Three women on stage wearing Native Alaskan garb.

2017 National Heritage Fellow Chilkat weaver Anna Brown Ehlers (middle) with her friend Jacqueline Pata (left) and daughter Marie Ehlers (right) displaying her art form at the concert. Photo by Tom Pich

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

Native man with headband and feather wearing traditional clothes with an arm on a handbuilt canoe.

Wayne Valliere (Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe), 2020 NEA National Heritage Fellow, birchbark canoe builder. Photo courtesy of Hypothetical Films

A little girl in a white dress holding drum sticks in the middle of a crowd of adults, some holding drums.

Veterans' Creative Arts Expo attendees participate in a drum circle as part of the NEA initiative Creative Forces' Community Connections project. The event was a collaboration among Resounding Joy, Combat Arts San Diego, Vets Community Connections, San Diego Veterans Coalition, the Veterans Art Project (VETART), and So Say We All. Photo courtesy of Resounding Joy

Two Native men in red sweatshirts working on a totem pole painted red and black.

Master carver TJ Young (left) working on a totem house post for a cultural center in Hydaburg, Alaska, supported by an NEA grant. Photo courtesy of TJ Young

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

Men and women in black holding poles on stage.

Military veterans and civilians perform in A Long Journey Home, a production created for Arts Endowment grantee DIAVOLO | Architecture in Motion's Veterans Project. Photo by George Simian

Woman standing in front of rows of spray paint cans

Julie Garreau, founder of the Cheyenne River Youth Project, at the organization's RedCan Graffiti Jam, which has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Photo courtesy of the Cheyenne River Youth Project

A woman in a yellow dress surrounded by children points to a painting on the wall of a museum.

Military family members tour the Stein Gallery at Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida. Each summer, museums across the nation provide free admission to active-duty military personnel and their families as part of the NEA initiative Blue Star Museums. Photo by Debra Heuskin

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.
A smiling woman with dark hair and dark brown eyes

Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson Nominated to be Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts

Disability Design report cover; aerial view of a small park with winding wheelchair accessible paths

Check out the newest NEA report on Disability Design!

Cover of American Artscape magazine. Yellow background with detail of two Asian-American faces surrounded with colorful flowers. Text says Showing Strength Through Creativity

Check out the new issue of American Artscape looking at the arts in Asian American/Pacific Islander communities!

Vaccine.gov FInd COVID-19 Vaccines Near You

Find a location near you, then call or visit their website to make an appointment.

Chart with arrows pointing upward.

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

Screenshot of a publication page

General Operating Support Waivers for FY2019-2021 Grantees

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 »

Featured Stories

See All Stories
the National Native American Veterans memorial
Blog

A Place to Heal: The National Native American Veterans Memorial

Headshot of a young woman.
Podcast

Dr. Niyati Dhokai

Program Director, Veterans and the Arts Initiative at George Mason University
Portrait of woman wearing a purple floral wreath.
Magazine Article

Reclaiming the Culture through Hula

Vicky Holt Takamine of PA‘I Foundation

Featured News

See All News
Photos of each of the 2021 NEA National Heritage Fellows are incorporated into an informational square image about The Culture of America film on November 17, 2021 at 8pm ET on arts.gov

2021 National Heritage Fellows Celebrated in Film Debut of "The Culture of America"

photos of 13 students are displayed on a teal background representing winners of the 2021 Songwriting challenge

Students Across America Selected as Winners of 2021 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge

Photo of 15 books that are a part of the 2022-2023 NEA Big Read stacked on top of each other

National Endowment for the Arts Announces New NEA Big Read Books for 2022-23

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 2,300 Grants

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

43 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.

$5.6 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 45 Million Americans

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

More than 39,000

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.

77.6 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.