Delaware Division of the Arts

We've been working on something big - and it's finally here.

Our newly redesigned website at Arts.Delaware.Gov is live, and it's built for you. Whether you're an artist looking for funding, an organization seeking support, or a community member who just wants to know what's happening in Delaware's creative scene.

Here's what you'll find:
🖌️Grant opportunities for individuals and organizations
🖌️Programs that support creativity statewide
🖌️ A full calendar of arts events across Delaware
🖌️ Resources to grow your creative career

Head over and take a look. We think you'll like what you see.

There is something special about seeing Delaware’s artists take up space together.

Award Winners XXVI is now open at the Biggs Museum of American Art, bringing together the work of 27 Individual Artist Fellows from communities across the state. From visual art to writing, music, media, and folk arts, the exhibition offers a look at the range and depth of creative work happening right here in Delaware.

Visit the Biggs in Dover through August 16. Admission is free.



Delaware Arts Alliance
State of Delaware - Government
Matt Meyer
Lieutenant Governor Kyle Evans Gay
Delaware Department of State
National Endowment for the Arts
National Assembly of State Arts Agencies: NASAA
Mid Atlantic Arts

Award Winners XXVI coming soon!

The Delaware Public Art Map took a little field trip before launch!

On May 13, Program Associate Ryan Morris gave GIS professionals at the Delmarva GIS Conference a sneak peek at our new statewide public art platform. The room had great questions, smart suggestions, and a few ideas we liked so much that we’re adding them before launch.

We're thankful to our friends at Delaware Department of Technology and Information (DTI), and the First Map team, for allowing us the opportunity to present and their assistance in the creation of this new tool

A map? For public art? Across Delaware? Yes, please!

Keep an eye out in the coming weeks. Our map is almost ready to explore!

We thank Congresswoman Sarah McBride for meeting with Delaware's Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest state champion, Natalia Gatti from Sussex Academy while she was in Washington D.C.!

Natalia performed alongside 56 other high school students and we are beyond proud of her.

Photo (L-R): Alexis Gatti (Mom), Representative McBride, Natalia Gatti, Briana Henry (DDOA Program Officer). Competition photos by James Kegley Photography.

Delaware Arts Alliance
Delaware Department of Education (DDOE)
Delaware Department of State
National Endowment for the Arts

Your work deserves to be seen.

The Delaware Artist Roster is a public directory designed to connect Delaware artists with people looking for performances, workshops, commissions, collaborations, and other creative services.

Create or update your roster profile today at delawarescene.com/artists!

Four days. A coastal setting. Eighteen Delaware writers. One reason to apply.

Applications are now open for the 2026 Delaware Writers Retreat, taking place November 5-8 at the Biden Environmental Center in Cape Henlopen State Park. Writers working in fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry are invited to apply.

This year's facilitators are Hannah Grieco for prose and DaMaris B. Hill for poetry. Participants will workshop new pages, attend craft talks and author readings, and connect with peers who take their work as seriously as you take yours.

Applications close Wednesday, July 1.

Apply at https://arts.delaware.gov/programs-events/writers-retreat/

A wonderful evening at the Mezzanine Gallery for the opening reception of Kira Krell’s Stone Formations.

This striking exhibition takes viewers from volcanic deserts to coastal shorelines through layered, relief-like paintings that explore geological time and place. Using sand, plaster, earth pigments, acrylics, and pencils, Krell creates textured works that feel weathered, grounded, and deeply reflective.

Stone Formations invites us to slow down, breathe, and reconnect with the steadying presence of the physical world.

Photos by Moonloop Photography

The Delaware Division of the Arts website will undergo technical updates today, which may cause brief outages or interruptions.

We encourage visitors to wait until 12 noon to access the site.

Need assistance in the meantime? Please call us at 302-577-8278.

For more than three decades, Kristin Pleasanton has helped Delaware artists, communities, and residents experience the arts in meaningful ways.

On June 1, Kristin will retire from the Delaware Division of the Arts after 33 years of service to the State of Delaware, including her role as Deputy Director and her work under eight Governors.

Her impact can be seen across many of the programs Delawareans know and love, including the Delaware Poet Laureate program, Delaware Writers Retreat, Delaware Artist Roster, Delaware Arts Summit, Governor’s Awards for the Arts, State Employee Art Exhibition, and Access Creative Aging.

Please join us in thanking Kristin for her extraordinary service and congratulating her on a remarkable career.

Read the full announcement below.

Delaware Division of the Arts Announces Upcoming Retirement of Deputy Director Kristin Pleasanton - State of Delaware News   STATEWIDE, Del. (May 1, 2026) – The Delaware Division of the Arts (DDOA) today announced the upcoming retirement of Deputy Director Kristin Pleasanton, effective June 1, 2026. Pleasanton concludes a 33-year career in Delaware state service in which she served under eight Governors. Pleasanton.....