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The NEA at 50: Shaping America's Cultural Landscape

American Artscape | 2015 No. 2
Cover of NEA Arts No 2 2015
Chihuly Garden and Glass, a 2012 exhibition by the artist Dale Chihuly (two-time NEA Visual Arts Fellow) in Seattle, Washington. Photo courtesy of Chihuly Studio
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About this Issue

When President Lyndon Johnson signed the National Endowment of Arts into existence on September 29, 1965, he said, “Art is a nation’s most precious heritage. For it is in our works of art that we reveal to ourselves, and to others, the inner vision which guides us as a nation. And where there is no vision, the people perish.”

For the past 50 years, the NEA has been supporting artists and arts organizations that reveal this inner vision. The grants we award have sparked the creation of new artwork; taught generations of children the power of creativity; preserved our artistic heritage; and brought the arts to stages, movie screens, television sets, and public spaces around the country. Through this, the NEA’s history is inextricably linked with the American cultural canon, and has helped shape the diverse cultural landscape this country enjoys today.

In this anniversary issue of NEA Arts, we revisit seven NEA-funded individuals and organizations that have made an outsized impact on American culture. We look at how Jacob’s Pillow has promoted and preserved the field of dance, how Dale Chihuly elevated glassblowing into a fine art, and how the Wolf Trap Institute of Early Learning through the Arts has pioneered bringing arts education to young children. We also showcase Joy Harjo’s contributions to American literature, the impact Earshot Jazz has had in nurturing jazz music in Seattle, how the La Jolla Playhouse helped bring world-class theater beyond New York, and how art helped a community heal after the Oklahoma City federal building bombing in 1995.

As the NEA begins its 50th anniversary celebration, we invite you to join us by celebrating your own relationship with the arts. As President Johnson said 50 years ago, “The arts and the humanities belong to the people, for it is, after all, the people who create them.”

In other words, the arts—and the NEA—belong to you.

Included in this Issue

African-American dancer leaping in air before performing center.

The House That Ted Built

Celebrating and Preserving America's Ephemeral Art at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
Joy Harjo portrait

Joy Harjo

An Unstoppable Force
Woman singing at the mike in a nightclub with people dancing in front of her.

Broadway on the Beach

A Legacy of Community at La Jolla Playhouse
Glass structures hanging from ceiling.

Creating Something No One Has Seen Before

Artist Dale Chihuly
Kids going under a bridge of adult arms.

Starting Young

Wolf Trap's Institute for Early Learning through the Arts
A band playing at a museum.

Improvising with the Community

Seattle's Earshot Jazz
Memorial in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Opening the Heart and Soul

Spiritual and Physical Rebirth after the Oklahoma City Bombing
Headshot.

John Adams

His music Is Contemporary, Classical and Rooted in America
Video Available
Woman on stage in front of a mic.

Understanding The Moth

True Stories Told Live
Video Available

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