Women in blue dresses holding feathered gourds perform a traditional Hawaiian dance.

Students from Pua Ali‘i ‘Ilima perform a hula ‘ulī ‘ulī (Hawaiian dance using the feathered rattling gourd). Photo courtesy of PA‘I Foundation

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 

A group of students and one male adult stand in front of a gallery of artwork.

Chautauqua Elementary School’s 4th grade students gather with teaching artist Bruce Morser in front of their gallery show, Birds of Vashon. This show was a part of VCA’s First Friday gallery event and was open to the public for the month of June. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Johnson Blomgren, Vashon Center for the Arts

Student wearing hat dancing while a girl sitting cross-legged nearby watches.

Students participating in the 2018 Arts Liberation and Leadership Institute (ALLI). Photo by Amy Piñon

What’s Happening at the NEA

Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson
Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month 2024!
National Endowment for the Arts 2024 National Heritage Fellows
Celebrate the 2024 NEA National Heritage Fellows with Free Events in Washington, DC

Watch the on-demand videos of the events!
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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Three women stand smiling on a stage as confetti fall around them, the young woman in center holds a trophy
Poetry Out Loud to Celebrate 20th Anniversary During 2024-2025 School Year

Schools and Organizations Invited to Host Their Own Poetry Out Loud Competition
Photo of the front of the main entrance to the St. Bartholomew’s Church on Park Avenue showing carved sculptures above the doors
National Park Service and Partner Agencies Award $25.7 Million to Preserve Significant Historic Sites and Collections
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New NEH-NEA Partnership Will Expand Data Available on Humanities and Arts and Cultural Organizations

Featured Stories

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Film still of two women: Woman on left is tying a headpiece on to the woman on the right. Woman on the right is kneeling and playing an instrument.
Blog
Grant Spotlight: El Museo del Barrio
A man poses before a painting of two young men.
Podcast
Fabian Debora
Chicano Muralist and 2024 National Heritage Fellow
In between buildings and chain link fences runs a creek surrounded by wild greenery.
Magazine Article
Enhancing Environmental Consciousness
The EPA/NEA Artist-in-Residence Initiative

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 »
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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.