Executive Committee

Robert E. Smariga, President
Susie Miller, Vice President
Paul Hemme, Treasurer
Leslie Ruby, Secretary

Directors

Joe Baldi
Whitney Bingham
Phil Bowers
Bob Brenengen
Dale Dowling, PhD
John Fieseler
Noel Manalo
C. Richard Miller, Jr.
Mark A Pitts, DDS
Jack Pumphrey
Heather M. Salley
Sandra Steele
Brad Weesner


Government Representatives

Frederick City Liaison--Marcia Hall, Alderman
Frederick County Liaison--Kai Hagen, Commissioner

Frederick Arts Council, Inc.
at the Cultural Arts Center of Frederick County
15 W. Patrick Street
Frederick, MD 21701-5511

Office Hours
Generally, the Arts Council office hours are 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday-Friday. However, the Cultural Arts Center is usually open 7 days a week with rehearsals, classes, and shows that run late into the evening.
Please call 301-662-4190 to schedule an appointment.
Ext.1 for Frederick Arts Council or Shuan Butcher, Executive Director.
Ext. 9 for Jenifer Dobbins, Cultural Arts Center Facility Manager.

to the quality of life you enjoy in Frederick County. Whether you’re engaged in the arts as an audience member, patron, educator or artist, the Frederick Arts Council is your arts ally. Our mission is to foster an environment where the arts may flourish in our community through grants and scholarships, arts advocacy and links to essential resources.

Since its inception in 1976, the Frederick Arts Council has played a major role in the renaissance of Frederick as a city of culture and artistic ambiance. The Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center, the Weinberg Center for the Arts, and the Frederick Festival of the Arts all had early associations with the Arts Council and have matured to become cultural cornerstones of the county.

Most recently, the Council launched a bold new initiative when it acquired a building in historic Frederick for use as a community arts center. The vision for the Cultural Arts Center of Frederick County is to be an “arts incubator” for arts organizations throughout the county, where arts groups can affordably work, rehearse, perform, teach classes and conduct workshops.

The primary purpose of the Frederick Arts Council is to raise funds for local artists and arts organizations and disperse those funds through grants, scholarships and awards.

As the officially designated arts funding organization in the county, The Frederick Arts Council receives funding from the Maryland State Arts Council and Frederick County for grants to nonprofit arts organizations. Each year, community arts groups submit applications for funding of their programs and events, which are evaluated by a volunteer review panel.

Organizations serving children and adults in all arts disciplines have received Community Arts Development grants through the Frederick Arts Council, including Shared Vision, The Fun Company, The Frederick Orchestra, The Fredericktowne Players, Frederick Children’s Chorus, Maryland Ensemble Theatre, Spires Brass Band, Frederick Regional Youth Orchestra, The Shakespeare Project, and many more.

Events such as DanceFest, Sentimental Journey, and the Messiah Sing-Along involve the entire community in raising scholarship funds. Our efforts are greatly enhanced by the generous support of individual and corporate sponsors. Middle and high school students are awarded music and dance scholarships through annual auditions. Writers of all ages are recognized through the presentation of awards and public readings of their works through our annual Literary Competition.


Major funding for the Frederick Arts Council is provided by the Maryland State Arts Council and Frederick County. We also gratefully acknowledge the generous supporters of our programs and organization. Individuals, businesses, and other entities can support the arts in Frederick County by becoming members of the Frederick Arts Council (see list of members in the arts directory). However, several other individuals and groups provide additional funds to support the operations of the Frederick Arts Council, including: