NEA awards $19,432,000 in 819 new grants

IFACCA/Artshub,
08 January 2002, USA

Washington D.C. - The National Endowment for the Arts has announced $19,432,000 awarded through 819 grants. This marks the first major funding round of Fiscal Year 2002, which began on October 1, and constitutes 20% of the Endowment's grant funds for the year. Awards will be distributed to nonprofit organizations across the country through two of the Endowment's Grants to Organizations categories, Creativity and Organizational Capacity, and to individuals through Literature Fellowships. Robert Martin, Acting Chairman of the Arts Endowment, said, 'Through these grants, the NEA will help fund the creation and presentation of artwork, support organizations in their efforts to better serve their respective fields, and encourage writers to produce new work.' The Arts Endowment's budget appropriation for FY 2002 is $115.2 million, representing the second consecutive budget increase the agency has received since 1992 and an increase of $10 million over last year's budget. Of the $115.2 million, $96.7 million is designated for grantmaking. Of the $96.7 million, $17 million is dedicated to the agency's Challenge America program. Challenge America awards will be announced beginning in spring 2002. Grant distribution is:
  • Creativity with 726 grants totaling $16,675,000,
  • Organizational Capacity with 48 grants totaling $1,937,000,
  • Literature Fellowships of $820,000, 36 in fiction and creative nonfiction and nine in translation. Creativity grants will support all aspects of the creation and presentation of artistic work including commissions, residencies, rehearsals, workshops, performances, exhibitions, publications and festivals. The 726 projects are expected to produce 7,000 artistic events or opportunities for interaction between artists and audiences. Examples of projects supported by Creativity grants include:
  • Bates College in Lewiston, Maine on behalf of the Bates Dance Festival which will commission and present work and conduct outreach activities involving four dance artists.
  • Facets Multi-Media in Chicago will produce the annual Chicago International Children's Film Festival and related media arts programs for children.
  • The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston will mount a touring exhibition on the history of Japanese photography, co-organized with the Japan Foundation in Tokyo. Organizational Capacity grants will serve a broad constituency and support projects that develop future arts leaders and enhance the skills of those already working in the field. Examples of projects supported by Organizational Capacity grants include:
  • The Wisconsin Assembly for Local Arts in Madison, Wisconsin will conduct its Arts Leadership Program.
  • Ink People in Eureka, California will continue and expand services for emerging Humboldt County arts organizations. The Arts Endowment's Literature Fellowships represent one of the agency's most direct investments in American creativity by supporting writers in the development of their work. The program's goal is to encourage production of new work by affording artists the time to write. Simultaneously, the fellowships give writers national recognition and invaluable validation of their talent to peers, agents, publishers and presenters around the country. During the past 35 years, the agency has awarded $38 million through its Creative Writing Fellowships to 2,400 writers, and sponsored work resulting in over 2,300 books.

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