AMP UP ARTS

Amp Up Arts is a statewide 501(c)3 nonprofit arts education organization with a strong commitment to promoting increased access to arts education and fostering artistic talents in our communities. Amp Up Arts believes in equitable arts access for all Alabama students through art teachers, teaching artists, and arts organization partnerships.

Amp Up Arts focuses on statewide development of arts education for preK-12 schools through networking, advocacy, and professional development, and they support local collaborative sites statewide. They believe in empowering communities to use their local resources and knowledge to create sustainable arts education that is specific to the local culture and needs.

Mobile Arts Council officially gained the title of "Collaborative Site" for Amp Up Arts in January 2023. Amp Up Arts is a collective impact program of the Alabama State Council on the Arts that focuses on the implementation of sustainable arts education for all K-12 public schools throughout the state. With their help, MAC is actively searching for teaching artists in our area and training them through workshops and professional development opportunities to be able to effectively provide arts classes in Mobile County schools. We also provide advocacy on the importance of the arts for our youth and work to spread awareness of the great arts educational opportunities provided by area organizations.

ALL DISCIPLINES

Alabama State Council on the Arts: Alabama Arts License Tag Grant Program: The Alabama Arts License Tag Grant Program aims to promote the arts in Alabama, especially arts education, including visual arts, folk arts, and performing arts programming. A six-person volunteer committee governs the program. Committee members serve on a voluntary basis and one member is appointed by each of the following organizations or individuals: the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the Alabama Arts Alliance, the State Department of Education, the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Proceeds from the sale of the license plate will be used to fund a variety of arts in education and community arts projects. Buy the Support the Arts plate the next time you renew your registration at your county's vehicle licensing office

South Arts: Express Grants: South Arts believes that rural communities deserve great art, and can require specialized support to make that vision viable. Distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis, Express Grants support rural organizations and communities with expedited grants of up to $2,000.

South Arts: Professional Development & Artistic Planning Grants: Professional Development and Artistic Planning Grants are available for organizations to support the professional development needs of Southern presenters, programmers, or curators, strengthen program design, and increase organizational capacity. South Arts strongly believes professional development for presenters/programmers/curators is integral to success, including traveling to see new works and attending convenings. This grant program is open to film, visual arts, performing arts, literary arts and multidisciplinary presenting organizations.

DANCE/MUSIC

Azalea City Center for the Arts: Dance, Gymnastics, Musical Theater, and More: The Azalea City Center for the Arts is a nonprofit organization in Mobile, Alabama, with a mission to provide opportunities for children and adults to explore the world of artistic expression through quality educational programs, recitals, and performance opportunities that enhance self confidence, encourage personal growth, and strengthen academic and artistic skills.

The Ballet School: Mobile Ballet: Mobile Ballet School & Academy offers superior dance training in a professional and encouraging atmosphere. We train hundreds of students a year in a range from classical ballet to Broadway style jazz between our primary studios in Mobile and our growing program on the Eastern Shore.

Under the direction of Katia Garza and Kimberley Sears, the Mobile Ballet School features a seasoned faculty as well as renowned guest instructors from around the country. Master classes, intensives, and other specialized study engage our most determined dancers. Donor-supported scholarships assist students in class training as well as summer study in an array of renowned programs around the country. The Mobile Ballet Company includes 30 auditioned positions that join exceptional guest artists in the season’s three signature performances. Classes are available for students age 3 to adult.

Our mission is a school of classical ballet with a professional dynamic offering an unlimited opportunity for excellence… wherever our dancers’ dreams may take them.

Gulf Coast Ethnic & Heritage Jazz Festival: M. J. Summer Jazz Camp classes focus on music appreciation of legendary jazz giants, noting the uniqueness of their interpretations of the genre, individual instruction on the structure of improvisational style and the important role each instrument plays in carrying out an authentic jazz sound. Each year the program provides a Master Class experience conducted by a distinguished guest artist. This year we are proud to welcome jazz artists, composers and educators, The Excelsior Band, as the Artists in Residence and Headliner for the July 31st, virtual jazz concert. The event will be held at 6 p.m. on Facebook Live through the Gulf Coast Ethnic & Heritage Jazz Festival Page.

Make Music Alabama Day 2024: Each year, over 1,000 cities around the world throw citywide music celebrations on June 21. It all started 39 years ago in France. In 1982, France’s Ministry of Culture dreamed up an idea for a new kind of musical holiday. They imagined a day where free, live music would be everywhere: street corners and parks, rooftops and gardens, store fronts and mountaintops. And, unlike a typical music festival, anyone and everyone would be invited to join and play music, or host performances. The event would take place on the summer solstice, June 21, and would be called Fête De La Musique. (In French, the name means both “festival of music” and “make music!”) Amazingly enough, this dream has come true. The Fête has turned into a true national holiday: France shuts down on the summer solstice and musicians take over. Almost 8% of the country (5 million people) have played an instrument or sung in public for the Fête de la Musique. Three decades later, the holiday has spread throughout the world and is now celebrated in more than 120 countries. In the U.S., the presenting sponsor is the NAMM Foundation.

