs are a national collective of six place-based nonprofit arts service organizations. Together, the US RAOS across the United States work to activate and operate national arts initiatives, encourage and support collaboration across regions, states, and communities, and maximize the coordination of public and private resources invested in arts programs.

Walking Together: Investing in Folklife in Communities of Color supports folklife and traditional arts rooted in communities of color by investing in artists/practitioners and the community organizations that care for them. It is a national funding program managed by US RAOs.

Often called the “art of everyday life,” folklife includes traditional art forms and other creative expressions that reflect the aesthetics, practices, values, and beliefs of community groups. All traditions are connected to the history of the communities that practice them, but they are not just art forms of the past. Instead, they are “living traditions” that adapt to remain relevant in a changing world, including new and emerging traditions. Individuals and communities use traditional arts to build collective power, engage in healing, and strengthen their identity. Walking Together serves traditional artists/practitioners and organizations that show a deep commitment to sustaining folklife rooted in communities of color.