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Making an Impact

American Artscape | 2012 No. 1
NEA Arts cover no 1 2012
Petrichor by choreographer Mark Morris, who received his first NEA grant in 1983. Photo by Brian Snyder
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About this Issue

Over more than 45 years, the National Endowment for the Arts has awarded nearly 140,000 grants to artists and arts organizations nationwide. We can give you many statistics about NEA-supported projects: how many people were in the audience, how many kids participated in an arts class, how many artists presented during a festival. Something we can’t quite measure, however, is how any one individual is impacted by an NEA-supported project. Take, for instance, an anecdote related by Steppenwolf Theatre Company Executive Director (and former NEA Director) David Hawkanson about company co-founder Gary Sinise: “Gary Sinise as a young high school student around 1973 was taken up to Minneapolis to see this production of Of Mice and Men [at the Guthrie Theatre]. That production…was underwritten by a special grant from the National Endowment for the Arts…. Gary will often say that that production is what inspired him to want to create his own company and to be a theater artist for the rest of his life.” Steppenwolf, of course, is now an internationally lauded theater powerhouse, regularly receiving NEA support since 1984 for work that’s inspiring and impacting a new generation of theater artists and audiences. And that’s what we’re looking at in this issue: impact. The artists and organizations profiled in this issue all received our funding at critical points in their development, support that ultimately magnified the reach of their art. From poet Nikki Giovanni and dancer-choreographer Mark Morris to the Mississippi Arts Commission, the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, and, of course, Steppenwolf, we’re taking a look back at where they were and asking—where are they now? Don't forget to visit our Art Works blog on our website to comment on this issue or to share information on arts in your community, and join us on Facebook and Twitter(@NEAarts).

Included in this Issue

What's Going On?

Words with Nikki Giovanni
Boott Cotton Mills is a historic mill that has been turned into a museum and multiple-use space in Lowell, Massachusetts. Photo by Jonathan Parker

Building on the Past

The Creative Rebirth of Lowell, Massachusetts
Steppenwolf Theatre Company members, circa 1980

Filling Their Souls

A Sense of Home with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company
The Bay St Louis Bridge, rebuilt after the hurricane with local art incorporated into the structure. Photo by John Thomas Photography

Shelter from the Storm

Artful Rebuilding with the Mississippi Arts Commission
Mark Morris. Photo by Amber Star Merkens

Hearing a Different Drummer

In Step with Mark Morris
ArtsReady

ArtsReady

Planning for Post-Crisis Sustainability
An excited Liberian woman casts her presidential ballot in 2005

Alaska Quarterly Review: Liberty and Justice (for All)

Blue Lagoon. Photo by William Wegman

Wegman's World

Video Available
Fred Hersch at the piano

Close Your Eyes and Listen

A Talk with Pianist Fred Hersch
Audio Available
Group photo of a large group on stage.

Where Are They Now?

Catching Up with POL Champs

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