Four dancers in orange tops and white skirts perform. There is also a band playing upstage.

JazzAntiqua's LEGACY Teen Ensemble performing "Wade in the Water.” Photo by George Simian

Black man with glasses conducting an orchestra.

Composer Anthony R. Green. Photo by Ben Semisch

Two men stand against a pillar and laugh while holding violins

Wilner Baptiste (left) and Kevin Sylvester of the hip-hop classical duo Black Violin. Photo by Mark Clennon

African-American woman surrounded by quilts.

Carolyn Mazloomi, awarded the 2014 Bess Lomax Hawes NEA National Heritage Fellowship for advocacy in the folk and traditional arts. Photo by Chas. E. Martin

Three men onstage playing music, including a drummer, a bassist, and a man playing table, which are a type of hand drum.

NEA Jazz Master Stanley Clarke performs at the 2022 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert at SFJazz. Photo by Scott Chernis

A man stands in a smithy.

Ornamental ironworker and 1982 NEA National Heritage Fellow Philip Simmons. Photo by Tom Pich

What’s Happening at the NEA

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Celebrate the 2025 NEA Jazz Masters April 24-26!
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National Endowment for the Arts FY 2026 Grant Opportunities
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A Conversation with 2024 NEA Jazz Master Terence Blanchard (Part 2)

Featured News

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A collage of four photos shows groups of people participating in a collection of arts activities. In the center, a text box reads: New NEA Awards Announced! $36 million to support the arts nationwide.
National Endowment for the Arts Supports the Arts with Nearly $36.8 Million in Funding Nationwide
Black woman in yellow hat and flowery shirt stands in foreground with hand on her heart, group of people seated behind her also have hands over the heart, Black man at back plays a trumpet.
National Endowment for the Arts Announces Arts, Health, and Well-being Demonstration Projects
Six actors in elaborate colorful masks perform a Shakespeare play in a school gym
Shakespeare in American Communities Expands to Support Apprenticeships, Community-Based Theater Engagement

Featured Stories

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Blog
Five Facts You Didn’t Know about Presidential Portraits
Wayne Valliere
Video
NEA National Heritage Tribute Video: Wayne Valliere
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Podcast
James Rees
Artist, Arts Educator, and Advocate

Grants

The National Endowment for the Arts awards grants to nonprofit organizations, creative writers and translators, state arts agencies, and regional arts organizations in support of arts projects across the country.
Go to the Grants section »
Volunteer to be an NEA panelist »

Impact

See the impact of the Arts Endowment on your state, and how the agency's work in research, accessibility, and other areas has had a major impact in the arts and culture of the country.
Go to the Impact section »

Some Facts about the National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency that funds, promotes, and strengthens the creative capacity of our communities by providing all Americans with diverse opportunities for arts participation.

Approximately 2,700 Grants

Recommended for grant awards annually in all 50 states, DC, and U.S. territories.

More than 70 Percent

Percentage of Arts Endowment grants that go to small and medium-sized organizations (budgets up to $2 million).

Approximately 33 Percent

Percentage of Arts Endowment-funded activities in high-poverty communities.

Some Facts from the National Endowment for the Arts

These facts are based on the most recent data (2022) from the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (ACPSA), which is produced jointly by the National Endowment for the Arts’ Office of Research & Analysis and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Commerce Department. The ACPSA tracks the annual economic impact of arts and cultural production from 35 industries, both commercial and nonprofit.

$1.1 trillion

Amount the arts and cultural industries contribute to the U.S. economy.

4.3 Percent

Percentage of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product is accounted for by arts and cultural industries.

Nearly 5.2 Million

Americans work in the arts and cultural industries on payroll.

Some Facts about the National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency that funds, promotes, and strengthens the creative capacity of our communities by providing all Americans with diverse opportunities for arts participation.

62 Cents

The Arts Endowment’s annual cost to each American.

0.00337 Percent

The Arts Endowment’s percentage of the federal budget.

Nearly $6 Billion

Amount awarded by the Arts Endowment since its beginning in 1965.

Some Facts from the National Endowment for the Arts

These facts are based on the most recent data (2022) from the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA), a national survey conducted in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau that has allowed cultural policymakers, arts managers, scholars, and journalists to obtain reliable statistics about American patterns of arts engagement.

Utah

The state’s percentage of adults who attended a live performing arts event (62 percent) exceeded that of the national percentage of U.S. adults (38 percent).

Vermont

The percentage of the state’s adults who read a literary work (60 percent) far exceeded the national average (38 percent).

Wisconsin

The state’s adult population created or performed any type of art at a higher percentage (73 percent) than the national average for U.S. adults (52 percent).

Some Facts about the National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency that funds, promotes, and strengthens the creative capacity of our communities by providing all Americans with diverse opportunities for arts participation.

Approximately $8 million

Amount of arts education funding for lifelong learning projects annually.

More than 24 million

Estimated number of people who attend a live arts event annually.

42

Percentage of NEA grants awarded to localities of less than a million people.