Inside a brick-walled room, men in military uniforms play musical instruments. In front of each is a music stand that says "Army Blues Jazz Ensemble". A sign hangs on the wall behind them with a trumpet player alongside the words "Blues Alley Jazz".

2025 marks the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. Photo of the U.S. Army Blues Jazz Ensemble courtesy of the U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own"

A woman and two men perform in front of an audience. Behind them is theatrical scenery featuring interwoven, stylized vines.

Students watch a performance of "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" at Anser Charter School, part of the Idaho Shakespeare Festival’s Shakespeare in American Communities program. Photo by TwoBirdStudio

Adults smile and work together around a table full of basket weaving supplies. It and the room around them is full of different types of art supplies and baskets of different types and in various stages of completion.

Veterans learn basket weaving techniques at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, a 2024 Creative Forces Community Engagement grant recipient. Photo courtesy of Visual Arts Center of Richmond

A woman stands along on a dramatically lit stage, the words "Poetry Out Loud" projected on the wall beind her. In the audience, a sole person is illuminated by a work lamp.

2024 Poetry Out Loud National Champion Niveah Glover. Photo by James Kegley

A man dressed all in white stands in a dramatic pose, his arms and legs outstretched. Behind him are several men dressed in matching red and black and playing drums.

Peniel Guerrier performs at the 2025 NEA National Heritage Fellowships events. Photo by Tom Pich

Several young adults stand in front of microphones. Three look together at papers in a binder that one is holding and gesturing to. Behind them are additional people and some musical instruments.

Student songwriter Sydney Gray works with musicians as part of the 2024 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge. Photo by Rebecca J. Michelson

A man in camouflaged miliary fatigues plays guitar into a microphone. He is smiling and wearing headphones.

A service member performs a song written as part of the Creative Forces clinical music therapy activities at Join Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. Photo courtesy of Daielle Kalseth

A group of men and women pose together and hold copies of a book while smiling at the camera.

Author Sandra Cisneros surrounded by students at an NEA Big Read event at the Just Buffalo Writing Center, a 25-26 NEA Big Read Grantee. Photo by Pat Cray, courtesy of Just Buffalo Literary Center

In front of a banner for the National Heritage Fellowships, a group of men sing together dressed in white, embroidered shirts and black pants. They are positioned in two rows- the front seated and playing stringed instruments, and the back standing.

Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America performs at the 2025 NEA National Heritage Fellowships events. Photo by Tom Pich

What’s Happening at the NEA

Covers of books with NEA Big Read logo and text: Intent to Apply Due Jan. 15, 2026
Apply for a 2026-2027 NEA Big Read grant!

Programming will center on America250
A young woman and child stand at a table doing spin art. Another child is working on art in the background
Creative Forces Spotlights

Making a difference in the lives of military-connected people
POL A250 logo
Poetry Out Loud Returns

The 2025-26 program will celebrate America250

Stories

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Woman in military uniform looking at art in museum.
Read
Did You Know? Arts and the Military Edition
A group of men and women pose in front of the camera in a group shot in front of a step-and-repeat banner for the National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowships. Some of the people are wearing or displaying a medal and vary in dress from contemporary suits to traditional dress from different cultures.
Watch
2025 NEA National Heritage Fellowships Awards Ceremony
Headshot of a woman.
Listen
Elizabeth James-Perry (Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head, Aquinnah)
Wampum & Fiber Artist and 2023 National Heritage Fellow

News

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Collage of four photos showing people engaging with art-dancing, playing music, creating, and displaying visual art projects
Creative Forces Supports Community Arts Engagement Projects for Military-Connected People
Isavel Mendoza smiling and holding his trophy while confetti falls around him
Congratulations to 2025 Poetry Out Loud National Champion Isavel Mendoza of Pennsylvania
Logo of red lines for ACPSA
Arts and Cultural Industries Grew at Twice the Rate of the U.S. Economy, Adding $1.2 Trillion

Grants

The National Endowment for the Arts awards grants to nonprofit organizations, creative writers and translators, state arts agencies, and regional arts organizations in support of arts projects across the country.
Go to the Grants section »
Volunteer to be an NEA panelist »

Impact

See the impact of the Arts Endowment on your state, and how the agency's work in research, accessibility, and other areas has had a major impact in the arts and culture of the country.
Go to the Impact section »

Some Facts about the National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency that funds, promotes, and strengthens the creative capacity of our communities by providing all Americans with opportunities for arts participation.

Approximately 2,400 Grants

Recommended for grant awards annually in all 50 states, DC, and U.S. territories.

More than 60 Percent

Percentage of Arts Endowment grants that go to small and medium-sized organizations (budgets up to $2 million).

Approximately 34 Percent

Percentage of Arts Endowment-funded activities in high-poverty communities.

Some Facts from the National Endowment for the Arts

These facts are based on the most recent data (2023) from the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (ACPSA), which is produced jointly by the National Endowment for the Arts’ Office of Research & Analysis and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Commerce Department. The ACPSA tracks the annual economic impact of arts and cultural production from 35 industries, both commercial and nonprofit.

$1.2 trillion

Amount the arts and cultural industries contribute to the U.S. economy.

4.2 Percent

Percentage of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product is accounted for by arts and cultural industries.

Nearly 5.4 Million

Americans work in the arts and cultural industries on payroll.

Some Facts about the National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency that funds, promotes, and strengthens the creative capacity of our communities by providing all Americans with diverse opportunities for arts participation.

62 Cents

The Arts Endowment’s annual cost to each American.

0.003 Percent

The Arts Endowment’s percentage of the federal budget.

Nearly $6 Billion

Amount awarded by the Arts Endowment since its beginning in 1965.

Some Facts from the National Endowment for the Arts

These facts are based on the most recent data (2022) from the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA), a national survey conducted in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau that has allowed cultural policymakers, arts managers, scholars, and journalists to obtain reliable statistics about American patterns of arts engagement.

Utah

The state’s percentage of adults who attended a live performing arts event (62 percent) exceeded that of the national percentage of U.S. adults (38 percent).

Vermont

The percentage of the state’s adults who read a literary work (60 percent) far exceeded the national average (38 percent).

Wisconsin

The state’s adult population created or performed any type of art at a higher percentage (73 percent) than the national average for U.S. adults (52 percent).

Some Facts about the National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency that funds, promotes, and strengthens the creative capacity of our communities by providing all Americans with opportunities for arts participation.

Approximately $8 million

Amount of arts education funding for lifelong learning projects annually.

More than 24 million

Estimated number of people who attend a live arts event annually.

42

Percentage of NEA grants awarded to localities of less than a million people.