Alabama

Facts and Figures

In the past five years, the National Endowment for the Arts distributed $12,804,741 in federal funds, either directly or through state and regional partners, in Alabama.

In the most recent information (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, Alabama...

  • Added 2.1 percent or $5.4 billion to the state economy from arts and cultural production
  • Employed 43,981 workers in the arts and cultural industries, with workers earning wages and benefits totaling more than $2.8 billion.

More than 30 percent of Alabama’s adults attended live music, theater, or dance performances, while nearly 8 percent attended art exhibits, according to the 2017 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, conducted in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau.

In addition to direct grants, the NEA supports national initiatives benefiting people across the country:

Blue Star Museums program provided free admission to thousands of active military personnel and their families at 47 participating museums in Alabama.

An average of 3,819 students from 64 high schools in Alabama participated in Poetry Out Loud annually.

The NEA Big Read initiative generated 36 community events in the state, involving more than 1,238 adults and students.


Alabama Fact Sheet

On this page, find information on the arts and culture for Alabama, and how the National Endowment for the Arts has supported the arts in communities throughout the state. Below are highlights of just some of Arts Endowment grantees and artists working in Alabama. 

To find a list of grants awarded by the agency to Alabama, go to our Recent Grant Search. 

State Highlights

A band in uniforms plays in front of a two-story brick building.

Excelsior Band

2022
2022 NEA National Heritage Fellows Excelsior Band is a Black brass marching band that has, for generations, embodied the culture of the city of Mobile and its beloved Mardi Gras celebration.
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6 actresses in various costumes onstage during a scene from Cinderella

ARP Grant Spotlight: Alabama Shakespeare Festival

For Alabama Shakespeare Festival, federal funding, including an NEA American Rescue Plan grant, has been a lifeline during the pandemic.
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An woman and a girl read a bill board in a park.

Rick Dildine

Theaters (and all live performance) are struggling to get through the pandemic. Most have been closed since March, and artistic directors are kept up at night with a host of questions: when people will be willing to gather indoors to watch a play together?
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Teaching artists working with class

Back to School Spotlight: The pARTners Project (Alabama)

As we head back to school, here's a look at how two arts education collaboratives are working together to expand access to arts education for youth in rural Alabama.
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Filmmaker Jennifer Crandall on a porch with two older white people

First Person: Jennifer Crandall on the documentary "Whitman, Alabama"

Filmmaker Jennifer Crandall's documentary "Whitman, Alabama" has a variety of people from all over Alabama recite Whitman's poems.
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Man dancing

Spotlight on Alabama Dance Council #NEAFall14

To honor the 50th anniversary of the Selma civil rights marches, the Alabama Dance Festival—run by Arts Endowment grantee Alabama Dance Council—showcase "When the Wolves Came In," the latest work from choreographer Kyle Abraham and his company, Abraham.In.Motion
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Al Head

Al Head

Arts Advocate (and National Heritage Fellow) Al Head discusses the profound impact of traditional arts on communities, especially in Alabama where he headed the state arts agency.
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A young man stands behind a microphone mid-performance. A banner saying Poetry Out Loud is visible above his head

Poetry Talk with Youssef Biaz, 2011 Poetry Out Loud National Champion

An interview with 2011 Poetry Out Loud National Champion Youssef Biaz about his favorite poets, his first time reciting a poem, and why he still loves poetry.
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Headshot of three women

Mary Lee Bendolph, Lucy Mingo, and Loretta Pettway

2015
These 2015 National Heritage Fellows are from the oldest generation of quilters in the highly regarded region of Gee's Bend, Alabama.
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Group photo.

Clarence Fountain & the Blind Boys

1994
1994 National Heritage Fellows the Blind Boys performed a hard-driving, traditional gospel sound, touring around the United States and abroad. By the early 1980s, Fountain and the Blind Boys had been renamed the Blind Boys of Alabama.
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Man playing drums.

Jonathan "Jo" Jones

1985
1985 NEA Jazz Master Jo Jones is one of the most influential drummers in jazz, having worked with Count Basie for more than 15 years.
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Man at piano.

Teddy Wilson

1986
1986 NEA Jazz Master Teddy Wilson was one of the swing era's finest pianists, a follower of Earl Hines' distinctive "trumpetstyle" piano playing.
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US Map

United States of Arts: Alabama

In collaboration with the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts looks at the arts and culture of Alabama as part of its celebration of the 50th anniversary of the agency's establishment.
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State & Regional Contacts

Alabama State Council on the Arts 
201 Monroe Street
Montgomery, AL 36130-1800
334/242-4076
TT/Relay: 1-800-548-2546
staff@arts.alabama.gov

South Arts (Regional Arts Organization)
1800 Peachtree Street, Suite 808
Atlanta, GA 30309
404/874-7244
southarts@southarts.org