National Endowment chairman: Arts needed more than ever

On average, 35% of the agency’s grant money is awarded to nonprofit organizations that serve low-income or under-served populations such as people with disabilities and veterans; and, 42% of grants take place in high-poverty neighborhoods.

On Sept. 29, 1965, a bright sunny day in the White House

Rose Garden, President Lyndon Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act into law, which created the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. President Johnson, like John Kennedy before him and many others throughout America’s history, understood the arts’ importance in America, and recognized the vital role the government can play in supporting the country’s artistic legacy.

In the enabling legislation, it states, “While no government can call a great artist or scholar into existence, it is necessary and appropriate for the Federal Government to help create and sustain not only a climate encouraging freedom of thought, imagination, and inquiry, but also the material conditions facilitating the release of this creative talent.”

Now, 55 years later, the National Endowment for the Arts continues to carry out its public service mandate through its commitment to supporting America’s creativity and cultural heritage through the prudent and professional stewardship of taxpayer money.

In fact, the Arts Endowment remains the only grantmaker in the country that provides funding for the arts in every congressional district in America. By supporting artistic excellence, forging partnerships with regional, state, and local arts agencies across America, promoting lifelong arts education, and improving access to the arts for all people, the agency strengthens America’s deep-rooted spirit of ingenuity and innovation, nurtures us through beauty and joy, and quite simply makes our nation a more vibrant place to live.

Since its inception in 1965 through 2019, the Arts Endowment had awarded 154,000 grants totaling $5.5 billion. In every state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories, the Arts Endowment has awarded grants to local arts organizations that not only create and sustain jobs in the state’s arts sector, but have an enduring, positive impact on its residents.

And who benefits from Arts Endowment grants? On average, 35% of the agency’s grant money is awarded to nonprofit organizations that serve low-income or under-served populations such as people with disabilities and veterans; and, 42% of grants take place in high-poverty neighborhoods. In addition to providing funding for murals, concerts, exhibits, festivals, and literary fellowships, millions of other Americans over the years have participated in the agency’s national initiatives programs such as Poetry Out Loud, the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read, and Blue Star Museums.

In the twenty years between 2001 and 2020, the Arts Endowment awarded 1,142 grants totaling $42,806,450 to the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, local arts organizations and individuals in Florida. Included among these recipients were the Orlando Repertory Theatre, the University of Central Florida and the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts in Orlando.

More than ever, right now, we need the arts as the nation faces economic uncertainty and social unrest. The arts are an economic engine for our communities. As reported earlier this year, the arts contribute more than $877 billion dollars annually to America’s GDP. Furthermore, the arts are a powerful antidote against bigotry and hate. The arts can and should be used to build bridges, promote tolerance, and heal social divisions.

And just think how much more difficult it would be for you and your family to endure the isolation and separation caused by the pandemic if not for art forms like books, music, and movies.

So today, as the National Endowment for the Arts — your federal arts agency — commemorates its 55th anniversary, I invite you to join me in celebrating how, alongside artists, arts organizations, educators, patrons, and audiences nationwide, we have helped our arts and culture sector thrive, and have allowed the United States to serve as a global beacon of creativity and imagination.