Celebrate the 2024 NEA National Heritage Fellows with Free Events in Washington, DC

National Endowment for the Arts 2024 National Heritage Fellows

Left-right (top): Bril Barrett, Photo by Maia Rosenfield; Fabian Debora, Photo by Eddie Ruvalcaba; Rosie Flores, Photo credit Leslie Campbell; Trimble Gilbert (Gwich'in), Photo credit Photo credit Alex Troutman of Channel Films; Todd Goings, Photo credit Kyle C. Goings for Carousel and Carvings, Inc. (bottom): Susan Hudson (Navajo/Diné), Photo courtesy of the artist; Pat Johnson, Photo by Lauren Adams Willette; June Kuramoto, Photo credit Jamie Itagaki; Sochietah Ung, Photo by Pat Jarrett Virginia Folklife Program; Zuni Olla Maidens, Photo courtesy NCTA Archives

This September in Washington, DC, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) will hold free events to celebrate ten extraordinary artists who shape America’s cultural heritage—the 2024 NEA National Heritage Fellows, recipients of our nation’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.

Submissions Open for 2024-2025 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge

National Endowment for the Arts and the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge. In collaboration with Concord Theatricals, Disney Theatrical Productions, and NMPA S.O.N.G.S. Foundation
The Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in partnership with the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT), is now accepting submissions for the 2024-25 program, an opportunity for high school students to develop and showcase musical compositions that could be a part of a musical theater production.

Announcing the 2025 NEA Jazz Masters

Photos of the 2025 Jazz Masters arranged in a collage with purple, red, blue, and yellow rectangles around the photos. Text reads National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters

(clockwise from top left) Photo of Marshall Allen by Ronnie Boyd, photo of Marilyn Cripsell by Michael Patrick Kelly, photo of Chucho Valdés by InnerCat Music Group, photo of Gary Giddins by Herman Leonard, 

The National Endowment for the Arts announced today the newest recipients of the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship, the nation’s highest honor in jazz. Marshall Allen, Marilyn Crispell, Chucho Valdés, and recipient of the 2025 A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy Gary Giddins will each receive an award of $25,000 and will be honored on Saturday, April 26, 2025, at a free concert in Washington, DC, held in collaboration with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

New NEH-NEA Partnership Will Expand Data Available on Humanities and Arts and Cultural Organizations

Graphic of research statistics
A new interagency partnership between the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts will support the American Academy of Arts & Sciences’ Humanities Indicators project to assess the size and health of the nonprofit humanities, arts, and cultural sectors.

National Endowment for the Arts Leaders Visit Ohio June 27-28

NEA in Ohio June 27-28, 2024 arts.gov/events
Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD, and members of the National Council on the Arts, will gather in Ohio June 27-28, 2024, for the council’s summer meeting.

Announcing the Program Mentors and Cast for Challenge Accepted! A Concert Presenting the Winners of the Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge 
 

Text reading: Join us for Challenge Accepted! Monday, June 17 at 7pm ET. A concert presenting the winners of the Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge for High School Students. Streaming Live from NYC. arts.gov/songwriting. namt.org/challenge. NEA and NAMT logos
Musical theater fans will have the chance to see the fully orchestrated arrangements of the winning songs from the 2023-2024 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge, performed live by Broadway artists during a special concert on June 17 at 7 p.m. ET.

Announcing the 2024-2025 National Endowment for the Arts Big Read Communities

A group of people stand outside holding copies of The House on Mango Street
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), in partnership with Arts Midwest, is pleased to announce grants to 62 nonprofit organizations for NEA Big Read programming in 2024-2025.

Creative Forces Announces Grants for Arts Engagement Projects to Support Military-Connected People

A small group of adults sit at a work table creating medium-sized baskets in an indoor studio setting with natural light.

Veterans learn traditional and experimental basket weaving techniques with VisArts teaching artists Tracy Haines and Patrick Carter at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond. The Visual Arts Center of Richmond will receive a 2024 Creative Forces Community Engagement grant. Photo courtesy of Visual Arts Center of Richmond

Readout of Federal Interagency Working Group on Arts, Health, and Civic Infrastructure Meeting 

On Thursday, May 16, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra participated in the second meeting of the Federal Interagency Working Group on Arts, Health, and Civic Infrastructure. Secretary Becerra and Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson serve as Co-Chairs of the Working Group and provided remarks to open the meeting.

Announcing the Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge Winners

Text reading “Congratulations to the 2024 Winners!” next to the Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge Logo. Headshots of each winner with their name, song title, school, and school location
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) announced today the winners of the 2023-2024 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge, an opportunity for high school students to develop and showcase musical compositions that could be a part of a musical theater production. The winning songwriters will come to New York City this June to work with mentors and refine their songs for a special concert on Monday, June 17, at 7pm ET, available to watch at arts.gov/songwriting and namt.org/challenge.
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