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

Excelsior Band
ARP Grant Spotlight: Alabama Shakespeare Festival
Rick Dildine
Back to School Spotlight: The pARTners Project (Alabama)
First Person: Jennifer Crandall on the documentary "Whitman, Alabama"
Spotlight on Alabama Dance Council #NEAFall14
Al Head
Poetry Talk with Youssef Biaz, 2011 Poetry Out Loud National Champion

Mary Lee Bendolph, Lucy Mingo, and Loretta Pettway

Clarence Fountain & the Blind Boys

Jonathan "Jo" Jones

Teddy Wilson
United States of Arts: Alabama
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