National Endowment for the Arts Awards Grants for Arts Journalism Projects

Washington, DC -- The National Endowment for the Arts is committed to advancing arts journalism in the digital age and to funding projects that feature new models for sustaining arts criticism and coverage. Starting in January 2013 with the posting of the 2014 Art Works guidelines, the NEA encouraged organizations to apply for funding to support these kinds of projects. The field responded to that call for applications and four arts journalism grants were included in the Art Works announcement on April 23, 2013.

The NEA began its most recent chapter promoting arts journalism when it partnered with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to create the Knight/NEA Community Arts Journalism Challenge in July 2011. With the announcement of its three finalists, the Challenge concluded in April 2012. At that time, the NEA reaffirmed its interest by folding support for arts journalism into the Art Works category, primarily through the local arts agencies program.

ARTS JOURNALISM FUNDED PROJECTS
The four projects (two through local arts agencies and two through the media arts discipline) are based on partnerships with public media, using radio and/or television as integral components of new information channels. All four also engage journalism professionals and one features a collaboration with a university journalism program.

Community Television of Southern California (aka KCET)
Burbank, CA
Grant Amount: $75,000

To support Artbound, a transmedia arts journalism initiative exploring Southern California’s cultural landscape. Every day more than 50 arts journalists, covering 11 Southern California counties, will contribute blogs to the KCET website where the most read and shared will become the subject of a short documentary film and potentially packaged into one-hour television episodes. Previous Artboundsegments range from an interview with Frank Gehry to a piece about a laundromat doubling as an art gallery.

KQED
San Francisco, CA
Grant Amount: $50,000

To support the production of a free mobile and tablet application to provide audiences with information about the Bay Area arts scene. Designed for both iOS and Android operating systems, the app will aggregate KQED-produced arts content and coverage, along with content produced by partner organizations and user engagement opportunities.

Macon Arts Alliance
Macon, GA
Grant Amount: $40,000

To support ArtMatters: Engaging the Community through Embedded Arts Journalists. In partnership with the journalism program at Mercer University and with Georgia Public Broadcasting, seasoned arts journalists will instruct college students on arts journalism and the students will create stories for local news outlets. Project activity also will include a series of arts criticism symposia conducted for the community.

Regional Cultural and Performing Arts Development Commission (aka Regional Arts Commission)
St. Louis, MO
Grant Amount: $40,000

To support the creation of Art Fusion, a series of arts commentary segments for St. Louis media outlets. Designed to increase critical commentary and review of arts in the media, the commission will partner with the region’s public television station, Nine Network (KETC-TV), to develop interviews with arts critics, journalists, and educators. The interviews will be broadcast on local media outlets including Nine Network, the St. Louis Beacon, an original-content online newspaper, and the new Radio Arts Foundation cultural radio station, which will also broadcast and link to the commentary segments online.

FUNDING DEADLINE
Arts and cultural organizations will have another opportunity to apply for funding to support arts journalism projects with the August 8, 2013 Art Works deadline. Projects that address the engagement outcome under Art Works including services to the field, audience development, and innovative uses of new models and technology are eligible under the following disciplines:

In addition, the NEA featured the three finalists of the Knight/NEA Community Arts Journalism Challenge in a series of blog posts about their accomplishments and plans for the future.

National Endowment for the Arts · an independent federal agency
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20506


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