DDOA Announces 2025 Individual Artist Fellowship Awardees

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

The Delaware Division of the Arts is proud to recognize 21 exceptional Delaware artists as the 2025 Individual Artist Fellows, awarding a total of $158,000 to support their creative pursuits. This year’s application cycle saw an unprecedented 191 applications from musicians, writers, and folk, media, and visual artists across the state. A panel of out-of-state arts professionals rigorously reviewed work samples, evaluating creativity and artistic excellence. The 2025 Fellows represent a diverse range of artistic disciplines and communities, hailing from Bear, Clayton, Dagsboro, Lewes, Milton, Newark, New Castle, Rehoboth Beach, Smyrna, and Wilmington. Fellowships were awarded in three categories: Master (1), Established (11), and Emerging (9), with an additional 13 runners-up recognized for their talent.

Awards are given in three categories: $12,000 for the Masters Award, $8,000 for the Established Professional Award, and $5,000 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.

“Individual Artist Fellowship grants recognize Delaware artists for their outstanding work and commitment to artistic excellence. Our commitment to Delaware’s individual artists is at the heart of our work, and this year we’re thrilled to expand our support by increasing the funding pool for the Individual Artist Fellowships by 15%,” says Jessica Ball, Director of the Delaware Division of the Arts. “In response to the unprecedented number of applications, we are introducing a cohort of runners-up who will each receive an honorarium to recognize even more talented artists for their exceptional work and dedication to their craft.”

“Providing unrestricted funding to artists through the Individual Artist Fellowships allows them the flexibility to invest in their craft, explore new ideas, and focus on their work without financial constraints. These grants not only support individual growth but also enrich communities and contribute to the local economy by fostering a thriving cultural ecosystem,” says Program Officer Roxanne Stanulis.

The Masters Fellowship is open to rotating artistic disciplines each year. For 2025, 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.

Viet Dinh is the DDOA 2025 Master Fellow in the field of Literature: Fiction. Dinh was born in Vietnam and grew up in Colorado. He attended Johns Hopkins University and the University of Houston and currently teaches at the University of Delaware. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Delaware Division of the Arts, as well as an O. Henry Prize. His stories have appeared in Zoetrope: All-Story, Witness, Fence, Five Points, Chicago Review, the Threepenny Review, and the Greensboro Review, and his debut novel, “After Disasters,” was released in 2016.

Delaware Division of the Arts 2025 Individual Artist Fellows
Masters Fellow
• Viet Dinh, Literature: Fiction, Newark

Established Fellows
• Judy Catterton, Literature: Creative Nonfiction, Rehoboth Beach
• Geraldo Gonzalez, Visual Arts: Works on Paper, Wilmington
• Ananya Goswami, Dance: Choreography, Bear
• Makeda Hampton, Music: Solo Recital, New Castle
• Linda Susan Jackson, Literature: Poetry, Smyrna
• Dennis Lawson, Literature: Fiction, Newark
• Nadjah Nicole, Music: Contemporary Performance, Wilmington
• Damon Pla, Visual Arts: Painting, Dagsboro
• Rob Sample, Visual Arts: Painting, Clayton
• Adam Vidiksis, Music: Composition, Wilmington
• Shannon Woodloe, Visual Arts: Photography, Wilmington

Emerging Fellows
• Paula Brown, Visual Arts Painting, Wilmington
• Renita Coursey, Folk Art: Visual Arts, Wilmington
• Irene Fick, Literature: Creative Nonfiction, Lewes
• Don James, Visual Arts: Photography, Milton
• Tim Lynch, Literature: Poetry, Wilmington
• Maximillian Remmler, Media Arts: Video/Film, Newark
• August Ryan, Literature: Fiction, Wilmington
• Shana Starks aka “Blue Tulip”, Music: Contemporary Performance, Wilmington
• Benjamin Wagner, Literature: Creative Nonfiction, Wilmington

