In the past five years, the National Endowment for the Arts distributed $9,922,035 in federal funding, either directly or through state and regional partners, in Iowa.

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, Iowa...

• Added 2.1 percent or $4.5 billion to the state economy from arts and cultural production
• Employed 39,391 workers in the arts and cultural industries, with workers earning wages and benefits totaling more than $2.5 billion

More than 45 percent of Iowa’s adults attended live music, theater, or dance performances, while more than 17 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 offering direct grants, the NEA supports national initiatives benefiting people across the country:

An average of more than 587 students from 58 high schools in Iowa participated in Poetry Out Loud annually.

Blue Star Museums program provided free admission to thousands of active military personnel and their families at 76 participating museums in Iowa.

The NEA Big Read program generated 46 community events focused on reading outstanding American literature and involving more than 2,565 adults and students in Iowa.