National Endowment for the Arts Announces Nationwide Awards with More Than $3M in M-AAA’s Region
By Elizabeth Snell
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has announced $36,790,500 in funding through 1,474 awards to support the arts across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, DC. These awards span categories like Grants for Arts Projects, Challenge America, Research Grants in the Arts, and Literature Fellowships, empowering organizations and individuals to enrich their communities through creativity.
From public arts engagement and education to innovative research and inclusive cultural initiatives, the NEA continues its nearly 60-year legacy of fostering art’s transformative power while inspiring connection and growth in communities nationwide.
The NEA is currently accepting applications these two programs:
Grants for Arts Projects (Part 1 Deadline Feb. 13)
Funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, Grants for Arts Projects provides funding opportunities to strengthen the nation’s arts and cultural ecosystem. Grants are available for arts projects in a wide variety of artistic disciplines. Applicants may request cost share/matching grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. Designated local arts agencies eligible to subgrant may request from $30,000 to $150,000.
Challenge America (Deadline Apr. 24)
Challenge America offers support primarily to small organizations for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved groups/communities. Challenge America features an abbreviated application, a robust structure of technical assistance, and matching grants of $10,000.
NEA Supports Arts the Heartland
More than $3 million for 125 awards have been announced within the M-AAA six state region of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. See the state by state listing.
Arkansas
- Ra-Ve Cultural Foundation Inc, Bentonville, AR
- Oxford American Literary Project (aka The Oxford American), Conway, AR
- Theatre Squared, Inc., Fayetteville, AR
- University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR
- Sonny Boy Blues Society (aka King Biscuit Blues Festival), Helena, AR
- Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute (aka Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival), Hot Springs, AR
- Delta Symphony Orchestra (aka DSO), Jonesboro, AR
Kansas
- The Arts Center Inc., Anthony, KS
- Ballet Wichita, Inc., Wichita, KS
- Tallgrass Film Association (aka Tallgrass or Tallgrass Film Festival), Wichita, KS
Missouri
- Ragtag Film Society (aka Ragtag Cinema and True/False Film Fest) , Columbia, MO
- We Always Swing Inc. (aka “We Always Swing” Jazz Series), Columbia, MO
- Art as Mentorship, Inc., Kansas City, MO
- Charlotte Street Foundation, Kansas City, MO
- Children’s Mercy Hospital (aka Children’s Mercy), Kansas City, MO
- Coterie, Inc., Kansas City, MO
- Folk Alliance International, Kansas City, MO
- Kansas City Ballet Association (aka Kansas City Ballet), Kansas City, MO
- Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey, Inc. (aka KCFAA), Kansas City, MO
- Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Inc., Kansas City, MO
- Kansas City Symphony, Kansas City, MO
- Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Inc., Kansas City, MO
- No Divide KC, Kansas City, MO
- Spinning Tree Theatre, Kansas City, MO
- Unicorn Theatre, Kansas City, MO
- Jarboe, Canese, St. Joseph, MO
- Big River Association (aka River Styx), St. Louis, MO
- Cinema St. Louis (aka St. Louis International Film Festival), St. Louis, MO
- Dance Saint Louis (aka Dance St. Louis), St. Louis, MO
- Dances of India, St. Louis, MO
- International Institute of Metropolitan St. Louis (aka International Institute of St. Louis), St. Louis, MO
- Kranzberg Arts Foundation, St. Louis, MO
- Prison Performing Arts, St. Louis, MO
- Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective, St. Louis, MO
- Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra (aka St. Louis Symphony Orchestra ), St. Louis, MO
- St. Louis Black Repertory Company, Inc., St. Louis, MO
- St. Louis Dance Theatre (aka The Big Muddy Dance Company), St. Louis, MO
- St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, St. Louis, MO
- Webster University, St. Louis, MO
- St. Louis Art Place Initiative Inc., St. Louis, MO
Nebraska
- Crane River Theater Company, Inc., Kearney, NE
- Lincoln Crossroads Festival, Lincoln, NE
- Lincoln Music Teachers Association, Lincoln, NE
- Lincoln Orchestra Association (aka Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra), Lincoln, NE
- Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, NE
- Benson First Friday Inc., Omaha, NE
- Circle Theatre Inc, Omaha, NE
- Film Streams, Inc., Omaha, NE
- Great Plains Theatre Commons, Omaha, NE
- Ollie Webb Center Inc., Omaha, NE
- Omaha Performing Arts Society (aka O-pa), Omaha, NE
- Omaha Theater Company (aka The Rose Theater), Omaha, NE
- Opera Omaha, Inc., Omaha, NE
- Union for Contemporary Art, Omaha, NE
- Why Arts Inc., Omaha, NE
Oklahoma
- Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Concho, OK
- Independent School District No 57 of Garfield County (aka Enid Public Schools), Enid, OK
