National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman today announced the latest round of NEA funding totaling $26.68 million awarded through 1,057 grants to nonprofit national, regional, state, and local organizations nationwide. This also includes the NEA's most recent class of Creative Writing Fellows.
Chairman Landesman said, "I continue to be impressed with the creative, innovative, and excellent projects brought forward by arts organizations across the country. Our grantees are not only furthering their art forms but also enhancing their neighborhoods by making them more vibrant, livable, and fun."
This round of funding is provided through three grant programs: Access to Artistic Excellence, Challenge America Fast Track, and Creative Writing Fellowships.
Access to Artistic Excellence grants support the creation and presentation of work in the disciplines of artist communities, dance, design, folk and traditional arts, literature, media arts, museums, music, musical theater, opera, 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, 843 grants out of 1,524 eligible applications are recommended for funding for a total of $23.75 million. Please see the complete listing of projects at http://www.arts.gov/grants/recent/11grants/11AAE.php?CAT=Access&DIS=Artists%20Communities
Challenge America Fast Track grants offer support primarily to smaller and mid-sized organizations for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, demographics, economics, or disability. In this funding round, 170 projects are recommended for support of $10,000 each for a total of $1.7 million. Please see the complete listing of projects at http://www.arts.gov/grants/recent/11grants/11cham.php?disc=Challenge%20America
Creative Writing Fellowships encourage the production of new works of literature by allowing writers the time and means to write. The fellowships alternate annually between poetry and prose with poetry supported in this round. Panelists reviewed more than 10,000 manuscript pages from the 1,063 eligible applications submitted. The 42 poets who were recommended will receive a fellowship of $25,000 each for a total of $1,050,000. Please see the complete listing of poets at http://www.arts.gov/grants/recent/11grants/litFellows.php
Here in Wyoming, the Lander Children's Museum received a Challenge America Fast Track grant to support Lander Explores Termespheres - A Community Presentation of Arts, Geometry and Science. Artist Dick Termes, who paints in six-point perspective, will present an exhibit of his work and lead public workshops and classes for high school art and geometry students.
