May 16, 2019
National Endowment for the Arts Announces Grants to Phoenix Arts Organizations
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Acting Chairman Mary Anne Carter has approved more than $80 million in grants as part of the NEA’s second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2019. 

Art Works, the NEA's principal grantmaking program received 1,592 Art Works applications for this round of investments and awarded 977 grants in this category, including grants to these three Phoenix arts organizations:

Ballet Arizona, $30,000
To support Ballet Under the Stars, a free outdoor performance series in local parks throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area.

The Phoenix Theatre Company, $10,000
To support the development and world premiere production of Americano.

Rising Youth Theatre, $10,000
To support Face to Face, an intergenerational convening of youth and adult artists from a wide range of backgrounds that will culminate in the development and performance of an original play.

Also announced was an Art Works grant of $30,000 to the Phoenix Office Arts and Culture for another round of investments in the Neighborhood Arts Grant program.

The Office was additionally awarded an Our Town Grant of $125,000 for sunBLOCK. This project will tackle the most serious climate hazard facing Phoenix by creating permanent and temporary public art microclimates that lower the intense heat confronting pedestrians along key corridors in two of Central Phoenix’s hottest neighborhoods. The NEA announced 57 awards totaling $4.1 million supporting projects across the nation through the Arts Endowment’s Our Town program.

“These awards, reaching every corner of the United States, are a testament to the artistic richness and diversity in our country,” said Mary Anne Carter, acting chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. “Local arts agencies such as the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture are giving people in their community the opportunity to learn, create, and be inspired.”

For more information on the full grant announcement, please visit arts.gov/news.

The next NEA Art Works grant deadline is July 11, 2019. Visit the NEA's grant page to learn more.
IN FLUX on Display
More than 180 people stopped by the Burton Barr Central Library on First Friday in May to see and talk with artists Daniel Funkhouser and Christy Puetz about their temporary sculptural installations. Their works are located on the library’s first and second floors and are part of the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture’s INFLUX partnership with public art programs in Chandler, Glendale, Peoria, Scottsdale, and Tempe. The collaboration features temporary installations by ten artists throughout the Valley. Don’t worry if you missed the May 3 event. The works will be on display through early 2020. 

For more information about INFLUX, its artists, past projects, events, and current opportunities visit www.INFLUXAZ.com.

Christy Puetz (top)
Curious Creatures, bead embroidery on cloth, mixed media
2018-2019

Daniel Funkhouser (bottom)
Radiant Grove, plywood, acrylic, steel, paint
2019
Reminder: Public Art Survey
Are you an artist? Are you interested in making public art for the City of Phoenix? Then don't forget to complete the public art survey for artists!
 
The Office of Arts and Culture is issuing a survey in order to evaluate the professional development needs for local artists interested in being commissioned for public art projects. Survey responses will provide valuable feedback on resources we could offer to widen the pool of artists for future public art projects. The survey is available in both English and Spanish, and hard copy surveys are available by contacting the Office at 602-495-0191.
Public Allies Arizona is Accepting Applications for 2019-2020
Do you have a project that you would love to implement, but lack the staffing capacity, funding or other resources to bring it off the shelf? Or maybe you have a program that would benefit from an innovative and enthusiastic young leader. Public Allies Arizona can help and is accepting applications now to place a talented, diverse young adult(s) in full-time service at your nonprofit.

Public Allies Arizona is seeking to build lasting relationships with local community partners that support diverse, talented young leaders in our community by placing these AmeriCorps members in our 10-month paid apprenticeship for the 2019-2020 program year (September-June). They see strong partnerships as key to fulfilling our mission to create a just and equitable society and the diverse leadership to sustain it.
Well Site Community Meeting
The Public Art Program joined the Water Services and Neighborhood Services Departments at the April 27 kick-off for the Community Well Site 156 enhancement project. The event, which was held at the site at 62nd Avenue and Osborn Road, featured displays by the project’s design team (artist Jeff Zischke, landscape architect Janet Waibel and the engineering firm Wood Patel). Residents came out to talk with the team and recommend how they would like to see the site improved. The recommendations include combinations of artwork, lighting and landscaping, to add shade and improve the site’s safety and appearance. The public art project is one of five now under way to enhance community well sites citywide. The design is expected to be completed in Fall 2019.
New Report Reveals Findings on Artists and Other Cultural Workers
The National Endowment for the Arts released the third in a series of research reports describing the arts ecosystem in the United States. Available today, the Office of Research & Analysis (ORA) at the Arts Endowment presents Artists and Other Cultural Workers: A Statistical Portrait. Incorporating data from six federal sources, the new report examines employment trends, demographic characteristics, earnings, and other attributes of those working in the arts and cultural sector.

Artists and Other Cultural Workers complements the agency’s previous reports on the economic impact of arts and culture (2019 Report of the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account) and rates of participation in arts and cultural activities (U.S. Trends in Arts Attendance and Literary Reading: 2002-2017). Together, the three reports improve public understanding of how arts and culture are integral to everyday life.

Among the report's key findings are:
  • More than five million workers are employed in arts and cultural industries as measured by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
  • Nearly 2.5 million workers are artists as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Artists are becoming a larger share of the U.S. labor force as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Artists are 3.6 times as likely as other workers to be self-employed as measured by the U.S. Census Bureau.