News

South Arts launches new pilot program, Performing Arts Discovery

By Mollie Quinlan-Hayes, Deputy Director and Accessibility Coordinator, ArtsReady Director, South Arts –

PAE-2015-Juried-Showcase-169-300x200South Arts has introduced a pilot project, Performing Arts Discovery: American Sounds, which works in partnership with the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation and New England Foundation for the Arts, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. This pilot project will introduce presenters from outside the United States to artists representing quintessentially American music – traditional/folk, Native American, jazz, blues, Gospel, zydeco, country, bluegrass and more. Two cohorts of invited presenters from abroad will attend showcase and festival performances in the South Arts region in fall of 2016 and spring of 2017, including the Performing Arts Exchange, Sept. 26-29, 2016, in Orlando, FL. During multi-day, immersive visits, these presenters will meet and experience the work of traditional and jazz musicians and their management, talk with scholars and folklorists about these unique musical forms, engage with other U.S. presenters, and share their own programming visions.

There are several opportunities for Tennessee artists to be involved:

Performing Arts Exchange Juried Showcases – deadline March 17

Artists selected for PAE Juried Showcases who represent jazz or traditional music and reside in the South Arts, Mid Atlantic or New England regions will be noted in the program book as Performing Arts Discovery: American Sounds artists. This notation simply communicates to visiting presenters who have an interest in these particular musical forms.

World of Bluegrass Songwriter Showcases – deadline March 31

The International Bluegrass Music Association is accepting applications for its Songwriter Showcase, for which ten singers and their original bluegrass songs will be selected to perform at World of Bluegrass this fall. World of Bluegrass is among the festivals PAD:  American Sounds presenters may be attending.

Performing Arts Exchange Independent Showcases – deadline March 31

PAD: American Sounds will work with a team of artistic advisors to select artists for PAE Curated Showcases. Between six and ten artists/ensembles from the South Arts region will be invited to present independent showcases at PAE 2016. Traditional music and jazz artists/ensembles who would like to be considered by the artistic advisors, please submit our Artist Information Form by March 31, 2016.

We also continue to build our network of international presenters interested in programming the work of American traditional and jazz musicians. If you are aware of such presenters, please submit our Presenter Referral Form by March 31, 2016.

For more information on Performing Arts Discovery: American Sounds, please contact:

Mollie Quinlan-Hayes, Project Director: mquinlanhayes@southarts.org, 404/874-7244 x 31

Carolelinda Dickey, Performing Arts Strategies: carolelinda@performingartsstrategies.com

Andrea Snyder, Performing Arts Strategies: andrea@performingartsstrategies.com