The folk and traditional arts are rooted in and reflective of the cultural life of a community. Community members may share a common ethnic heritage, cultural mores, language, religion, occupation, or geographic region. These vital and constantly reinvigorated artistic traditions are shaped by values and standards of excellence that are passed from generation to generation, most often within family and community, through demonstration, conversation, and practice. Genres of artistic activity include, but are not limited to, music, dance, crafts, and oral expression.

Applications for Grants for Arts Projects in the Folk & Traditional Arts will be accepted at two deadlines. All project types (described below) are accepted at both deadlines. Generally, an organization is limited to one application per year in the Grants for Arts Projects category. Applicants may request cost share/matching grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. Applicants are encouraged to contact Folk & Traditional Arts Division Specialist, Bill Mansfield, with questions: mansfieldw@arts.gov.

The NEA is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, and fostering mutual respect for the diverse beliefs and values of all individuals and groups. Projects may focus on reaching a particular group or demographic; however, they may not be exclusionary under Federal civil rights laws and policies prohibiting discrimination. This extends to hiring practices, artist selection processes, and audience engagement. For additional information, refer to this archived webinar: Things to Know Before You Apply: Federal Civil Rights and Your Grants Application.

For information on how to apply, see “How to Apply” on the left.

Project Types

While we welcome applications for a variety of projects, we particularly encourage those that focus on stewardship and awareness of living cultural traditions.

Project Types include, but are not limited to:

Cultural Sustainability & Education

• Projects with the primary purpose to support the transmission of tradition and the strengthening of living traditions (apprenticeship programs, mentorship programs).
• Workshops/classes offering instruction in various folk and traditional arts to the general public.
• For federally recognized tribes, programs whose primary focus is the reanimation, fortification, and continuation of traditional lifeways for tribal communities.
• Folk Arts in Education programs (folk arts are used to augment regular curriculum).
• Training for teachers and/or folk and traditional artists and the creation of educational material to incorporate folk arts into the classroom.
• Publications (both hard copy and digital).

Research

• Ethnographic fieldwork to document folklife, lifeways, and cultural heritage and to identify traditional artists.
• Research in ethnographic fieldwork archives and collections related to folklife and cultural heritage.
  • Projects that seek to connect communities of practice (local or diasporic) to ethnographic fieldwork collections. Such projects might include opportunities for tradition bearers to visit with archival collections, exploring materials, and sharing findings;
  • Strategies to utilize fieldwork collections to repair ruptured traditions, reanimate endangered languages and traditions, or reintroduce neglected repertoire or practices;
  • Collaborations between archives and cultural communities to identify collections, through crowd-sourcing or regular convenings.
• Marketing research to identify audiences for folk & traditional arts.

Services to the Field

• Local, regional, tribal, inter-tribal, and national convenings of cultural practitioners, traditional arts organizations, and public folklorists focused on regional identity, traditions, and resources, or focused on intersecting fields and critical issues such as:
  • Strategies to address the impact of environmental changes, pandemic crises, and issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility relating to cultural heritage practices, communities, and landscapes;
  • Dialogue with fields that intersect with folk and traditional arts, such as public health, agriculture, and ageing;
  • The role of folk and traditional arts in building social cohesion and benefiting the public good;
  • The efficacy of folklife programs within museums;
  • Identification and articulation of best practices in the field of folk and traditional arts, including the development of a universal language for the field.
• Training and mentorships for folk and traditional artists, folklorists, cultural elders, and folk and traditional arts organizations.
• Projects that advance or sustain the creative work or careers of people with disabilities through employment, technical assistance, and organization capacity-building.

Public Programs

• Festivals.
• Concerts, performances, plays, powwows, and symposia.
• Media projects:
  • Film (production, editing, screening, distribution, curating);
  • Radio and television broadcasts, podcasts, webcasts.
• Websites (includes creating, maintaining, and upgrading the sites).
• Projects that reach broader and more diverse groups through digital or emergent technology, including hybrid (in-person and virtual) programming activities.
• Exhibits (this includes fieldwork and archival research, construction, touring, catalogs, and ancillary events, such as lectures, concerts, screenings, panel discussions, workshops, and demonstrations).
• Creation of programs and partnerships that identify, document, and celebrate folklife and cultural heritage of the applicant’s metropolitan area.
• Creation of programs and partnerships that identify, document, and celebrate lifeways of the applicant’s tribal community.
• Creation of programs and partnerships that identify, document, and celebrate folklife and cultural heritage of the country’s rural regions of the Great Plains, Rocky Mountain West, and Alaska.

If your project is developed and managed by local government, see the Local Arts Agencies description to help you in your discipline selection.

For Folk & Traditional Arts projects with a distinct technology-focused media arts component: Your organization may be eligible to submit a second application under the July deadline for Media Arts.

Deadlines

First Grants for Arts Projects Deadline:

Part 1 - Submit to Grants.gov	February 9, 2023 at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time
Prepare application material so that it’s ready to upload when the Applicant Portal opens
Part 2 - Submit to Applicant Portal	February 14-21, 2023 at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time
Earliest Announcement of Grant Award or Rejection	November 2023
Earliest Start Date for Proposed Project	January 1, 2024

Second Grants for Arts Projects Deadline:

Part 1 - Submit to Grants.gov	July 6, 2023 at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time
Prepare application material so that it’s ready to upload when the Applicant Portal opens
Part 2 - Submit to Applicant Portal	July 11-18, 2023 at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time
Earliest Announcement of Grant Award or Rejection	April 2024
Earliest Start Date for Proposed Project	June 1, 2024