a fictitious futurist uprising honoring real and imagined queer Muslim heroes Abjad by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Hushidar Mortezaie, & Anum Awan. CounterPulse, San Francisco, CA.
an all-disabled queer dance troupe that centers and is led by BIPOC, fat, transgender, gender-nonconforming, and femme folks Access-Centered Dance by Neve Kamilah Mazique-Bianco, India Harville, & Jess Dene Schlesinger. Access-Center Movement, San Francisco, CA.
most Theatre for the Very Young productions have all-white creative teams; we are working to correct this imbalance ALL SMILES, a Theatre for the Very Young Production by Tinashe Kajese Bolden & Chris Lane. Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, GA.
examining home, community, and honor while expressing hopes for belonging in a rapidly changing neighborhood As Quiet As It’s Kept by Monica L. Williams. Bailey’s Cafe, Brooklyn, NY.
a 21st century black woman finds guidance in three iconoclastic spirits: Rebecca Cox Jackson, Harriet Tubman, and Sojourner Truth Awakening – a multimedia chamber opera by Courtney Bryan, Sharan Strange, Charlotte Brathwaite, & the International Contemporary Ensemble, Brooklyn, NY.
activating living archives in St. Croix, a Black U.S. colony, as an act of resistance and vision in the face of disaster capitalism A’we deh ya (“All of us are here”) by Paloma McGregor/Angela’s Pulse. BAAD! The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, Bronx, NY.
the complexities of black feminism and its political impact Black Being by Flutronix & Jaki Shelton Green. The Arts Club of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
making opera a place where people of color have a meaningful tool for expressing their lived experiences BLACK FLUTE by Sybil Williams, KenYatta Rogers, Jabari Exum, & Carl DuPont. The In Series Inc., Washington, D.C.
a satiric Afro-futurist musical about an invention that promises to end racism in America forever but only succeeds in making the problem worse BLACK NO MORE by John Ridley, Tarik Trotter, Bill T. Jones, & Scott Elliott. The New Group, New York, NY.
repairing communication pathways between the body and the mind Bliss Body by Everett Company, Providence, RI.
a performance installation amongst trees about injustice, racism, and ecocide Blued Trees Black Skies by Aviva Rahmani, Eve Beglarian, Yoshiko Chuma, & Robert Black. New York Foundation for the Arts, Brooklyn, NY.
staging local (re)membering practices of body and land to visualize the possibilities of dance-making as change-making Body As A Crossroads by Marina Magalhães, Emily Goulding, & Bianca Medina. Viver Brasil, Los Angeles, CA.
Black people are almost four times as likely to be arrested as whites for possessing a psychoactive flower Cannabis! A Theatrical Concert (working title) by Grace Galu Kalambay, Baba Israel, & Talvin Wilks. HERE, New York, NY.
a hybrid performance that illuminates a complex portrait of fluid Latinx, African, and indigenous identities Casta by Adrienne Dawes with Graham Reynolds & Jenny Larson. Salvage Vanguard Theater, Austin, TX.
dancing to assert the possibilities of joy for women and girls from Indigenous communities and communities of color Chawlo, Shawngram-E! by Ananya Chatterjea & Ananya Dance Theatre. The O’Shaughnessey at St. Catherine University, St. Paul, MN.
documenting a near-extinct dance form by listening to the voices of the elders Cocobale by Milteri Tucker Concepcion & Bombazo Dance Co, Bronx, NY.
an unapologetic performance by a man tired of making disability accessible to others when not everything is accessible to people with disabilities Dark Disabled Stories by Ryan J. Haddad & Jordan Fein. The Bushwick Starr, Brooklyn, NY.
questioning privacy and our bodies’ daily calamities through a conversation on abortion, miscarriage, and loss Decision Diaries (in search of as certain as we will ever be) by Elizabeth Senja Spackman & Rhodessa Jones. San Francisco, CA & New York, NY.
a surrealist portrait of self-awareness, self-deception, and self-care DEFINITION by Whitney White. The Bushwick Starr, Brooklyn, NY.
