On May 18, 2022, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced their second round of recommended awards for fiscal year 2022, totaling nearly $91 million. Among this round’s recipients are 14 from Arizona!

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts and cultural organizations throughout the nation with these grants, providing opportunities for all of us to live artful lives,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “The arts contribute to our individual well-being, the well-being of our communities, and to our local economies. The arts are also crucial to helping us make sense of our circumstances from different perspectives as we emerge from the pandemic and plan for a shared new normal informed by our examined experience.”

The NEA is committed to equity, access, and fostering mutual respect for the diverse beliefs and values of all individuals and groups. Applications for funding demonstrated a commitment by the arts and culture sector to provide more equitable and accessible pathways for arts engagement.

Grants for Arts Projects

Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) is the principal grant category of the National Endowment for the Arts. Matching grants range from $10,000 to $100,000, and are recommended for organizations in all 50 states, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington, DC. In July 2021, the agency received 1,806 eligible GAP applications. Approved for funding are 1,125 projects totaling more than $26.6 million.

Through this grant category, the NEA supports artistically excellent projects that celebrate our creativity and cultural heritage, invite mutual respect for differing beliefs and values, and enrich humanity.

Arizona Recipients

Flagstaff Arts Council
$10,000
Flagstaff, AZ

United Sound, Inc.
$10,000
Gilbert, AZ

City of Mesa, Arizona
$40,000
Mesa, AZ

Ballet Arizona
$10,000
Phoenix, AZ

Black Theatre Troupe, Inc.
$10,000
Phoenix, AZ

City of Phoenix, Arizona – Office of Arts & Culture
$50,000
Phoenix, AZ

ASU Art Museum
$40,000
Tempe, AZ

ASU Gammage
$40,000
Tempe, AZ

American Literary Translators Association (aka ALTA)
$23,000
Tucson, AZ

Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona
$75,000
Tucson, AZ

Borderlands Theater (aka Teatro Fronterizo)
$20,000
Tucson, AZ

Lead Guitar
$20,000
Tucson, AZ

Safos Dance Theatre
$20,000
Tucson, AZ

Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts
$10,000
Wickenburg, AZ

In January 2022, the NEA announced their first round of funding for Fiscal Year 2022, representing $33.2 million in grants delivered across the country.


Banner photo: A production still from a Black Theatre Troupe production of Dream Girls.