As a part of its regular grantmaking, separate from grants related to CARES Act funding, the National Endowment for the Arts announces over $84 million through 1,144 new awards to organizations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and each of the five U.S. territories. Grants will be awarded in 13 artistic disciplines, arts research, and partnership agreements with all U.S. state and regional arts agencies.
Applications for these recommended grants were submitted to the Arts Endowment last summer and reflected the wide range of performances, exhibitions, and activities that the agency has traditionally funded. At the end of March 2020, the listed projects were approved, followed by two months of extensive technical assistance in which agency staff worked one-on-one with hundreds of organizations to adjust their projects to meet the new reality created by the pandemic. Changes include postponing activities and taking activities virtual as the examples below illustrate. As a result of this, plus additional work related to the CARES Act, project descriptions are not being included in the grant lists accompanying this announcement. The most current information for all projects will be available on the agency’s
grant search tool
.
"These awards demonstrate the continued creativity and excellence of arts projects across America and the nimbleness of our nation’s arts organizations in the face of a national crisis that shuttered their doors for months," said Mary Anne Carter, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. “By funding arts projects in every U.S. state, territory, and the District of Columbia, the National Endowment for the Arts again celebrates the opportunity to make the arts available to every corner of the country and to see how the arts can heal and unite us.”
Janet Starke, Executive Director of the Virginia Commission for the Arts, said, "These awards from the National Endowment for the Arts affirm the good and important work of arts organizations and artists across the Commonwealth. We are hopeful that these projects will still take place and be able to achieve the meaningful community impact the organizations originally aimed to attain, at a time when communities will look to the arts now more than ever."
In addition, the Virginia Commission for the Arts was pleased to receive an increase in funding of their Partnership Agreement with the Arts Endowment, from $716,800 to $760,000 for the year ahead. To this, Janet Starke said, "We are honored to receive an increase in funding from the Arts Endowment which, in turn, increases our capacity to be of service to the field, across the Commonwealth."
Number of Grants: 20 Total Dollar Amount: $1,160,000
B
arter Foundation, Incorporated State Theatre of Virginia (aka Barter Theatre)
$10,000
Abingdon, VA
Art Works - Musical Theater
Art League, Inc. (aka The Art League)
$20,000
Alexandria, VA
Art Works - Visual Arts
American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras
$15,000
Annandale, VA
Art Works – Music
Arlington County, Virginia
$35,000
Arlington, VA
Art Works - Local Arts Agencies
Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association, Inc. (aka WETA)
$20,000
Arlington, VA
Art Works - Media Arts
PBS Foundation
$20,000
Arlington, VA
Art Works - Media Arts
Victory Hall Opera
$10,000
Charlottesville, VA
Art Works - Opera
James Madison University
$10,000
Harrisonburg, VA
Art Works - Literary Arts
A Place To Be
$10,000
Middleburg, VA
Art Works - Musical Theater
Muse Writers Center
$10,000
Norfolk, VA
Art Works - Literary Arts
National Art Education Association (aka NAEA)
$30,000
Reston, VA
Art Works - Arts Education
1708 Gallery
$35,000
Richmond, VA
Art Works - Visual Arts
Dogtown Dance Theatre
$10,000
Richmond, VA
Art Works - Dance
Firehouse Theatre Project Inc (aka Firehouse)
$15,000
Richmond, VA
Art Works - Musical Theater
Richmond Symphony
$15,000
Richmond, VA
Art Works - Music
Virginia Commission for the Arts
$760,000
Richmond, VA
Partnerships (State & Regional) - State & Regional
Virginia Commonwealth University (aka VCU)
$15,000
Richmond, VA
Art Works - Media Arts
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (aka VMFA)
$45,000
Richmond, VA
Art Works - Museums
Tamworth Music Festival (aka Staunton Music Festival)
$10,000
Staunton, VA
Art Works - Music
Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts (aka Wolf Trap)
$65,000
Vienna, VA
Art Works - Opera
About the National Endowment for the Arts
Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the Arts Endowment supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America's rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Visit
arts.gov
to learn more.
About the Virginia Commission for the Arts
The Virginia Commission for the Arts is the state agency that supports the arts through funding from the Virginia General Assembly and the
National Endowment for the Arts
. The Commission, which was created in 1968, is guided by
13 Commissioners
appointed to five-year terms by the Governor and confirmed by the General Assembly. To ensure statewide representation, at least one Commissioner -- and no more than two -- is appointed from each Congressional district. The Commission is assisted by a statewide network of
advisory (grants) panelists
. Virginia Commission for the Arts supports artistic excellence and encourages growth in artistic quality for the benefit of all Virginians. For more information about the Virginia Commission for the Arts, visit
www.arts.virginia.gov
or call (804) 225-3132.
