National Endowment for the Arts: Art Works

“Art Works” refers to three things: the works of art themselves, the ways art works on audiences, and the fact that art is work for the artists and arts professionals who make up the field. Art works by enhancing the value of individuals and communities, by connecting us to each other and to something greater than ourselves, and by empowering creativity and innovation in society and the economy. The arts exist for beauty itself, but they also are an inexhaustible source of meaning and inspiration.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) recognizes these catalytic effects of excellent art, and the key role that arts and design organizations play in revitalizing them. To deepen and extend the arts’ value, including their ability to foster new connections and to exemplify creativity and innovation, the NEA welcomes proposals for projects that:

• Are likely to prove transformative with the potential for meaningful change, whether in the development or enhancement of new or existing art forms, new approaches to the creation or presentation of art, or new ways of engaging the public with art
• Are distinctive, offering fresh insights and new value for their fields and/or the public through unconventional solutions
• Have the potential to be shared and/or emulated, or are likely to lead to other advances in the field

Beyond encouraging projects that demonstrate these characteristics, the NEA wants to achieve the following four objectives through the Art Works category:

• Creation: the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence
• Engagement: public engagement with diverse and excellent art
• Learning: lifelong learning in the arts
• Livability: the strengthening of communities through the arts

Applications are accepted in the following disciplines: Artist Communities; Arts Education; Dance; Design; Folk & Traditional Arts; Literature; Local Arts Agencies; Media Arts; Museums; Music; Opera; Presenting & Multidisciplinary Works; Theater & Musical Theater; Visual Arts; and Creativity Connects Projects. Creativity Connects Projects is a new Arts Works initiative that will show how the arts are central to the country’s creativity ecosystem, investigate how support systems for the arts have changed, explore how the arts connect with other industries, and invest in projects to spark new ideas for the arts field. A key component to the Creativity Connects initiative is a pilot grant opportunity in the Art Works category to support partnerships between arts organizations and organizations from non-arts sectors.

Amount: Grants will generally range from $10,000-$100,000, with more than half of the grants awarded less than $25,000. A minimum cost share/match equal to the grant amount is required.

Eligibility: Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) U.S. organizations; units of state or local government; or federally recognized tribal communities or tribes. Applicants may be arts organizations, local arts agencies, arts service organizations, local education agencies (school districts), and other organizations that can help advance the goals of the Arts Endowment. Organizations must have a three-year history of programming prior to the application deadline.

Link: http://arts.gov/grants-organizations/art-works/grant-program-description

Note: The February 18 deadline is for submission to Grants.gov. Applicants must submit additional information to NEA-GO by March 3, 2016.

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