An audience sits in a theater watching a performance.

Local schools attend Dance Maker Academy’s 2023 The Nutcracker performances. Photo courtesy of Art Maker

Devesh Chandra demonstrates drumming techniques to students

Devesh Chandra demonstrates tabla to students in the Schenectady School District. Photo courtesy of the New York Folklore Society 

Dancers in tutus on stage standing on pointe.

Arts Endowment grantee Mark Morris Dance Group’s performance of The Hard Nut, Morris’ reinvention of The Nutcracker. Photo by Peter DaSilva

 

What’s Happening at the NEA

Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson
Building the Power of Arts and Culture
National Endowment for the Arts logo
Responses to the 2022 Surveys of Arts Participation: A Symposium

A series of essays about the 2022 SPPA results.
coverr of American Artscape with photo of mural on walking trail and text that says Bridges to Possibilities:Arts and the Built Environment
New Issue of American Artscape is Now Available Online!

"Bridges to Possibilities: Arts and the Built Environment"

Featured News

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NEA logo: square with black text on clear background
National Endowment for the Arts FY 2026 Grant Opportunities Now Available
Black woman in yellow hat and flowery shirt stands in foreground with hand on her heart, group of people seated behind her also have hands over the heart, Black man at back plays a trumpet.
National Endowment for the Arts Announces Arts, Health, and Well-being Demonstration Projects
Colorful graphic of arrows pointing up with NEA logo in top corner and text reading Research Brief
New Research Explores Arts Engagement and Social Connectedness

Featured Stories

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Greg Reiner
Blog
Reflections on New NEA Report, “Defying Gravity: Conversations with Leaders from Nonprofit Theater”
Man playing a clarinete.
Podcast
Revisiting Andy Statman
Klezmer Clarinetist, Mandolin Player, Composer, 2012 National Heritage Fellow
Image of Zakir Hussain and tabla drums
Blog
Art Talk with Tabla Musician Zakir Hussain

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 2,700 Grants

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

More than 70 Percent

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

Approximately 33 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 (2022) 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.

$1.1 trillion

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.

Nearly 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.

62 Cents

The Arts Endowment’s annual cost to each American.

0.00337 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 diverse 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.