BATON ROUGE – The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced a second round of major grant funding totaling more than $88 million in recommended grants to organizations in all 50 states and jurisdictions for Fiscal Year 2021. The Louisiana Division of Arts and 21 arts organizations around the state will receive more than $1.5 million in grant funding. The Division of Arts is receiving $822,500 to support its NEA-approved strategic plan and an additional $695,000 is going to support arts organizations around Louisiana.
“One of Louisiana’s greatest assets is our rich history in the arts, and our music. You really won’t find anything like it anywhere in the country that Feeds Your Soul the way Louisiana can,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “Arts and culture are a strong economic engine in Louisiana, attracting visitors every year to experience our unique way of life. Preserving and furthering the arts in Louisiana needs to be a priority.”
“As the country and the arts sector begin to imagine returning to a post-pandemic world, the National Endowment for the Arts is proud to announce funding that will help arts organizations reengage fully with partners and audiences,” said NEA Acting Chairman Ann Eilers. “While the arts, whether through books, movies, or online performances and programs, have been a sustaining force for many throughout the pandemic, the chance to gather with one another and share arts experiences is its own necessity and pleasure.”
There are three main categories of funding throughout different artistic disciplines and fields. Those categories include:
Grants for Arts Projects: Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) is the principal grant category of the National Endowment for the Arts, supporting public engagement with, and access to, various forms of art across the nation, the creation of excellent art, learning in the arts at all stages of life, and the integration of the arts into the fabric of community life.
Matching grants in this category range from $10,000 to $100,000, cover 13 artistic disciplines and are for organizations in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, DC. In July 2020, the agency received 1,924 eligible GAP applications. Approved for funding nationwide are 1,172 projects totaling more than $27 million.
Our Town Grants Program: Our Town is the Arts Endowment’s creative placemaking grants program, supporting projects that integrate arts, culture, and design activities into efforts that strengthen communities by advancing local economic, physical, and/or social outcomes.
Matching grants in this category range from $25,000 to $150,000 and support projects that will take place in 28 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Northern Mariana Islands, including rural or tribal communities across the country, from Alaska’s North Slope to Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. In August 2020, the agency received 370 eligible applications. Approved for funding nationwide are 63 projects totaling more than $4 million.
State and Regional Partnership Agreements: In partnership with the state and jurisdictional arts agencies (SAAs) and regional arts organizations (RAOs), the National Endowment for the Arts provides federal support for projects that benefit local communities.
The Partnership Agreements for the state arts agencies provide funds to address priorities identified at the state level and help to cultivate a strong statewide arts infrastructure and position the arts in a broad range of areas such as cultural tourism, community revitalization, economic development, education, and health and human services.
The regional arts organizations, each representing a geographic grouping of states, assist the Arts Endowment in distributing funds and programs nationally through touring and other activities that are responsive to the needs of the region.
Each year, 40% of the agency’s grantmaking funds are designated for state arts agencies, regional arts organizations, and national service organizations that support the work of the states and regions. A total of $56.7 million is recommended for these partners in FY 2021, with $45.7 million of that total designated for the state arts agencies.
For a complete list of Louisiana Grant Recipients, along with project descriptions, view the National Endowment for the Arts Louisiana Grant Recipients document.
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