NEA Art Works Grant: Advancing Innovation and Excellence in the Arts

Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), U.S. organizations; units of state or local government; or federally recognized tribal communities or tribes may apply. Applicants may be arts organizations, local arts agencies, arts service organizations, local education agencies (school districts), and other organizations that can help advance the goals of the Arts Endowment.

To be eligible, the applicant organization must:
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Meet the Arts Endowment’s "Legal Requirements" including nonprofit, tax-exempt status at the time of application. (All organizations must apply directly on their own behalf. Applications through a fiscal agent are not allowed.)

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Have a three-year history of programming prior to the application deadline.

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Have submitted acceptable Final Report packages by the due date(s) for all Arts Endowment grant(s) previously received.

An organization whose primary purpose is to channel resources (financial, human, or other) to an affiliated organization is not eligible to apply if the affiliated organization submits its own application. This prohibition applies even if each organization has its own 501(c)(3) status. For example, the "Friends of ABC Museum" may not apply if the ABC Museum applies.

Introduction

The guiding principle of “Art Works” is at the center of everything we do at the NEA. “Art Works” refers to three things: the works of art themselves, the ways art works on audiences, and the fact that art is work for the artists and arts professionals who make up the field.

To make “art work,” the NEA has included the advancement of innovation as a core component of its mission as a way to ensure the vitality of the arts. We recognize that arts and design organizations are often in the forefront of innovation in their work and strongly encourage innovative projects which are characterized as those that:
•Are likely to prove transformative with the potential for meaningful change, whether in the development or enhancement of new or existing art forms, new approaches to the creation or presentation of art, or new ways of engaging the public with art;
•Are distinctive, offering fresh insights and new value for their fields and/or the public through unconventional solutions; and
•Have the potential to be shared and/or emulated, or are likely to lead to other advances in the field.

Through the projects that we support in the Art Works category, we want to achieve the following four outcomes:
•Creation: The creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence,
•Engagement: Public engagement with diverse and excellent art,
•Learning: Lifelong learning in the arts, and
•Livability: The strengthening of communities through the arts.