PRESENTING: Access to Artistic Excellence

Introduction

Access to Artistic Excellence encourages and supports artistic creativity, preserves our diverse cultural heritage, and makes the arts more widely available in communities throughout the country. While projects in this category may focus on just one of these areas, the Arts Endowment recognizes that many of the most effective projects encompass both artistic excellence and enhanced access. Support is available to organizations for projects that do one or more of the following:

• Provide opportunities for artists to create, refine, perform, and exhibit their work.
• Present artistic works of all cultures and periods.
• Preserve significant works of art and cultural traditions.
• Enable arts organizations and artists to expand and diversify their audiences.
• Provide opportunities for individuals to experience and participate in a wide range of art forms and activities.
• Enhance the effectiveness of arts organizations and artists.
• Employ the arts in strengthening communities.

The Arts Endowment is particularly interested in projects that extend the arts to underserved populations -- those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability. This is achieved in part through the use of Challenge America: Reaching Every Community funds.

Please note: Congress has prohibited the Arts Endowment from making direct grants to individuals except for Literature Fellowships, NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships, NEA National Heritage Fellowships in the Folk & Traditional Arts, and National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honors.

Deadlines

Applications will be accepted under two deadlines: March 10, 2008, and August 11, 2008. The Access to Artistic Excellence category provides support for projects that include but are not limited to:

March 10, 2008, Application Deadline
January 1, 2009, Earliest Beginning Date for Arts Endowment Period of Support

• Artist communities and residency programs.
• Training programs for artists.
• The creation, commissioning, touring, and/or presentation of new or remounted works. This may include performances, exhibitions, festivals, residencies, lecture-demonstrations, and workshops as well as work that integrates a range of digital technology.
• Outdoor festivals and programs including site-specific work, outdoor historical dramas, and pageants.

August 11, 2008, Application Deadline
June 1, 2009, Earliest Beginning Date for Arts Endowment Period of Support

• Services to artists and arts organizations. This may include arts conferences, professional development for artists and arts organizations, and arts technical assistance programs. Service projects that focus on a single discipline should apply through that discipline. Applicants such as arts and business councils or lawyers for the arts organizations should apply through Local Arts Agencies under the March 10 deadline.
• The documentation, preservation, and conservation of significant material about the field.
• Publications (e.g., magazines, journals, and online publications) that examine issues in the arts.
• Touring, presenting, and other program activities for underserved communities. This includes First Night activities. (If your project is for children and youth, see "Choosing the Right Category for Children and Youth Projects" to help you in your category selection.)

Application Review

This category uses the agency's traditional method of application review. Applications are submitted to the Presenting staff and are reviewed by a diverse group of arts experts.  

Applications are reviewed on the basis of artistic excellence and artistic merit. For more detailed information on how artistic excellence and artistic merit will be evaluated, see the "Review Criteria." You can find additional information in the "Application Review" section of the "Frequently Asked Questions."

Contact

Presenting Specialist: lims@arts.gov or 202/682-5658

Outcomes

The Arts Endowment has identified five outcomes that it plans to achieve through Access to Artistic Excellence. Each applicant must select the one outcome listed below that is most relevant to its project and indicate this in its application:

1. Artists and arts organizations have opportunities to create, interpret, present, and perform artistic work.

2. Artistic works and cultural traditions are preserved.

3. Organizations enhance their ability to realize their artistic and public service goals.

4. Audiences throughout the nation have opportunities to experience a wide range of art forms and activities.

5. The arts contribute to the strengthening of communities.

If you wish to apply:

CFDA No. 45.024
OMB No. 3135-0112 Expires 11/30/2010
January 2008

National Endowment for the Arts · an independent federal agency
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20506