The National Endowment for the Arts will award over $84 million, distributed through 1,144 grants for organizations across the country, as part of its second round of funding in the 2020 fiscal year. Funds will reach institutions across all 50 states, as well as Washington, D.C., and each of the five U.S. territories.
These funds are in addition to support provided by the CARES Act in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Typically, the rollout includes descriptions of the projects the grants will support. However, as the health crisis has drastically altered how patrons experience these works, details on the awards are limited as theatre companies and more evolve. After grants were approved at the end of March, the agency worked with organizations to adjust their projects to a virtual landscape or a postponed timeline.
Among the 276 grants awarded to New York organizations are funds for Brooklyn Academy of Music ($50,000), La MaMa ($30,000), Lincoln Center ($130,000 across presenting, education, and media disciplines), Musical Theatre Factory ($53,000), The New Group ($20,000), The Public Theater ($100,000), and Soho Repertory Theatre ($35,000).
The NEA distributes grants through four simultaneous programs: Arts Works (for projects that celebrate creativity and humanity—this year applicants were encouraged to highlight work honoring the Women’s Suffrage Centennial), Our Town (for local, community-driven initiatives), Research Grants, and State and Regional Partnership Agreements.
For the full list of grantees, which also includes classical music and dance companies, film forums, public park installations, museums, and non-profit publishing firms, visit Arts.gov.
The NEA has routinely faced elimination in President Trump's budget proposals, prompting artistic leaders to speak out. In the video below from 2017, the late Harold Prince delivers to Playbill a plea to protect the federal agency.
