National Endowment for the Arts  
About Us
 

VISUAL ARTS

The National Endowment for the Arts supports the visual arts -- painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, drawing, craft, etc. -- through grants to organizations that serve the needs of and enhance opportunities for artists and their audiences. The Arts Endowment is committed to advancing and preserving the work of contemporary visual artists that reflects serious and exceptional aesthetic investigation.

Grants in the visual arts support projects undertaken by organizations that encourage individual artistic development, experimentation, and dialogue between artists and the public through exhibitions, residencies, publications, commissions, public art works, conservation, documentation, services to the field, and public programs.

  Restored mural

Sarah Nix Ginn, 2661, mixed media. Exhibited at Women & Their Work, 2002.

 

Restored mural in the Hippodrome Theatre at the Baltimore Performing Arts Center.

Funding Opportunities in Visual Arts

Grants for Arts Projects
CFDA No. 45.024

The National Endowment for the Arts' primary funding opportunities for organizations can be found here. An organization may submit only one application through one of the following FY 2011 Grants for Arts Projects categories (see "Application Limits" for the few exceptions to this rule). For most organizations, these categories represent the full range of funding options for the entire year. Applicants should examine the goal and purposes of their project as well as the review criteria of these three categories, and apply to the one category that is most relevant. The Arts Endowment will not transfer applications between categories.

  • Access to Artistic Excellence: To encourage and support artistic excellence, preserve our cultural heritage, and provide access to the arts for all Americans. An organization may request a grant amount from $5,000 to $150,000. (Deadlines: March 11 and August 12, 2010)
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  • Challenge America Fast-Track: To support projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations. Grants are for $10,000. (Deadline: May 27, 2010)
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  • Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth: To advance arts education for children and youth in school-based or community-based settings. An organization may request a grant amount from $5,000 to $150,000. (Deadline: June 10, 2010)
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The NEA Mayors' Institute on City Design 25th Anniversary Initiative
CFDA No. 45.024

Since 1986, the Mayors' Institute on City Design (MICD) has helped transform communities through design by preparing mayors to be the chief urban designers of their cities. To build on the momentum created by the MICD over its history, a limited number of grants, ranging from $25,000 to $250,000, will be made to showcase and celebrate the goals of the MICD during its anniversary in 2011. (Deadlines: Statement of Interest Deadline: March 15, 2010; Invitation to Apply Issued: April 8, 2010; Formal Application Deadline: May 10, 2010)

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Save America's Treasures
CFDA No. 15.929

Grants for preservation and/or conservation work on nationally significant intellectual and cultural artifacts and nationally significant historic structures and sites. (Receipt deadline: May 21, 2010)

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Coming Up Taller

Nominate outstanding community arts and humanities programs that celebrate the creativity of America's young people. (Receipt deadline: January 29, 2010)

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The Arts on Radio and Television
CFDA No. 45.024

Supports projects for radio and television arts programs that are intended for national broadcast. Grants generally range from $20,000 to $200,000. (Deadline: September 3, 2009)

Note: The link below goes to the expired guidelines for information purposes only. The next deadline will be September 2, 2010; new guidelines will be posted late May/early June.

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American Masterpieces: Visual Arts Touring
CFDA No. 45.024

This component of American Masterpieces will celebrate the extraordinary and rich evolution of the visual arts in the United States. Through the creation and touring of major exhibitions, art of the highest quality will be experienced by Americans in communities across the nation. Grants generally range from $30,000 to $300,000. (Deadline: September 17, 2009)

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