Teenage girl on stage reciting poetry

Minnesota's state champion Isabella Callery (Anishinaabe) became the 2019 Poetry Out Loud National Champion. Photo by James Kegley

Screen shot with women in red playing bass in middle, trumpeter in hat in middle box to left and saxophonist in box to right and a percussionist in all the corner boxes.

Bassist Linda May Han Oh, trumpeter Avishai Cohen, percussionist Pedrito Martinez and music director/saxophonist Miguel Zenón performing for the virtual 2021 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert produced by SFJAZZ. Image courtesy of Elephant Quilt

Teenager crying on stage with other teenagers after winning contest.

DC state champion Amanda Fernandez is announced as the 2007 Poetry Out Loud National Champion. Photo by James Kegley

Three dances, one spread out with legs on dancers on each side of him sitting in wheelchairs

The Dancing Wheels dance company, a National Endowment for the Arts grantee in FY 2019. Photo by Dale Dong

Black teenager standing next to a lighted mirror.

2017 Poetry Out Loud National Champion Samara Elán Huggins from Georgia backstage during the competition. Photo by James Kegley

Woman banging a large drum while man plays flute on stage.

Roy and PJ Hirabayashi perform during the 2011 NEA National Heritage Fellows Concert. Photo by Michael G. Stewart

Teenage boy on stage reciting poetry.

2011 Poetry Out Loud National Champion Youssef Biaz from Alabama. Photo by James Kegley

Supporting the Arts in Your Community

The National Endowment for the Arts supports exemplary arts projects in communities nationwide through grantmaking, initiatives, partnerships, and events.
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Check out the archive of the 2021 NEA Jazz Masters!

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New BEA/NEA report shows arts & culture add 4.3 percent/$919.7 billion to nation's GDP.

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National Endowment for the Arts on COVID-19.

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General Operating Support Waivers for FY2019-2021 Grantees

An intricately painted mask in mostly shades of grey with words of inspiration and hope

Visit the Creative Forces: Healing the Invisible Wounds of War online exhibition.

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Arts Endowment Supports the Arts with over $27.5 Million in Awards in First Round of FY2021 Funding

Photos of the 2020 National Heritage Fellows

Check out the archive of “The Culture of America: A Cross-Country Visit with the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellows" event from March 4, 2021.

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 »

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 »

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artist Steven Young Lee in his studio with several of his quote unquote broken vases
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The Value of Beauty: A Conversation with Ceramicist Steven Young Lee

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Podcast

Darrel Alejandro Holnes

Poet, playwright, and 2019 NEA Literature Fellow
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The World of Lighting Designer Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew

Featured News

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NEA Announces First Phase of American Rescue Plan Funding

More than $52 million for state and regional arts organizations.

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2021 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge Opens for Submissions

Deadline is May 17, 2021. 

Photos of nine students in a grid with text: Who will be the 2021 Poetry Out Loud National Champion?

Watch the 2021 Poetry Out Loud National Finals on May 27, 2021

Nine finalists to compete for the $20,000 grand prize.

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.
40 Percent

Percentage of Arts Endowment funding is awarded directly to the states through their state and regional agencies, reaching millions more people in thousands of communities.

$9

Amount leveraged by private and other public funds for every $1 of direct Arts Endowment funding.

$500 Million

Direct grant-matching support for Arts Endowment projects each year.

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.
Approximately 2,400 Grants

Recommended for grant awards annually.

42 Percent

Percentage of Arts Endowment grants take place in high-poverty neighborhoods.

35 Percent

Percentage of Arts Endowment grants reach low-income audiences or underserved populations.

Some Facts from the National Endowment for the Arts

These facts are based on the most recent data (2019) 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.
$919.7 Billion

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

4.3 Percent

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

5.2 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.
48 Cents

The Arts Endowment’s annual cost to each American.

0.003 Percent

The Arts Endowment’s percentage of the federal budget.

$5.5 Billion

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

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.
Around 45 Million Americans

Attend a live arts event supported by the Arts Endowment annually.

More than 40,000

Concerts, readings, and performances are supported annually.

More than 6,000

Exhibitions are supported annually as well.

Some Facts from the National Endowment for the Arts

These facts are based on the most recent data (2017) 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.
North Dakota

The state's residents attend live performing arts events at a higher rate than U.S. adults as a whole—with 62 percent for North Dakota residents versus 48.5 percent of U.S. adults.

Montana

Outperforms the national rate of attending art exhibits, with 33.5 percent of this state’s residents doing this activity versus 23 percent of Americans overall.

Oregon and Washington

Their literary reading rates (upwards of 60 percent) far exceed the U.S. as a whole (44 percent).