challenging stigmatized views of mental illness through the story of an aspiring artist grappling with her father’s suicide Everything for Dawn by Experiments in Opera, Brooklyn, NY.
stories reflecting our national housing crisis will compel policymakers to enact guaranteed housing Exiled in America by Mark Valdez & Ashley Sparks. Mixed Blood Theatre, Minneapolis, MN.
a dialogue about sex trafficking and galvanizing work to undo the root causes Export Quality by Carolyn Antonio, Dorotea Mendoza, Erica Miguel, & Jesca Prudencio. Loose Change Productions, New York, NY.
expanding upon the birth-death-rebirth continuum in Hindu thought to examine immigrant experiences of life and death in the diaspora Fires of Varanasi by Ranee Ramaswamy & Aparna Ramaswamy. Ragamala Dance Company, Minneapolis, MN.
a punk opera about queer and trans women and femmes of color in a prison waiting room FORCE! by Anna Martine Whitehead/Anatomies. Fractured Atlas, New York, NY.
people cross the US/Mexico border in both directions for school, family, food, love, and hope. The Frontera Project by Jessica Bauman, Ramón Verdugo, Bárbara Perrín Rivemar, & Jesús Quintéro. New Georges, New York, NY.
combining historical research with critical theory and fictional narrative to make sense of the gaps in the archive of transatlantic slavery g1(host): lostatsea by nia love, Benin Ford, & Rhonda Haynes. Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Brooklyn, NY.
re-inscribing outer space as feminist space The Gift by Janani Balasubramanian & Dr. Natalie Gosnell. Public Theater. New York, NY & Colorado Springs, CO.
new work for chamber ensemble and electronics exploring Hawaiian language and perception through sound Hānau Ka Ua by the [Switch~ Ensemble] & Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti. Fractured Atlas, New York, NY.
American healthcare through the stories of low-income older adults in the Bronx Home/Body/Care by Naomi Goldberg Haas, Tyler Thomas, Sandra Rivera, & Myna Majors. Dances For A Variable Population, New York, NY.
incarceration, freedom, and liberation centered around the history of Chicago’s Dunning Insane Asylum Human Remains by Coya Paz & the Free Street Theater ensemble. Free Street Theater, Chicago, IL.
a beautician, an ex-monk, a new mother, and ex-communist soldier recount life before the Secret War while awaiting resettlement In the Camps: A Refugee Musical by Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay. Indigenous Roots Cultural Arts Center, St. Paul, MN.
Black POWs living under military supervision of an enemy that claims to be an ally against white supremacy Japan = Black Man’s Paradise (working title) by Andrew Saito, Miranda Haymon, & Walter Kitundu. Montalvo Arts Center, Saratoga, CA.
$1.3 million in grants to 171 performing artists and arts organizations.
providing a platform for the voices of Filipino World War II veterans Kagitingan by Dr. Jimiliz Valiente-Neighbours, Anjanette Maraya-Ramey, Catherine Hanna Schrock, & Blake McCarty. Blindspot Collective, San Diego, CA.
original plays inspired by real-life experiences of confronting oppression for audiences that include policymakers, advocates, and community members LaGuardia Community College/Fortune Society Collaborative Forum Theatre Troupe with Meggan Gomez & Mike Gonzalez. Theatre of the Oppressed NYC, New York, NY.
surrounded by the sterile mechanisms of modern medicine, an Arab man dying from cancer reflects on his life Last Ward by Samar Haddad King & Amir Nizar Zuabi. Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre, New York, NY.
an online citycast, produced by multi-generational filmmakers devoted to creating equity by amplifying resident voices of Santa Fe Littleglobe TV by Ed Radtke, Hank Rogerson, Aurora Escobedo, & Dylan Tenorio. Littleglobe, Inc., Santa Fe, NM.
