The National Endowment for the Arts is a United States federally funded program that offers support and funding for projects that exhibit artistic excellence. It was created by the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its chairman is poet Dana Gioia and has its offices in the Old Post Office in Washington, D.C.

The NEA mission is "to enrich 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."

Between 1965 and 2003, the agency has made more than 119,000 grants. Congress granted the NEA annual funding between $160 and $180 million from the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s. However, in 1996, Congress slashed NEA funding to $99.5 million (see Chronology of Federal Support to the NEA) as a result of increasing pressure from conservative groups such as the American Family Association, who have criticized the agency for using tax dollars to fund highly controversial artists such as Robert Clark Young, Andres Serrano, Robert Mapplethorpe, and the so-called "NEA Four." Since 1996, the NEA has rebounded somewhat with a 2004 budget of $121 million. ^*

It offers grants in three areas:

• Art projects
• Leadership initiatives
• Partnership agreements

Additionally, the NEA awards individual fellowships in literature.

List of Chairpersons

The following people have served as Chairs for the National Endowment:

1. Roger L. Stevens, 1965–1969, appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson
2. Nancy Hanks, 1969–1977, appointed by Richard M. Nixon
3. Livingston L. Biddle, Jr., 1977–1981, appointed by Jimmy Carter
4. Frank Hodsoll, 1981–1989, appointed by Ronald Reagan.
5. John E. Frohnmayer, 1989–1992, appointed by George H. W. Bush
6. Jane Alexander, 1993–1997, appointed by Bill Clinton
7. Bill Ivey, 1998–2001, appointed by Bill Clinton
8. Michael P. Hammond, 2002, appointed by George W. Bush
9. Dana Gioia, 2003–present, appointed by George W. Bush

Further reading

• Donna M. Binkiewicz, Federalizing the Muse: United States Arts Policy and the National Endowment for the Arts, 1965-1980, University of North Carolina Press, 312pp., 2004. ISBN 0807828785.

See also

• National Endowment for the Humanities
• List of National Medal of Arts winners
• NEA Jazz Masters
• National Council for the Traditional Arts

External links

• National Endowment for the Arts website
• Chronology of Federal Support for the Arts (PDF)

Arts councils | Arts in the United States | Great Society programs | Independent Agencies of the United States Government

National Endowment for the Arts