- Oklahoma Arts Institute Inc, Oklahoma City, OK
- Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre, Inc., Oklahoma City, OK
- Sunny Dayz Inc, Oklahoma City, OK
- Tulsa Glass Blowing Studio, Inc (aka Tulsa Glassblowing School), Tulsa, OK
Texas
- Old Jail Art Center (aka OJAC, Old Jail), Albany, TX
- American Short Fiction, Austin, TX
- Austin Film Festival, Inc., Austin, TX
- Austin Film Society, Austin, TX
- Austin Independent School District (aka AISD), Austin, TX
- Center for Women & Their Work (aka Women & Their Work), Austin, TX
- Cine Las Americas (aka CLA), Austin, TX
- Conspirare, Inc., Austin, TX
- Creative Action, Austin, TX
- Hispanic Alliance for the Performing Arts (aka Austin Soundwaves), Austin, TX
- Lannaya, Austin, TX
- Latinitas, Austin, TX
- Mexic-Arte (aka MexicArte Museum), Austin, TX
- Museum of Human Achievement, Austin, TX
- Rancho Alegre Radio, Austin, TX
- Texas Comedies, Austin, TX
- Visions In Rhythm (aka Tapestry Dance Company), Austin, TX
- Zachary Scott Theatre Center, Austin, TX
- Art Museum of Southeast Texas (aka AMSET), Beaumont, TX
- Ballet North Texas, Dallas, TX
- Dallas Theater Center, Dallas, TX
- Deep Vellum Publishing, Inc. (aka Deep Vellum)
- Flamenco Fever, Dallas, TX
- Condon, Katie, Dallas, TX
- Kitchen Dog Theater Company, Dallas, TX
- Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, TX
- Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX
- TeCo Theatrical Productions, Inc. (aka Bishop Arts Theatre Center), Dallas, TX
- Maroon 9 Community Enrichment Organization, Fort Worth, TX
- Texas Christian University (aka TCU), Fort Worth, TX
- Galveston Arts Center, Inc., Galveston, TX
- 4th Wall Theatre Company, Houston, TX
- Alley Theatre, Houston, TX
- American Festival for the Arts (aka AFA), Houston, TX
- Aurora Picture Show (aka Aurora), Houston, TX
- Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Houston, TX
- Dance Source Houston (aka Dance Source), Houston, TX
- Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature & Fine Arts (aka Gulf Coast), Houston, TX
- Harris County Cultural Arts Council, Houston, TX
- Houston Family Arts Center, Houston, TX
- Houston Grand Opera Association, Inc., Houston, TX
- Houston Symphony Society (aka Houston Symphony), Houston, TX
- Kinetic Ensemble, Houston, TX
- Menil Foundation, Inc. (aka The Menil Collection), Houston, TX
- Musiqa, Houston, TX
- Nameless Sound, Houston, TX
- Performing Arts Houston, Houston, TX
- Rivkah French Choreography, Houston, TX
- Shabach Enterprise, Houston, TX
- University of Houston (on behalf of Arte Publico Press), Houston, TX
- Lubbock Symphony Orchestra (aka LSO), Lubbock, TX
- Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
- Chinati Foundation (aka La Fundacion Chinati), Marfa, TX
- McAllen International Museum (aka IMAS), McAllen, TX
- Mesquite Arts Council, Inc., Mesquite, TX
- Silambam Houston, Pearland, TX
- City of San Antonio, Texas, Department of Arts and Culture, San Antonio, TX
- Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center (aka The Guadalupe), San Antonio, TX
- Hernandez, Saúl, San Antonio, TX
- National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (aka NALAC), San Antonio, TX
- San Antonio Botanical Garden Society, Inc., San Antonio, TX
- Creative Waco, Waco, TX
- Arts Council, Wichita Falls Area, Inc.,Wichita Falls, TX
- Bhatt, Jagruti (aka Jenny Bhatt), Wylie, TX
NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD said, “It is inspiring to see the wide range of creative projects taking place—those that address our past and help us consider our future, integrate arts and culture in new ways into our lives and communities, and provide powerful opportunities for people throughout our nation to come together through a shared arts experience.”
Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency that is the largest funder of the arts and arts education in communities nationwide and a catalyst of public and private support for the arts. By advancing opportunities for arts participation and practice, the NEA fosters and sustains an environment in which the arts benefit everyone in the United States.
Read the full press release from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Header photography: NEA Grants for Arts Projects awardees this round (clockwise beginning in upper left): Students participate in Northern Arizona University’s Indigenous Youth Media Workshop, Summer 2024. Photo courtesy of Northern Arizona University; Territory design team members and community partners at the ribbon cutting for Creating Space, a public space created by youth to explore design as a tool for community healing. Photo courtesy of Territory NFP; A group of Arts Institute for Creative Advancement apprentices hard at work as captured by their instructor during Capitol Hill Arts Workshop’s weekly scenic shop training. Photo by Reuben Rosenthal c/o Arts Institute for Creative Advancement; Iris Musicians perform during the finale of the Weinberg Manor’s 2024 Music Festival. Weinberg Manors is an affordable housing community for low-income older adults in Baltimore City. Photo by Lori Raphael.