convening Black and Jewish voices to invoke racial justice via an end to mass incarceration Meet Us Quickly with Your Mercy by Jo Kreiter, Jewlia Eisenberg, Rahsaan Thomas, & Sean Riley. Flyaway Productions, San Francisco, CA.
informed by a pre-Hispanic Mayan dance-drama still performed every January in Rabinal, Guatemala Men of Rab’inal: A Mayan War-Dance Through Time by Lakin Valdez & David Molina. El Teatro Campesino, San Juan Bautista, CA.
pandemic stories collected from Mexican immigrants, particularly farmworkers and day laborers in Santa Clara County and the surrounding regions Mi Camino by Héctor Armienta. Opera Cultura, San Jose, CA.
reclaiming ancestor and spirit stories revealed through the rhythms of Indigenous languages Misdemeanor Dream by Muriel Miguel, Penny Couchie, Imelda Villalon, & Sharon Day. Spiderwoman Theater, Brooklyn, NY.
dismantling white supremacy culture through the theatricalization of George W. Bush’s War On Terror as the rise and fall of Nero’s Roman Empire NERO by Kyoung H. Park/Kyoung’s Pacific Beat. Fractured Atlas, New York, NY.
a striking take on the uncomfortable subject of being old, disabled, poor, and institutionalized The Ninth Floor by Gordon Beeferman & Charlotte Jackson. Brooklyn, NY.
a powerful expression of a critical issue of our time: that we all share the air, water, and earth upon which we live North by Mary Ellen Childs. Zeitgeist, Saint Paul, MN.
theorizing from the flesh: testimonio as praxis nos(otrxs) ¡somxs! (nx/sx) by Fabiola Torralba, Eleonor Maciel, El Panadero, & Ceiba ili. San Antonio, TX. Forklift Danceworks, Austin, TX.
tradition as a form of resistance, remembrance, and celebration, rather than as an enemy to progress Not Peaceable and Quiet (Mariachis on Mars) by Anthony Romero, Josh Rios, & Matt Joynt. Vincent Price Art Museum Foundation, Monterey Park, CA.
what can voting look like when disenfranchised bodies are centered and prioritized? The Official Unofficial Voting Station: Voting for All Who Legally Can’t by Aram Han Sifuentes. Make Art With Purpose, Chicago, IL.
shifting our collective consciousness toward abolition of the carceral state On the Eve of Abolition by Papel Machete (Santurce, Puerto Rico) & AgitArte (Cambridge, MA).
a collaboration with the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services serving refugees from Central America ages 12-18 Óyeme Mas Fuerte by Miriam Gonzales, Janet Stanford, Joanne Seelig Lamparter, & Milagros Ponce de León. Imagination Stage, Bethesda, MD.
how might listening foster environmental and economic recovery in Appalachian Ohio? Paris of the Coal Fields by Brian Harnetty. Sunday Creek Associates, Shawnee, OH.
a day of gathering, inscribing, and memorializing Filipinx-American stories through interdisciplinary and community-based performance PATAWILI by Ani Gavino/Malayaworks. Fractured Atlas, Lenape land (Philadelphia, PA & New York, NY).
a ball competition—a ritual created by queer and trans people of color to insist on the value of their lives—in a white-dominated space The Peabody Ballroom Experience by Vjuan Allure & Marquis Revlon Clanton. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.
for the exhibition “Grief and Grievance: Art and Mourning in America,” originally conceived by Okwui Enwezor Poor People’s TV Room (Solo) by Okwui Okpokwasili. New Museum, New York, NY.
audience members will travel through a recreated Albany Park apartment building and be immersed in 100 years of Albany Park immigration stories Port of Entry by Third Rail Projects & Albany Park Theater Project, Chicago, IL.
emcees/lyricists/ministers of Hip Hop culture whose lives share a timely, mystic, and universal story of transcendence, ingenuity, and wisdom A Prophet’s Tale: A Portrait of the Lyricist by 7NMS (Marjani Forté-Saunders & Everett Saunders). Brooklyn Arts Exchange. Brooklyn, NY & Pasadena, CA.
