ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Calvin Ball yesterday joined Howard County Arts Council (HCAC) Executive Director Coleen West to award the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company (CSC) and the Baltimore Center Stage each with a $12,500 one-time arts grant, made possible through a partnership between Howard County Government and HCAC. The grant provides programmatic support and supplemental funding to regional arts organizations impacted by federal government funding cuts so they can continue their operations, programs, and outreach to Howard County residents. Photos from the event can be found on the County’s Flickr webpage.
The arts are a vital aspect of our community, fostering creativity, cultural understanding, and social cohesion. As cornerstones of cultural access, these two institutions have inspired generations to embrace their creative expression and opened doors to the transformative power of the arts for audiences of all backgrounds. While these grants do not fully replace the depth of loss of federal funding, they send a powerful message that Howard County supports the arts and believes in our vision of inclusive, accessible arts programming for all.
Recent budget cuts and policy changes implemented by the new federal administration have left arts organizations throughout the region without vital funding, due to lack of available funds or ineligibility due to new grant requirements. Impacted funding sources include grants provided by National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
In response, the County and HCAC launched the Baltimore Supplemental Arts Grant program, available to Baltimore City arts and cultural organizations that receive operating funding through HCAC’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Baltimore City Arts and Cultural Grants and Outreach Howard Grants programs, recently lost federal funding, and serve Howard County residents through programming and outreach opportunities. Last year, 12 Baltimore City arts and cultural organizations received support from the County and HCAC. The County and HCAC committed $25,000 to support this Baltimore Supplemental Arts Grant in FY2025.
In 1992, the Howard County Arts Council partnered with Howard County Government to start the Baltimore City Arts and Cultural Grants program. Supporting Maryland’s top arts and cultural treasures that are in the City and provide significant services to Howard County residents was a priority for the County then and now. Thousands of Howard County residents are enriched by the world class art collections, concerts, performances, and cultural experiences our State treasures offer. We are committed to being a good regional partner and providing our community with access to these great public amenities.
“Partnerships are so important to the Arts Council. In addition to these important supplemental grants, another way that we ensure access to the great programs offered by the great institutions in the City, is through our Outreach Howard grant program. We launched this program in 2013 to encourage our Baltimore City grantees to come to Howard County and partner with local groups to produce programs – right here – in our community,” said Adam Stull, Chair, HCAC Board of Directors. “The Arts Council has supported Chesapeake Shakespeare Company and Baltimore Center Stage for many years, and we hope to do so for many more seasons to come.”
Chesapeake Shakespeare Company
The leading classic theatre company in Maryland and one of the six largest theatre companies in the state, CSC offers vibrant performances that delight patrons by breathing new life into Shakespeare and other classic plays. The company serves diverse audiences with funny, moving, rousing mainstage seasons, its vigorous education program welcomes more than 16,000 students annually, and its innovative traveling “Shakespeare Beyond” wagon brings free Shakespearean performances to neighborhoods across Maryland.
CSC’s summertime outdoor home is in nearby Ellicott City and features performances and education programming at the Patapsco Female Institute (PFI) Historic Park, a gorgeous spot for picnicking and watching Shakespeare under the stars.
Supported by NEA funding in FY2024, CSC was able to grow its traveling “Shakespeare Beyond” program from four sites serving 1,000 people in 2023 to 10 sites serving more than 3,700 in 2024. With the offer of a renewed FY2025 grant from NEA in the amount of $50,000, CSC planned to further expand its traveling “Shakespeare Beyond” program this summer to more than 20 sites across Maryland, including the County’s Rockburn Branch Park in Elkridge. However, in May 2025, the NEA abruptly withdrew its $50,000 grant. This vital funding accounted for more than 20 percent of the program’s FY2025 operating budget.
With the assistance of this Baltimore Supplemental Arts Grant and funding from the State of Maryland still intact, CSC is on track to bring its “Shakespeare Beyond” program to more than 8,000 people at 17 sites across Maryland, as well as host four weeks of free art education workshops.
“As a Baltimore-based theatre with deep roots in Howard County, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company is both honored and heartened by this recent grant from Howard County, our longtime friends and supporters,” said Lesley Malin, Producing Executive Director, CSC. “In May, a promised $50,000 NEA grant to fund our free summer mobile touring program was abruptly withdrawn. The generous response from our Howard County allies not only helps restore some of those lost funds—it reaffirms the enduring relationship between our theatre and the community that helped raise it.”
In the 2024-2025 season, CSC served approximately 6,050 Howard County residents, including attendees at public performances at the PFI and downtown, participants in summer camps in Howard County and downtown, participants in adult and youth classes, and students attending a student matinee performance or participating in an in-school residency. With one weekend to go, CSC is projecting a total attendance of 3,650 for this summer’s PFI show in Ellicott City.
Baltimore Center Stage
Founded in 1963 and designated the State Theater of Maryland in 1978, the Baltimore Center Stage provides the highest quality theater and engaging community and educational programming to community members, young and old, across two mainstages and an intimate 99-seat theater. Led by its core values, chief among them being “Access For All,” Baltimore Center Stage’s mission is heavily rooted in providing active and open accessibility for everyone, regardless of any and all barriers.
Following recent changes to the NEA guidelines, Baltimore Center Stage's leadership made the difficult decision to decline future NEA funding opportunities until further notice, as the new requirements conflict with the theatre’s values, inclusive mission and its responsibility to serve all members of its community with integrity and authenticity. These grants historically ranged from $30,000 to $100,000 annually and were critical to Baltimore Center Stage's ability to deliver high-quality, mission-aligned programming, support artists and educators, and ensure broad access to the arts for Baltimore’s diverse communities.
Receipt of the one-time Baltimore Supplemental Arts Grant will enable Baltimore Center Stage to commission and produce new works by playwrights from underrepresented backgrounds, support accessible performances and educational programming for youth and underserved audiences, and provide fair wages to artists, designers, and technicians.
“Howard County's support of the arts through this initiative is thoughtful and makes a major impact in a challenging time,” said Baltimore Center Stage Managing Director Adam Frank. “We're grateful that our government partners recognize the importance of the arts for a healthy democracy, and the arts community will continue to invest in that democracy throughout our region with storytelling that upholds our values of pluralism, access and equal opportunity for all.”
Each year, Baltimore Center Stage welcomes more than 2,000 attendees, participants, and volunteers from Howard County across their multitude of programs and performances, reflecting the strong connection the organization shares with Howard County.
Baltimore Center Stage and CSC must expend their awarded funds within one year of receipt.
Howard County Arts Council
HCAC is a non-profit organization that was established in 1981 to fulfill the County’s mandate of an arts and cultural commission for Howard County. For the past 44 years, HCAC has been fostering the arts and ensuring community access to the arts in partnership with the County. Through its mission, HCAC strives to enrich and uplift communities by advancing the arts, artists, and arts organizations for the benefit of all in Howard County.
Each year, the Office of the County Executive provides a Community Service Partnership grant to HCAC to cover operating expenses for the organization, as well as programmatic expenses such as the grant awards to local arts organizations. In his Fiscal Year 2026 Operating Budget, Ball allocated approximately $1.35 million to HCAC.
In 2023, Ball announced during his State of the County address his plans to renovate and transform the historic Circuit Courthouse in Old Ellicott City into a new Center for Arts, Culture, and History. As part of its $15+ million renovation, the building will be the new home to HCAC, which is expected to move into the building in late 2025.
That same year, Ball also announced the launch of the County’s inaugural Poet Laureate program and Youth Poet Laureate in partnership with HCAC and the Howard County Poetry & Literature Society (HoCoPoLitSo), a program aimed at amplifying the power of youth expression, celebrate community, and promote literary arts in Howard County. Ball also committed $150,000 to HCAC to launch an Arts and Cultural Plan for Howard County, the first update to its master plan in more than 20 years.
A year later in 2024, Ball created the “Arts for All” public art program in partnership with HCAC. Ball invested $1.5 million to launch the program to bring visionary and iconic public art installations to County-owned property throughout Howard County. The first of these iconic public art installations will be located at the future Elkridge Community Center and 50+ Center.
To learn more about HCAC, visit www.hocoarts.org.