The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) today announced $638,000 in grants to 20 Seattle arts groups for fiscal year 2012.
Among the local recipients: 826 Seattle ($36,000 to support Creating a Community of Young Authors, a free writing program); Arts Corps ($35,000 to support year-long arts education residencies in Madrona Elementary School in Seattle); Book-It Repertory Theatre ($10,000 to support Book-It All Over, a touring educational program); 4Culture ($35,000 to support 4Culture’s Site Specific program, producing an annual series of innovative events in non-traditional settings throughout King County); Pratt Fine Arts Center ($15,000 to support the Master Artist and Artist-in-Residence programs); Seattle Arts and Lectures ($35,000 to support Writers in the Schools, a residency and professional development program for students and their teachers); and Shunpike ($20,000 to support the Partner Artists program, which provides fiscal sponsorship and back-office services to art groups across the state).
In all, the NEA invested more than $77 million awarded through 928 grants to not-for-profit, national, regional, state and local organizations nationwide. Washington state art organizations received more than $1.6 million, with $804,000 going to the Washington State Arts Commission through the NEA’s partnership grants, which supports state and regional arts organizations. See the full list of funded Washington state arts organizations on the NEA’s website.
NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman said, “The arts should be a part of everyday life. Whether it’s seeing a performance, visiting a gallery, participating in an art class, or simply taking a walk around a neighborhood enhanced by public art, these grants are ensuring that across the nation, the public is able to experience how art works.”