Serving a Nation in which Artistic Excellence Is Celebrated, Supported, and Available to All The National Endowment for the Arts provides national recognition and support to significant projects of artistic excellence, thus preserving and enhancing our nation's diverse cultural heritage. This public investment in the nation's cultural life has brought both new and classic works of art to every corner of America. What We Encourage and support artistic creativity and preserve our diverse cultural heritage. Advance learning in the arts. Make the arts more widely available in communities throughout the country. Develop and maintain partnerships that advance the mission of the National Endowment for the Arts. Grants and Awards The Arts Endowment. . . Awards grants to nonprofit organizations to support exemplary projects in the arts, such as performances, exhibitions, commissions, residencies, workshops, and collaborations with artists from other countries. Funds projects in the following disciplines: dance, design, folk and traditional arts, literature, media arts, multidisciplinary arts, museums, music, musical theater, opera, presenting, theater, and visual arts. Supports artistic excellence through its individual fellowships: Creative Writing Fellowships — awarded annually to emerging and mid-level writers of exceptional promise — and American Jazz Masters and National Heritage Fellowships — awarded annually to jazz and traditional artists who have demonstrated a mastery of their art form. Applicants of grants for arts projects may be nonprofit arts or service organizations, federally recognized tribal communities or tribes, official units of state or local government, and other organizations that advance the mission of the Arts Endowment. Applications are evaluated on the basis of artistic merit and excellence. Application guidelines and forms are available on our Web site: www.arts.gov What We Support ARTISTIC CREATIVITY AND PRESERVATION • Projects that provide opportunities for artists to create, refine, and present their work. • Projects that preserve significant works of art and cultural traditions. • Projects that enhance the capacity of arts organizations. Lionel Hampton, 1988 American Jazz Masters Fellowship recipient. LEARNING IN THE ARTS • Projects that provide skills development in the arts for children and youth in early childhood, school-based, and community-based settings. • Professional development programs for teachers, artists, and others engaged in arts learning projects. HITS Theatre of Houston, Texas, works with students on the musical Pippin. ^$5 ^fe <&■ Montana Shakespeare in the Parks has brought quality theatrical productions to more than 500,000 people in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. CHALLENGE AMERICA: ACCESS TO THE ARTS • Challenge America, a program started in 2001, supports the presentation, exhibition, and publication of artistic works for underserved communities, broadening access to and sustaining community engagement in the arts. • Projects include outreach to diverse communities and new audiences, national broadcasts of quality arts performances on television and radio, innovative uses of technology to enhance access to the arts, educational activities that are offered primarily to adults or w intergenerational groups, and I community development. Quileute singer Lilian Pullen participates in Washington State Arts Commissions apprenticeship program in the traditional arts, supported by the NEA. Photo by Lou Corbett PARTNERSHIPS FOR THE ARTS • Through partnership agreements, the Endowment provides funding to state arts agencies and regional arts organizations for projects that foster creativity, preservation, arts learning, and outreach to underserved communities. • Through cooperative agreements, the Endowment joins with major private and public organizations to undertake major national and international arts initiatives. Exemplary Projects We Have Supported Design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC PBS production of Ken Burns' documentary, Jazz Creative Writing Fellowships for writers such as John Irving, Rita Dove, and Sandra Cisneros American Jazz Masters Fellowships for musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, and Dave Brubeck National Heritage Fellowships for folk and traditional artists such as Clifton Chenier, Lem Ward, and Jean Ritchie Mayors' Institute on City Design, established to help mayors improve the design and livability of their cities through interaction with design professionals National College Choreography Initiative in which colleges and universities nationwide recruit professional dance artists to restage classic American dance works or create new works for students Theater Arts Residencies in which playwrights work with local nonprofit theaters to create new plays to perform Coming Up Taller Awards that recognize and support outstanding community arts and humanities programs for children Continental Harmony, a national commissioning program that pairs communities across the country with composers for the creation of new works Over the Line: The Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence, the first major retrospective of the renowned visual artist Jacob Lawrence, Ironers (1943) ^ 1 ( m "A A nation in which artistic excellence is celebrated, supported, and available to all. Our Missio The National Endowment for the Arts enriches our nation and its diverse cultural heritage by supporting works of artistic excellence, advancing learning in the arts, and strengthening the arts in communities throughout the country. www.arts.gov NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20506 202-682-5400