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  1. Home
  2. Impact
  3. State Profiles

Iowa

Facts and Figures

In the past five years, the National Endowment for the Arts distributed $11,857,588 in federal funding, either directly or through state and regional partners, in Iowa.

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, Iowa...

  • Added 2 percent or $5.2 billion to the state economy from arts and cultural production
  • Employed 48,290 workers in the arts and cultural industries, with workers earning wages and benefits totaling $2.7 billion

Nearly 29 percent of Iowa’s adults attended live music, theater, or dance performances, while nearly 11 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 84 participating museums in Iowa.

More than 744 students from 60 high schools in Iowa participated in Poetry Out Loud.

The NEA Big Read program generated community events focused on reading  outstanding American literature and involving more than 2,565 adults and students in Iowa. 


Iowa Fact Sheet

On this page, find information on the arts and culture for Iowa, 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 Iowa, go to our Recent Grant Search. 

State Highlights

headshot of a woman.
Eldrid Skjold Arntzen
2005
The Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa, awarded Eldrid Skjold Arntzen the Gold Medal for rosemaling (literally rose or "to decorate" and maling or "to paint" in Old Norwegian) in 1987.
Go to profile
Man holding bass.
NEA Jazz Masters: Tribute to Charlie Haden
Jan 04, 2012
View Video
An elder man with glasses sits playing a button accordion with microphones around him and a colorful backdrop
NEA National Heritage Tribute Video: Dwight Lamb
Oct 11, 2017
View Video

State & Regional Contacts

Iowa Arts Council 
600 East Locust
State Capitol Complex
Des Moines, IA 50319
515/281-8741

Arts Midwest (Regional Arts Organization)
2908 Hennepin Avenue, Suite 200
Minneapolis, MN 55408-1954
612/341-0755
TT/Voice: 612/341-0901
general@artsmidwest.org 

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