a trans superhero rock opera! The Red Shades by Adrienne Price, Matt Grandy, & Jeanine Adkisson. Z Space, San Francisco, CA.
the harrowing journey of a young Honduran girl migrating across Mexico and entering the US border in East Texas Refuge by Satya Chavez & Andrew Rosendorf. Curious Theatre Company, Denver, CO.
memories of borders and dancing mothers transform into adult customs and ceremonies Remembrance and Ritual by Ashley Tata, Found Sound Nation, & the Mosaic Ensemble. Bang on a Can, New York, NY.
sourcing material from videos of interviews, lectures, and histories told to her by her mother Representation, History, Race, you, me and us by koosil-ja. Dansology, Inc., New York, NY.
creating solutions for injustices by collaborating with Indigenous artists throughout the country Requiem for America: Singing for the Invisible People by Brent Michael Davids & Ramona Emerson. University of Wisconsin – Whitewater, Whitewater, WI.
reclaiming food as a container for ritual, medicine, familial connections, and cultural identity Roasted Yam for the Ancestor’s Soul by BoomShake Core, Rashida Knox, & Monica Hastings-Smith. Intersection for the Arts, San Francisco, CA.
preserving the memories of Puerto Rican elders on stage and in the hearts of a new generation Sembrando Herencia / Planting a Heritage: the learning, sharing, and transmission of oral history through community theatre by Ana Maria (Tekina-eirú) Maynard. Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance, Inc. / Puerto Rican Cultural Center, Austin, TX.
a performance installation of Native futurities that imagines a world of relational balance with nature and each other she who lives on the road to war by Rosy Simas & François Richomme. Rosy Simas Danse, Minneapolis, MN.
the unlikely friendship of two immigrant and refugee womxn ripped by their roots and planted in New York City Silueta by Erlina Ortiz & Gabriela Sanchez with Power Street Theatre, Philadelphia, PA.
a mosaic self-portrait of queer/trans disability and fluid embodiments: change, pain, gender, and freedom A Singular They by Toby MacNutt. Vermont Dance Alliance, Burlington, VT.
amplifying the contemporary politics of the Latinx racial experience in the United States through music, poetry, sound, and storytelling Sonorous Present by Alex E. Chávez. The University of Notre Dame.
how European invasion caused the 21st century cultural and ecological crisis in what is now called Southwestern Montana Standby Snow: Chronicles of a Heatwave, Chapter 2 by Mary Ellen Strom, Shane Doyle, & Laine Rettmer. Mountain Time Arts, Bozeman, MT.
Grants are unrestricted in recognition of the unprecedented challenges performing artists are facing.
a series of dances embodying the oral traditions of Latinx communities in the United States Southwest Stories from Home by Yvonne Montoya. Safos Dance Theatre, Tucson, AZ.
performances that mirror the large-scale collectivism essential to the efforts humans must make to protect and preserve the environment Stories of Water by Ty Defoe, Katherine Freer, & Mark Denning. Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, Chicago, IL.
altering rules and creating language for artists and technologists to re-imagine accessibility Suspended Disbelief by Heidi Latsky. Latsky Dance, Inc., New York, NY.
exploring the dilemmas of environmental and economic survival in northern Canada’s tar sands Tar Sands Songbook by Tanya Kalmanovitch. The New School, New York, NY.
the impact of the largest workplace immigration raid in U.S. history The Tears of Tonantzin by Anthony J. Garcia & Daniel Valdez. Su Teatro, Denver, CO.
fabulism: a researched fluency in creating new histories – and, therefore, new futures – through conscientious and elaborate invention TERRESTRIAL by jumatatu m. poe. Headlong Dance Theater, New York, NY.
four trans & gender-nonconforming friends take a trip to Planned Parenthood as Blue gets on T to transition and Lee gets off T to get pregnant (T)estosterone by Kit Yan & Simone Wolff with Orion S Johnstone & Anjimile Chithambo. Artists’ Theater of Boston, Boston, MA.
a multilingual play that explores the history and celebrates the resiliency of the Bhutanese-Nepali people after displacement from ethnic cleansing Three Countries, One Mother by Katie Beck, Neema Bal, & Gum-Dip Theatre. Akron, OH. The Miami Foundation, Miami, FL.