Mobile Symphony String Academy Eastern Shore
Middle and High School String Students in the Eastern Shore! JOIN the Mobile Symphony Eastern Shore String Academy in Fairhope, AL. Play new repertoire, polish your string techniques and learn new ones, perform exciting music, and make new friends that also LOVE playing the violin, viola, cello, or bass! Register online or call (251)432-2010 Attn. Daniela Pardo

Mobile Symphony String Academy
Mobile String Academy: Middle and High School String Students in the Mobile Area JOIN the Mobile Symphony String Academy in Downtown Mobile, AL. Play new repertoire, polish your string techniques and learn new ones, perform exciting music, and make new friends that also LOVE playing the violin, viola, cello, or bass! Register online or call (251) 432-2010.

South Arts - Jazz Road Tours: South Arts Jazz Road Tour Grants are awarded up to $15,000 to USA and territories, musicians, to support performances and tours. This grant program is open to both new and established musicians, solo artists, and musicians who play in an ensemble. Priority will be given to proposals that reach underserved communities and rural areas, especially those that lack opportunities to present live jazz.

Jazz Road Tours will pay grants directly to the artist to cover a portion of the eligible tour expenses including artist fees, travel, housing, meals, backline, road/sound/tour management, and costs related to tour coordination and promotion. The Jazz Road Tours program is designed to help artists earn a living wage while on tour. For more information, visit their site.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Poetry Out Loud: We hope you will consider joining Alabama’s Poetry Out Loud program, as a great way to engage students as they return to your classrooms. National Poetry Out Loud Competition: At this level students choose one poem from the poetryoutloud.org website to memorize and recite for the rest of the class. State Original Poetry Out Loud Competition: students write, memorize, and recite their own poem. Social Justice Poem Competition: students write, memorize, and recite their own poem addressing any topic relevant to social justice and to the student personally. At this level the Social Justice Poem and the Original Poem may be the same poem. Students may opt to participate in one, two, or all three competitions. Schools that have at least 5 classes involving every student participating are eligible to receive a $75.00 grant to support Poetry Out Loud activities. Each participating school will receive materials supplied by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. Additional resources may be found at poetryoutloud.org. It is recommended that the student research the poet and/or topic and biographical information on the website. Class champions move forward to a school wide competition to identify a school champion for each of the three competitions. If only one class is participating, the class champion becomes the school champion.

AAEA Conference 2021: This year’s conference will be in Mobile, Alabama, Friday and Saturday November 12 and 13! The theme is “Illuminate, Ignite, Excite!” with the purpose to re-engage and re-ignite our passion as art educators. To expand upon why we teach art and why the arts matter, we are excited to announce that the Instagram famous, Netflix ‘star,’ Expert Blogger, Art Educator Extraordinaire, Cassie Stephens, will be our guest speaker and presenter. Click here to view a tentative schedule for the conference.

Azalea City Center for the Arts
Classes for young people, including special needs children, in a variety of disciplines - dance, music, theatre, and visual arts.

Eastern Shore Art Center 
Classes and workshops for adults  and children . Visit the Center website and click on "Education."

Mobile Museum of Art 
For adults - workshops, ongoing classes, and off-site classes; for children and families - after-school classes, spring break art camp, and art for home-schooled children. Visit the Museum website and click on Learn.

University of South Alabama Center for Continuing Education 
Classes in a variety of subjects from personal to professional development opportunities, college prep courses, photography, foreign language, dance, and more! Complete Course List

Gulf Coast Ethnic & Heritage Jazz Festival:

M. J. Summer Jazz Camp classes focus on music appreciation of legendary jazz giants, noting the uniqueness of their interpretations of the genre, individual instruction on the structure of improvisational style and the important role each instrument plays in carrying out an authentic jazz sound. Each year the program provides a Master Class experience conducted by a distinguished guest artist. This year we are proud to welcome jazz artists, composers and educators, The Excelsior Band, as the Artists in Residence and Headliner for the July 31st, virtual jazz concert. The event will be held at 6 p.m. on Facebook Live through the Gulf Coast Ethnic & Heritage Jazz Festival Page.

LITERATURE

Mobile Writers Guild
The Mobile Writers Guild is an organization of professional and aspiring writers. Anyone is welcome to join their monthly meetings at 6 p.m. every first Thursday of the month (September through May) at the West Regional Library on Grelot Road.

THEATRE

Actor's Edge Studio - Middle and High School Classes
Tuesdays from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., students will explore a variety of acting methods to place in their performance toolkit and also spend some time in the director’s chair! During this immersive class, students will learn the basics of directing while staging their own scenes. Actors will also have the option to participate in the AYTE Fall Festival. $50 per month. Contact Instructor: Eric C. Browne, actorsedgemobile@gmail.com, 256-656-3054.