Runners Up
• Mary Jane Arden, Visual Arts: Works on Paper, Wilmington
• Jamie Brown, Literature: Poetry, Milton
• Kimberly Burnett, Literature: Fiction, Rehoboth Beach
• Gale Cornelia Flynn, Literature: Creative Nonfiction, Hockessin
• Alexander Hill, Literature: Poetry, Middletown
• L. Jackola, Literature: Fiction. Middletown
• Blazo Kovacevic, Visual Arts: Interdisciplinary, Newark
• Jennifer Lang, Music: Solo Recital, Wilmington
• Judith Loeber, Visual Arts: Painting, Millsboro
• Chris Morrow, Folk Art: Music, Lewes
• Kiandra Parks, Media Arts: Video/Film, Wilmington
• Christina Peters, Visual Arts: Photography, Newark
• Aki Torii, Visual Arts: Sculpture, Wilmington

Learn more at arts.delaware.gov. 

City Theater Company "Awakens" A New Season

By Mike Logothetis
Theater reviewer Mike Logothetis grew up in North Wilmington, performing in school and local theater productions. He lives in Newark, but you can find him wherever the arts are good.

CTC's ensemble cast of Spring Awakening.
Photo by Joe del Tufo/Moonloop Photography.

City Theater Company (CTC) returns this month with a staging of the award-winning musical Spring Awakening. In fact, Delaware’s own John Gallagher, Jr. earned the 2007 Best Featured Actor Tony for his portrayal of Moritz Stiefel during the original run. With music by Steven Sater and Duncan Skeik, the haunting songs and touching narrative will keep audiences captivated. CTC's Opening Night was a triumph, and the players received a warranted standing ovation.

This show celebrates rebellion and provides the perfect opportunity to showcase performers of all types. Featuring a pop rock score, Spring Awakening is an ideal platform for gifted vocalists to shine. And this production has talent in spades.

Director and CTC Artistic Director Kerry Kristine McElrone gushes: “The sheer talent of every person involved with this show, from our designers to our cast to our musicians, is staggering.”

The opening song, when Wendla Bergmann – an excellent Olivia Bloch – sings “Mama Who Bore Me,” sets the tone for the show. Bloch walks with purpose and a powerful voice to Sheik’s rhythmic melody. Musical gurus Joe Trainor and Lia M. Cox have the band and sound coordination perfectly complementing the vocals. This blissful marriage continues throughout the show.

However, if this entertainment were a movie, it would be rated R for dealing with adult/sensitive themes like sex, child abuse, and suicide plus the characters use a lot of profanity.

The story is based on an 1891 play by German playwright Frank Wedekind, a piece which was suppressed from being performed until 1906 for its frank condemnation of sexual and social taboos disguised as righteous correctness. The plot is deceptively simple: A small group of teenagers in a Victorian-era German town wrestle with their literal “awakening” on all things related to love and sex under, or perhaps in spite of, the eyes of their watchful and neglectful parents and teachers.

Spring Awakening runs now through December 21
at The Delaware Contemporary.

“Adults” (Kristin Finger and Rob Hull) in the show are nameless avatars who portray multiple characters. Both are intimidating and eerily sinister, but insist they are doing what’s best to teach/parent/guide the village children properly.

The “Girls” and “Boys” are dressed in virginal white school uniforms/attire, masking their mature feelings and life experiences. When the teens sing “My Junk” and “Touch Me” back-to-back in Act I, the audience feels their pent-up energies ready to burst forth.

Rick Neidig’s simple set/stage is brilliant for this show. The audience sits on three sides of an elongated “U” with the band on the short, open end. This immersive theater brings the players and their emotions right up to the faces of the viewers. There’s dynamism you can’t avoid. Pain, love, joy, malice, sex, heartache, fear, humor, and death pour forth unfiltered. It’s a powerful experience.

John Murphy’s portrayal of Melchior Gabor is outstanding. He’s strong, yet tender. He’s smart, but naïve. And he controlled his singing to meet the moment time and time again. Kudos to Luke Sullivan for his Moritz. The angst on his face while going through his troubling timeline was affecting. His emotional and tender duet with the talented Emma Romeo Moyer (Ilse) was a musical highlight.

This is an ensemble piece whose supporting cast has to be great. It is. The “Girls” (Bloch, Autumn Jewel Hogan, Elsa Kegelman, Moyer, and Emily Rooney) were bubbly and curious and flirty. The “Boys” (Adam Cooper, Jordan Eck, Avery Mehki Hannon, Murphy, Sullivan, and August Walker) were brash and adventurous and supportive. When the teens rally behind Melchior singing the rousing “You’re Fucked,” everyone on stage was bouncing around with infectious energy.

The first-rate band included: Sebastian Cain (viola), Ryan Dailey (bass), Sarah DelPercio (violin), Rachel Hoke (piano), Joey Lopes (guitar), Kanako Neale (percussion), and Emme Whisner (cello).

Founded in 1993, City Theater Company performs contemporary comedies, new works, and classic musicals to critical acclaim inside The Delaware Contemporary. Both institutions are invested in promoting the work of local and emerging artists, advancing opportunity and growth by and for the community, and welcoming all those looking to experience art.

Spring Awakening will run through December 21. Curtain is at 8:00pm for all remaining shows save for the December 15 Sunday matinee (1:00pm). The run time is approximately two and a half hours with a 15-minute intermission. City Theater Company’s home is at The Delaware Contemporary, located at 200 South Madison, Wilmington, Delaware 19801. 

 Tickets ($33.00-$48.75) can be purchased at the box office or online at www.city-theater.org. Special ticket pricing is available for military personnel and students. Call the box office at 302.220.8285 or email info@city-theater.org for details. 

“And now our bodies are the guilty ones.” – Wendla Bergmann

The Sold Firm Gallery Welcomes New Young Curator

The content of this post comes from an announcement by The Sold Firm...

The Sold Firm — located on 8th and Tatnall Streets in the heart of downtown Wilmington — is an intimate contemporary gallery focusing on the curation of emerging artists of several genres and styles who may be unable to exhibit in larger institutions.

Owner and gallerist Nataki Oliver has kept strong to that mission since opening in 2019, while also hosting broader community events and arts-based workforce development opportunities for Wilmington youth. Recently, Oliver was proud to make the below announcement:

"Many teens have come through the gallery as assistants. The journey finding one dedicated to learning smarter who also 'breathes' the arts was the goal. I knew one day the 'Wright' person would walk in and own their place in The Sold Firm Art Gallery.

I am extremely excited to announce that teen is Nia Rae Wright! Nia Rae has been working hard for a year at the gallery. She is more than I expected but exactly what the gallery needs. The most fitting opportunity for Nia Rae is taking the lead as a paid 2025 Guest Curator.

Nia Rae is currently planning the fist exhibit coming in February 2025. The exhibit will exclusively feature selected visual artists over the age of 60 years old. I will be behind her to make sure she has the support to deliver her vision. Please congratulate Nia Rae on being amazing!"

Wright is a 17-year-old junior at Cab Calloway School of the Arts, majoring in Visual Arts and Theatre (Acting). She says that as much as she enjoys her work as a guest curator at the Sold Firm, she doesn't really see herself pursuing gallery managing or owning as a career.

"I started [with The Sold Firm] last November to collect volunteer hours for my school's National Arts Honors Society," Wright says. "but it ended up going beyond that and now I’m [Nataki's] intern/assistant."

Her favorite aspect of the job is definitely the opening night of exhibits and getting to see people come in and look at the art and discuss it with others.

So, with this experience on her resumé, does Wright have any advice for emerging or aspiring artists? "Whatever it is you want to do just go for it," she says, "whether that’s getting your art into a gallery or experimenting with a new medium!"

Delaware Arts Info wishes Nia all the best in her exciting new chapter and thanks The Sold Firm for providing opportunities like this for Wilmington youth to experience and become involved in the arts!

CLICK HERE to see Nia Wright in action at the gallery...