In pursuit of its commitment to advance the creative capacity of people and communities across the nation, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announces its second round of funding for FY2018. This funding round includes annual partnerships with state, jurisdictional, and regional arts agencies as well as the categories of Art Works, Creativity Connects, Our Town, and Research: Art Works. The NEA will award 1,071 grants totaling $80.5 million to support programs that provide jobs to artists, administrators, and other creative workers and arts experiences for millions of people.
“The variety and quality of these projects speaks to the wealth of creativity and diversity in our country,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “From Atlanta, Georgia to Sparks, Nevada, NEA funding reaches thousands of communities, assisting local organizations and providing access to the arts to all.”
11 Arizona arts organizations were awarded a total amount of $445,000 for support of projects such as: $100,000 Our Town Grant to the City of Phoenix Housing Department to support a public art master plan and community arts programming in the Edison-Eastlake neighborhood; $20,000 Art Works Grant to the Grand Canyon Chamber Music Festival to support the Native American Composer Apprentice Project (NACAP); and $40,000 Art Works Grant to the Southwest Folklife Alliance, Inc. to support folklife activities, including an e-journal publication and an apprenticeship program, as well as the development of resources for teachers, hospice care, and cultural workers.
Number of Grants: 11
Total Dollar Amount: $445,000
Grand Canyon Chamber Music Festival (aka Grand Canyon Music Festival)
Award: $20,000
City: Grand Canyon, AZ
Category: Art Works — Arts Education
To support the Native American Composer Apprentice Project (NACAP).
City of Mesa, Arizona (aka Mesa Arts Center)
Award: $75,000
City: Mesa, AZ
Category: Our Town — Design
To support artist residencies and design prototype installations in the southside neighborhoods of downtown Mesa, Arizona.
Arizona Opera (aka Arizona Opera Company)
Award: $20,000
City: Phoenix, AZ
Category: Art Works — Opera
To support performances of “Silent Night” by composer Kevin Puts and librettist Mark Campbell and the Cultural Festival.
Ballet Arizona
Award: $30,000
City: Phoenix, AZ
Category: Art Works — Dance
To support Ballet Under the Stars, a free outdoor performance series in local parks throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area.
City of Phoenix, Arizona (aka City of Phoenix Housing Department) (on behalf of Housing Department)
Award: $100,000
City: Phoenix, AZ
Category: Our Town — Design
To support a public art master plan and community arts programming in the Edison-Eastlake neighborhood.
City of Phoenix, Arizona (on behalf of Phoenix Office of Arts & Culture)
Award: $50,000
City: Phoenix, AZ
Category: Art Works — Local Arts Agencies
To support the Phoenix Neighborhood Arts grants program.
Lead Guitar (aka Lead Guitar)
Award: $15,000
City: Tucson, AZ
Category: Art Works — Arts Education
To support a free classical guitar program in Chicago Public Schools.
Southwest Folklife Alliance, Inc. (aka Tucson Meet Yourself)
Award: $40,000
City: Tucson, AZ
Category: Art Works — Folk & Traditional Arts
To support folklife activities, including an e-journal publication and an apprenticeship program, as well as the development of resources for teachers, hospice care, and cultural workers.
Southwest Folklife Alliance, Inc. (aka Tucson Meet Yourself)
Award: $35,000
City: Tucson, AZ
Category: Art Works — Folk & Traditional Arts
To support the Tucson Meet Yourself Folklife Festival.
University of Arizona
Award: $45,000
City: Tucson, AZ
Category: Art Works — Visual Arts
To support artists residencies by Matthew Garcia and Andres Hernandez.
Western Jazz Presenters Network, Inc.
Award: $15,000
City: Tucson, AZ
Category: Art Works — Music
To support tours with pianist Gerald Clayton and his trio.
ART WORKS II
Art Works is the NEA’s largest category and focuses on funding the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with art, lifelong learning in the arts, and strengthening of communities through the arts.
CREATIVITY CONNECTS
Creativity Connects advances the role of the arts in the nation’s creative ecosystem by supporting projects featuring partnerships between the arts and non-arts sectors. The 35 recommended projects involve the fields of nutrition, juvenile justice, science, technology, the military, and healthcare, among many others.
RESEARCH: ART WORKS
Research: Art Works supports research that investigates the value and/or impact of the arts, either as individual components of the U.S. arts ecology or as they interact with each other and/or with other domains of American life.
OUR TOWN
Our Town is the NEA’s signature creative placemaking program that supports partnerships of artists, arts organizations, and municipal government that work to revitalize neighborhoods. This practice places arts at the table with land-use, transportation, economic development, education, housing, infrastructure, and public safety strategies to address a community’s challenges. Creative placemaking highlights the distinctiveness of a place, encouraging residents to identify and build upon their local creative assets.
About the National Endowment for the Arts
Established by Congress in 1965, the NEA is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the NEA supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. For more information, visit www.arts.gov.
To read the entire announcement, click here.
Image courtesy of Ballet Arizona. Ballet Arizona’s Student Matinee community outreach and education program.