Play House in the Park: Stage One, Beginners Acting Classes
For ages 6 to 11, classes meet Mondays from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. starting August 17th. The class is offered in 8 or 16-week blocks. See their website for details: http://playhouseinthepark.org/playhouse-actors-studio

Play House in the Park: Repertory Training
For young actors between 12 and 19 years old, classes meet Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. throughout the 2020/2021 season. See their website for details: http://playhouseinthepark.org/playhouse-actors-studio

Sunny Side Theatre
This theatre company offers voice lessons, drama and dance classes.

VISUAL ARTS

Call for Artists - Exhibition Opportunity with Innova Arts
Interested in showing and selling your art in Midtown Mobile's premier local artist gallery? Email for more information: innovaartsgallery@gmail.com

Call for Artists: Lupercalia Art Society
Lupercalia Art Society is looking for established and emerging artists to display in this historic, innovative, and very unique space. Located directly in the middle of the Downtown arts district, it will give painters, potters, glassworkers, woodworkers, fabric artists, metalworkers, sculptors, and anyone who creates two or three-dimensional art a place to showcase their work. It will also be a community where artists can mingle, learn from each other, teach classes, and contribute to fostering the arts not only in our city but throughout the Gulf Coast Region. Signup is available here.

Eastern Shore Art Center 
Classes and workshops for adults and children. Visit the Center website and click on "Education."

2026-2027 Poetry Out Loud Competition Registration Open Now!

By Lyza Rodriguez • October 15, 2026

Poetry Out Loud (POL) is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life. Poetry Out Loud is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts , in partnership with Alabama State Council on the Arts and administered by Mid Atlantic Arts . The Region 1 program, facilitated by the Mobile Arts Council, involves an Interest Meet-Up Open Mic, Find Your Voice Workshop in December, followed by the Region 1 Recitation Competition in January. Winners at the Regional Level will advance to the Statewide Competition, who may advance to the National Competition. The program is FREE! Participating teachers receive free materials, including a teacher’s guide, lesson plans, and access to audio-visual materials on the art of recitation. Students may compete independently from their school. October 2026: Interest Meet-Up The Mobile Art Council will be present from 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. in the Auditorium at the Mobile Museum of Art 's GATEWAY: Family Day on October 24th . We encourage students and their families to join the Museum from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. for the festivities, enjoy the exhibitions, and performance by PowerLines Poetry. Students will have a chance to learn more about the program along with the opportunity to step up to the mic and make their voices heard. Students will be able to register for the Find Your Voice Workshop and Competition at this event. December 2026: Free Find Your Voice Workshop The Region 1 Poetry Out Loud workshop will be December 5th, 2026 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. , at Mobile Arts Council's Gallery @ Room 1927 . During this workshop, students will collaborate with the MAC PACK, a monthly poetry program facilitated by the Mobile Arts Council, with programming hosted by one of the packs published poets. Here, students will have access to poetry analysis, writing, and general competition info. The deadline to register for the 2026-2027 Poetry Out Loud Region 1 Competition is January 16th, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. There will be an opportunity to register for the competition at this workshop. Workshop Registration Here! January 2027: Competition (Rules, Registration & Dates) The Region 1 Poetry Out Loud competition will be held Saturday, January 23, 2027 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., at Baker High School . Only currently enrolled students in grades 9-12 are eligible, with an exception made for 8th-grade students participating in a 9th through 12th-grade class. A student may not advance to the state finals without competing in a lower-level competition. The deadline to register for the 2026-2027 Poetry Out Loud Region 1 Competition is January 16th, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. Region 1 consists of Baldwin, Butler, Clarke, Choctaw, Conecuh, Covington, Escambia, Marengo, Mobile, Monroe, Washington, and Wilcox counties. Only currently enrolled students in grades 9th-12th are eligible, with an exception made for 8th-grade students participating in a 9th through 12th-grade class. A student may not advance to the state finals without competing in a lower-level competition. An updated online anthology is available this year, and replaces any earlier online or printed anthologies. Note: the anthology may have additional poems added through the month of October. Please note that for the 2026-2027 program, students can choose any three poems from the anthology. Students do not need to select a poem that is 25 lines or fewer or a pre-20th century poem. Register for the Region 1 Competition! 2027 State and Regional Finals February 25, 2027: Alabama Poetry Out Loud State Finals in Montgomery, AL Wednesday, March 10, 2027: State Champion and Chaperone Registration Deadline Monday, April 26- Wednesday, April 28, 2027: National Finals Events in Washington, DC The 2027 Poetry Out Loud National Finals will be held in Washington, DC from April 26-28, 2027. Champions from each state will recite in one of three semifinal groups on Tuesday, April 27, 2027, and the top three students from each semifinal group moved on to the Poetry Out Loud National Finals on Wednesday, April 28, 2027, at 7:00 PM ET. Contact Lyza Rodriguez, Region 1 Poetry Out Loud Coordinator, with any questions at lyza@mobilearts.org .