Nebraska

Facts and Figures

In the past five years, the National Endowment for the Arts distributed $11,002,374 in federal funding, either directly or through state and regional partners, in Nebraska.

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, Nebraska...

  • Added 2.4 percent or $3.6 billion to the state economy from arts and cultural production
  • Employed 30,052 workers in the arts and cultural industries, with workers earning wages and benefits totaling more than $2.1 billion

Nearly 57 percent of Nebraska’s adults attended live music, theater, or dance performances, while more than 18 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 1,640 students from 80 high schools in Nebraska participated in Poetry Out Loud annually.

In Nebraska, 31 museums participated in Blue Star Museums.


Nebraska Fact Sheet

On this page, find information on the arts and culture for the state of Nebraska, 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 Nebraska.

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

State Highlights

a group of four students on a stage with festival banners behind them

National Endowment for the Arts Grant Spotlight: Louder than a Bomb Great Plains Youth Poetry Festival

Matt Mason, executive director of the Nebraska Writers Collective, launched the Louder than a Bomb: Great Plains Youth Poetry Festival with the goal of giving young people first-hand experience with what he described as "what poetry and creative writing and art can do for their lives."
Read Blog
Marg Helgenberger in character as Regina Giddens on an early 1900s sofa wearing a red dress

Art Talk with Marg Helgenberger

Growing up in the small farming community of North Bend, Nebraska, Marg Helgenberger has gone on to a successful career in acting.
Read Blog
An architect draws

Being Small and Thinking Big

A look at the Arts Endowment initiative Citizens' Institute on Rural Design though the case studies of Las Vegas, New Mexico, and Valentine, Nebraska.
Read Magazine Article
David Philip Mullins

David Philip Mullins

2016
David Philip Mullins grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, and lives in Omaha, Nebraska, and is the author of "Greetings from Below: Stories," which won both the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction and the International Walter Scott Prize for Short Stories.
Go to profile
Headshot of a man.

Rufus White

2014
2014 National Heritage Fellow Rufus White is a tradition keeper and featured performer of traditional songs of the Umonhon (Omaha Tribe of Nebraska).
Go to profile
A man sitting behind a hammer dulcimer.

Albert Fahlbusch

1984
Drawing on his mechanical and woodworking abilities, 1984 National Heritage Fellow Albert Fahlbusch quickly became known for the beauty and excellence of his dulcimers in addition to his playing.
Go to profile
US Map

United States of Arts: Nebraska

In collaboration with the Nebraska Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts looks at the arts and culture of Nebraska as part of its celebration of the 50th anniversary of the agency's establishment.
View Video

State & Regional Contacts

Nebraska Arts Council 
1004 Farnam Street, Plaza Level
Omaha, NE 68102
402/595-2122
TT/Voice: 402/595-2122

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