February 2 017
IN THIS ISSUE  Arts Funding Update: Advocacy Opportunities |  Happy 3rd Birthday, CreativeGround! | Center Stage Pakistan to Tour U.S. This Spring | Register for CCX 2017 |  National Dance Project Announces New Advisors |   Read about Recently Awarded Grants  |  Apply for a Grant |  On the Blog
Arts Funding Update and Advocacy Opportunities
Last week NEFA executive director Cathy Edwards wrote a letter to our constituents with an update about federal arts funding and shared information about how to advocate to our elected officials for federal support for the arts and National Endowment for the Arts. Read that letter and visit NEFA.org for resources that relate to advocacy.
Image: Expeditions-supported Angélique Kidjo performance at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, by Judy Sirota Rosenthal.
Happy 3rd Birthday, CreativeGround!
CreativeGround , NEFA's free directory of New England creative businesses, artists, and cultural organizations, reached three years of operation last month! Since launching in 2014, over six thousand people have made CreativeGround their home for connecting to the creative economy of New England. 
 
Learn more about how users helped us improve the site, new ways you can classify your work, and how you can become a part of the community!
Image: CreativeGround launch party in 2013, by Sancho Maulion.
Center Stage Pakistan to Tour U.S. This Spring
Center Stage Pakistan ensembles, Sanam Marvi and Sounds of Kolachi, from Hyderabad and Karachi, Pakistan will tour the U.S. this spring.
 
You can help us be part of welcoming international artists to America by joining for performances and activities from Derry, NH, to Houston, TX.
Image: Sanam Marvi, by Kohi Marri.
Register for CCX 2017!
 
Creative Communities Exchange (CCX) 
June 8-9, 2017 | New London, CT
Join New England leaders to exchange ideas, build our network, and share actionable tools to strengthen our communities through arts and culture. Learn about creative economy initiatives from throughout New England and NEFA's in-depth report on the employment of the New England creative sector, including findings from the Creatives Count direct survey of the region's creative workers.
$100 through 4.14 | $150 after

Help local host Southeastern Connecticut Cultural Coalition plan engaging events before, during, and after the CCX by taking this quick poll.
National Dance Project Announces New Advisors
National Dance Project  (NDP) is pleased to announce new Advisors:
  • Ann Brusky - John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
  • Shane Fernando - Cape Fear Community College / Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Wilmington, NC
  • Dayna Hanson - Dayna Hanson Company / Base, Seattle, WA
  • Bebe Miller - Bebe Miller Company, Columbus, OH
  • Pranita Nayar - Mandala South Asian Performing Arts, Chicago, IL
  • Renae Williams Niles - University of Southern California, Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, Los Angeles, CA
  • Michael Sakamoto - Department of Dance, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
NDP would like to thank our five returning Advisors for their continued service and extend a special thank you to our outgoing Advisors, whose service and insight during NDP's 20th anniversary year was essential.
Image: New England Dance Fund grantee Marsha Parrilla//Danza Orgánica, photo by Ernesto Galán.
Read about Recently Awarded Grants
Apply for a Grant

Grant deadlines are at 11:59 PM ET, with staff available until 5:00 PM ET.

On the Blog
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MISSION
 NEFA builds connections among artists, arts organizations, and funders, powering the arts to energize communities in New England, the nation, and the world. 
ABOUT NEFA
 The New England Foundation for the Arts invests in the arts to enrich communities in New England and beyond. NEFA accomplishes this by granting funds to artists and cultural organizations; connecting them to each other and their audiences; and analyzing their economic contributions. NEFA serves as a regional partner for the National Endowment for the Arts, New England's state arts agencies, and private foundations.  Learn more at nefa.org .