For its first major grant funding round of fiscal year 2017, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced more than $30 million will be awarded to nonprofit organizations and individuals across the country for grants in the areas of Art Works, Art Works: Creativity Connects, Challenge America, and Creative Writing Fellowships. These grants cross all artistic disciplines, reach 48 states as well as Washington, DC, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and also support partnerships between the arts and non-arts sectors.
In Washington State, the grants support 34 projects in communities large and small and will bring $975,000 into the state, which will be leveraged by local matching funds.
"Many of our state's large cultural institutions and several of our small organizations will receive NEA funding in this first round," said Karen Hanan, Executive Director of the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA). "And we're particularly thankful for the NEA's support of the Creative Advantage, a major arts education initiative in Washington state."
The Creative Advantage arts education initiative is a
unique public-private partnership between the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS), Seattle Public Schools (SPS), The Seattle Foundation, and community arts partners.
"The arts are for all of us, and by supporting these projects, the National Endowment for the Arts is providing more opportunities for the public to engage with the arts," said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. "Whether in a theater, a town square, a museum, or a hospital, the arts are everywhere and make our lives richer."