Black skating artists can finally use the ice in a way that is healing and nourishing Tracing Sacred Steps by Deneane Richburg, Lela Aisha Jones, & Thomasina Petrus. Brownbody, St. Paul, MN.
using deeply personal stories from a wide group of trans and nonbinary people TransVagina Diaries by Lindsey Deaton & Trans Chorus of Los Angeles. Beth Morrison Projects, Inc., Brooklyn, NY.
creating a queer futurist encounter where race and masculinity are destabilized and new forms of solidarity, desire, and community can begin TRY by Circo Zero, San Francisco, CA.
the profound, elusive wonder of cosmic darkness, dark matter, and dark energy in relationship to the systemic invisibilities of Black Trans folk The Unarrival Experiments – Illumination Catalogue by Ni’Ja Whitson. Fathomers, Burbank, CA.
celebrating the lives of underground dance elders that are still with us UnderScored by Ephrat Asherie Dance. Foundation for Independent Artists, New York, NY.
integrating machine learning, a live score, and verbatim interviews with children and NASA astronauts to explore how we build a more perfect future Utopia by Theater Mitu, Brooklyn, NY.
a non-verbal way to communicate experiences with urinary incontinence in modes that are self-affirming and bound to one another Vagina Chorus by Mengxi “Althea” Rao, Yoko K. Sen, & Don Undeen. Artspace, New Haven, CT.
reimagining the body through sovereignty, race, and gender Walking on Eggshells by Piko Dance Arts: Sami L.A. Akuna, Sequoia Carr-Brown, & Kara Jhalak Miller. Hawaii Academy of Performing Arts/The ARTS at Marks Garage, Honolulu, HI.
an American CIA informant is sent to the First Pan-African Cultural Festival in 1969 Algiers to engage in surveillance of the Black Panthers WE HAVE COME BACK by Ismail Khalidi with Jasson Minadakis & Trevor Floyd. Marin Theatre Company, Mill Valley, CA.
multimedia performance challenging perceptions of women’s anger in America from silence to somatization to explosion We Will Not Be Composed by Sarah Manning & Soraya Chemaly. The Field, New York, NY.
a long-term collaboration between two seemingly incongruent communities in Appalachia and West Baltimore West Baltimore Performs Our Future by Roadside Theater, Arch Social Community Network, & WombWork Productions. Appalshop, Whitesburg, KY.
mobilizing the public in defense of threatened salmon fisheries and the cultures they nourish When the Salmon Spoke by Tis Peterman (Tlingit/Tahltan), Annita McPhee (Tahltan/Tlingit), Ryan Conarro, & Ping Chong. Ping Chong + Company, New York, NY.
the absurdity of narrative tropes and token attempts at diversity, and their impact on the psychology of those they marginalize WHITE GIRL IN DANGER by Michael R. Jackson, Lileana Blain-Cruz, Raja Feather Kelly, & Joshua Higgason. Vineyard Theatre and Workshop Center, Inc, New York, NY.
the nuances of women and their work over the last 80 years in metro-Atlanta Women’s Work with Danielle Deadwyler, Madhuri Shekar, Mary Lynn Owen, & Angela M. Farr Schiller PhD. Synchronicity Theatre, Atlanta, GA.
amplifying the power of Mujeres Unidas y Activas, a grassroots organization run by and for Latina immigrant women Y BASTA YA! by NAKA Dance Theater (Debby Kajiyama & José Navarrete). Dancers’ Group, San Francisco, CA.
Read about MAP’s 2020 semifinalists here.
Read the full press release here.
Webpage design by Katie Dean.
Webpage development by Denise Shu Mei.
Banner Image Credit: My Park, My Pool, My City, Forklift Danceworks (Amitava Sakar)