Woman in purple outfit dancing with hoops on stage while man to her right bangs and drum and sings.

Chris Newell and two-time world champion hoop dancer Lisa Odjig (Ojibwe) perform at the inaugural Indigenous People's Day celebration at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston in 2019. Photo by Michael Mermelstein

a view of the National Native American Veterans Memorial, which is a large circle on its side on top of a drum shape. The exterior of the National Museum of the American Indian is visible in the background

The National Native American Veterans Memorial. November 2020. On the grounds of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.. Designed by Harvey Pratt (Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes). Photo by Alan Karchmer for the National Museum of the American Indian

A group of people are sitting on stage, woman in the middle holding a microphone, screen showing National Endowment for the Arts behind them.

NEA National Heritage Fellows Ed Eugene Carriere (Suquamish), Anita Fields (Osage/Muscogee), Karen Ann Hoffman (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin), Roen Kahalewai Hufford (Hawaiian), Elizabeth James-Perry (Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head, Aquinnah), TahNibaa Naataanii (Navajo/Diné), Francis Palani Sinenci (Hawaiian), and Wayne Valliere (Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe) participated in a panel discussion, "Native Art Making in Place," at the National Museum of the American Indian as part of the 2023 Heritage Fellows events. Photo by Remsberg, Inc.

Native man with hair in braid, wearing colorful traditional clothes, at a microphone on stage.

Musician and storyteller Frank Waln (Sicangu Lakota) participated in the first-of-its-kind national convening, Native Arts and Culture: Resilience, Reclamation, and Relevance, hosted by the NEA, NEH, and Native Arts and Cultures Foundation in February 2020. Photo by Barbara Soulé (Diné [Navajo]), courtesy of Native Arts and Cultures Foundation

What’s Happening at the NEA

Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson

Celebrate National Native American Heritage Month!

National Endowment for the Arts logo

ArtsHERE Informational Webinar

Nov 30, 2023
02:00 pm ~ 03:00 pm ET

Cover of Crossing Borders through Cultural Exchange cover

Crossing Borders through Cultural Exchange: A Review of the USArtists International Program

New publication!

Featured News

See All News
Circle ArtsHERE logo superimposed over a blurred background of people working on an outdoor mural

New Initiative from the National Endowment for the Arts Supports Increased Opportunities for Arts Participation

Man and woman on stage with hands in the heart shape

Creative Forces Community Engagement Grant Applications Now Available

A large group of people pose for a photo in front of two American flags.

NEA and White House Domestic Policy Council Host Convening on Whole-of-Government Approach to Arts and Culture

Featured Stories

See All Stories
Native woman in a red feather war bonnet with two white feathers attached.
Blog

Behind the Lens: A Conversation with Native Filmmaker Petyr Xyst

Headshot of a man.
Podcast

Revisiting Randy Reinholz (Choctaw)

Producing Artistic Director and Founder of Native Voices
Two young female children up close speaking to the camera
Video

NEA Artful Life Moment: The Swayze/Ontiveros Family

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 diverse opportunities for arts participation.
Approximately 2,300 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).

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 (2021) 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.
Just over $1 trillion

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

4.4 Percent

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

Just under 4.9 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.
54 Cents

The Arts Endowment’s annual cost to each American.

0.003 Percent

The Arts Endowment’s percentage of the federal budget.

$5.6 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 41 Million Americans

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

More than 36,000

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).

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 $8 million

Amount of funding of arts education projects annually.

74.7 Percent

Arts education projects (preK-12) that directly engage with underserved populations.

3 Times More Likely

8- to. 12-grade students from low socioeconomic backgrounds who received arts education to earn a bachelor's degree than those who did not.