Washington, DC—The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) will host the public session of the 195th National Council on the Arts meeting on Friday, October 26, 2018 at 9:00 am at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC. The National Council on the Arts members are nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Members advise the NEA chairman on agency policies and programs and review and make recommendations on applications for grants, funding guidelines, and leadership initiatives. This meeting is open to the press and the public to attend and will be streamed live at arts.gov. This meeting will include updates from Mary Anne Carter, the acting chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, who will also announce a special type of project the NEA is interested in supporting for fiscal year 2020. The meeting will also feature speakers from the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, Americans for the Arts, and the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation who will discuss the strong connections among public arts funders at the federal, regional, state, and local levels. The meeting will conclude with a performance by a student from the DC Youth Orchestra Program, an NEA grant recipient for its after-school string orchestra program for public school students in Title I elementary schools. WHAT: 195th meeting of the National Council on the Arts WHEN: Friday, October 26, 2018, 9:00–11:30 am ET WHERE: National Museum of Women in the Arts, Performance Hall, Fifth Floor, 1250 New York Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20005. Live webcast at arts.gov. WHO:

• Mary Anne Carter, Acting Chairman, NEA
• Tony Chauveaux, Deputy Chairman for Programs and Partnerships, NEA
• National Council on the Arts members
• Susan Fisher Sterling, Director, National Museum of Women in the Arts
• Pam Breaux, President and CEO, National Assembly of State Arts Agencies
• Theresa Colvin, Executive Director, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
• Mara Walker, COO, Americans for the Arts
• DC Youth Orchestra student

MEDIA RSVP: Media who wish to attend this event should contact the NEA’s Public Affairs Office at 202-682-5570 or publicaffairs@arts.gov. About the National Endowment for the Arts Established by Congress in 1965, the NEA 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 NEA 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 NEA.