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Chairman Rocco Landesman Announces the Second Round of FY2010 National Endowment for the Arts Grants

NEA to invest more than $97 million to support arts projects nationwide

April 22, 2010

		Contact: Liz Stark 202-682-5744 starke@arts.gov

Washington, D.C. -- National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman today announced the NEA's latest round of funding for fiscal year 2010 in the categories of Access to Artistic Excellence, Learning in the Arts, Arts on Radio and Television, and Partnership Agreements (State and Regional). The Arts Endowment will distribute $97,632,100 through 1,323 grants to nonprofit national, regional, state, and local organizations nationwide. 

Chairman Landesman said, "Everywhere I have traveled over the past 9 months, I have been encouraged by the resilience and adaptability of our arts organizations, as they strive to fulfill their missions in the midst of a challenging economy. I've learned that a thriving arts sector brings with it economic and cultural vitality that helps drive community sustainability. These NEA grants will help sustain art work and keep it working for the organization, its community, and the nation."

Access to Artistic Excellence grants support the creation and presentation of work in the disciplines of dance, design, folk and traditional arts, literature, media arts, museums, music, musical theater, presenting, theater, and visual arts. Projects include commissions, residencies, workshops, performances, exhibitions, publications, festivals, and professional development programs. This round of funding also includes grants to local arts agencies for multidisciplinary projects, such as community-wide festivals and public art commissions. Through the Access to Artistic Excellence category, the NEA will award 950 grants out of 1,581 eligible applications, for a total of $27,457,500.

Examples of projects supported by Access to Artistic Excellence grants include:

• Virginia's Arlington Arts Center received a grant of $20,000 to support the Public Art Learning Project. Through site visits and workshops, middle school students will learn about public art and create a temporary public artwork that will be exhibited in the neighborhood where many of the participants live. 
• Pennsylvania's Erie Art Museum, aka ClaySpace, received a grant of $20,000 to support Old Songs New Opportunities, a project to provide training for refugee women to work in daycare centers and share their indigenous children's songs and games with the children.
• New York City's International Center of Photography received a grant of $150,000 to support the touring exhibition The Mexican Suitcase, with accompanying catalogue, publication, and interactive website. The exhibition and catalogue will display never before seen images from the Spanish Civil War taken by Robert Capa (1913-1954), David Seymour (1911-1956), and Gerda Taro (1910-1937).
• Whitesburg, Kentucky's, Appalshop, Inc. received a grant of $30,000 for their Roadside Theater to tour original Appalachian plays, conduct community residencies, design and lead professional training workshops, and provide enrichment programs for Appalachian youth.
• The Georgia Museum of Art received a grant of $140,000 to support the touring exhibition Art Interrupted: Advancing American Art and the Politics of Cultural Diplomacy, with an accompanying catalogue. The exhibition will reassemble a group of modernist paintings purchased by the U.S. State Department in 1946 for a goodwill tour.

Please see the complete listing of projects receiving Access to Artistic Excellence grant support in this round of fiscal year 2010 funding.

Learning in the Arts grants strengthen American educational opportunities by providing children with focused arts instruction, exposing them to legendary artists, and introducing children to artworks of the highest quality. Through the Learning in the Arts category, the NEA will award 255 grants out of 658 eligible applications, for a total of $8,425,000.

Examples of projects supported by Learning in the Arts grants include:

• Salt Lake City's University of Utah received a grant of $80,000 to support the Tanner Dance program's Side-by-Side Teacher Training Residency. Students in kindergarten through sixth grades and their teachers will practice dance skills on a weekly basis through in-school residencies and workshops for teachers.
• WNYC Radio in New York City received a grant of $62,000 to support Radio Rookies, a media arts education program. Open to young people from New York City's five boroughs, the program will provide training in all aspects of radio production.
• Portland, Oregon's Camp Caldera received a grant of $50,000 to support Art & Design, a visual arts education program. Students will learn principles of design and then implement them in graphic design projects including product design, fashion design, advertising, magazine layout, and architecture.

Please see the complete listing of projects receiving Learning in the Arts grant support in this round of fiscal year 2010 funding.

Arts on Radio and Television grants support the development, production, and national distribution of radio and television programs on the arts. Through the Arts on Radio and Television category, the NEA will award 54 grants out of 149 eligible applications, for a total of $4,030,000.

Examples of projects supported by Arts on Radio and Television grants include:

• Chicago's Kartemquin Films received a grant of $25,000 to support the production of the documentary A Good Man. The film will chronicle the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company as they create a piece inspired by Abraham Lincoln.
• California's L.A. Theatre Works received a grant of $20,000 to support the production and distribution of The Play's the Thing, a radio theater series intended for broadcast on satellite and public radio stations nationwide. The 52-week series will include new radio plays, as well as selections from L.A. Theatre Works' extensive audio drama collection.

Please see the complete listing of projects receiving Arts on Radio and Television grant support in this round of fiscal year 2010 funding.

Partnership grants provide support to the 56 state, jurisdictional, and territorial arts agencies, the six regional arts organizations, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, and Pacific Resources for Education and Learning. In total, 64 grants were awarded in this category for a total of $57,719,600. Please see the complete listing of Partnership grants.

A state-by-state listing of the grants announced in this release is also available.

The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established, bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the nation's largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. For more information, please visit http://www.arts.gov. 

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