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  1. Home
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  3. State Profiles

Arkansas

Facts and Figures

In the past five years, the National Endowment for the Arts distributed $11,584,830 in federal funding, either directly or through state and regional partners, in Arkansas.

In the most recent information (2023) 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, Arkansas...

  • Added 2.2 percent or $3.8 billion to the state economy from arts and cultural production
  • Employed 32,906 workers in the arts and cultural industries, with workers earning wages and benefits totaling $2 billion 

More than 31 percent of Arkansas’ adults attended live music, theater, or dance performances, while more than 16 percent attended art exhibits, according to the 2022 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, conducted in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau.

In addition to offering direct grants, the NEA supports national initiatives benefiting people across the country. Over the last five years:

The Blue Star Museums program provided free admission to thousands of active military personnel and their families at 11 participating museums in Arkansas.

More than 1,186 students from 50 high schools in Arkansas participated in Poetry Out Loud.

The NEA Big Read program generated community events focused on reading outstanding American literature and involving more than 10,980 adults and students in Arkansas.


Arkansas Fact Sheet

On this page, find information on the arts and culture for Arkansas, and how the National Endowment for the Arts has supported the arts in communities throughout the state. 

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

State Highlights

A woman speaks at a podium, a step-and-repeat banner is behind her which shows the logo for the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.
A Welcoming Hub of Musical Activity for All Arkansans
Christina Littlejohn, the CEO of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, talks about the new Stella Boyle Smith Music Center, which will be the new home of the orchestra.
Read Magazine Article
Headshot of a woman.
Pat Johnson
Jun 18, 2024
Discover how 2024 National Heritage Fellow Pat Johnson transformed her former segregated one-room school into a thriving center for Black history and culture and community engagement in Pocahontas, Arkansas.
Listen to Audio

State & Regional Contacts

Arkansas Arts Council 
1100 North Street
Little Rock, AR 72201
501/324-9766
info@arkansasarts.org

Mid-America Arts Alliance (Regional Arts Organization)
2018 Baltimore Avenue
Kansas City, MO 64108
816/421-1388
info@maaa.org 

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