The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has announced that it has recommended more than $57 million in grants to over 500 arts organizations throughout the United States. For this special grantmaking cycle, the organization received more than 7,500 applications.
These grants are part of the American Rescue Plan (ARP), which is intended to provide support for arts and culture organizations who are still recovering from financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NEA is advocating for twenty-five Texas-based organizations to receive a total of $2,550,000, pending official approval from the federal government.
In the press release announcing the grants, Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson, chair of the NEA stated, “Our nation’s arts sector has been among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic… The arts are crucial to helping America’s communities heal, unite, and inspire as well as essential to our nation’s economic recovery.” Glasstire is among the Texas organizations nominated for the grant.
In a separate release by grantee Houston Center for Photography (HCP), the organizations Executive Director and Curator, Dorota Biczel, said, “The impact of the pandemic on arts and culture cannot be overemphasized. In the wake of COVID-19, people were forced to invent whole new lives, away from the organizations they used to cherish. The NEA ARP grant will help us both reconnect with our audiences and engage new publics in a more accessible and equitable way.”
Specifically, HCP intends to use the funds they are receiving to hire a bilingual English-Spanish Communications and Community Engagement Coordinator and expand the accessibility of programs and workshops. A portion of the funds will also support new educational initiatives being set into motion by Education Director, Lou Benjamin.
The NEA has shared the following list (which includes suggested grant amounts) of Texas organizations recommended for the grant.
Austin
Austin Film Society – $150,000
Cine Las Americas – $100,000
Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts – $50,000
Texas Folklife Resources – $50,000
Dallas
Cara Mia Theatre Co. – $50,000
Dallas Black Dance Theatre – $100,000
Dallas Symphony Association, Inc. (aka Dallas Symphony Orchestra) – $150,000
TeCo Theatrical Productions, Inc. (aka Bishop Arts Theatre Center) – $150,000
Houston
Alley Theatre – $150,000
Aurora Picture Show – $50,000
DiverseWorks, Inc. – $50,000
Glasstire – $50,000
Harris County Cultural Arts Council – $150,000
Houston Center for Photography – $50,000
Houston Grand Opera Association, Inc. – $150,000
Houston Symphony Society (aka Houston Symphony) – $150,000
Nameless Sound – $50,000
Project Row Houses – $150,000
Silambam Houston – $50,000
University of Houston (on behalf of Arte Publico Press) – $100,000
McAllen
McAllen International Museum (aka IMAS) – $50,000
San Antonio
Centro Cultural Aztlan, Inc. – $100,000
Luminaria – $150,000
San Antonio Museum of Art – $150,000
SAY Sí – $150,000
