For its first major national grant funding round of fiscal year 2017, the National Endowment for the Arts has announced that $245,000 will be awarded to nine nonprofit organizations and individuals across Tennessee for grants in the areas of Art Works, Art Works: Creativity Connects, Challenge America and Creative Writing Fellowships. These grants cross all artistic disciplines and also support partnerships between the arts and non-arts sectors.
"The arts are for all of us, and by supporting these projects, the National Endowment for the Arts is providing more opportunities for the public to engage with the arts," said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. "Whether in a theater, a town square, a museum, or a hospital, the arts are everywhere and make our lives richer."
Awardees include $30,000 in the Art Works: Folk and Traditional Arts category for the International Storytelling Association. The grant support Storytelling Live!, a seasonal artist residency program. Master artists representing a broad range of storytelling traditions from the United States and abroad conduct weeklong residencies. In addition to storytelling performances, the artists offer workshops and present special programs to serve seniors and youth.
Other grantees include.
Jubilee Community Arts, Inc. (Laurel Theater) – $15,000 Knoxville, TN, Art Works – Folk & Traditional Arts
Knoxville Museum of Art – $10,000 Knoxville, TN, Challenge America
ArtsMemphis – $25,000 Memphis, TN, Art Works – Local Arts Agencies
Blues City Cultural Center – $10,000 Memphis, TN, Challenge America
Hattiloo Theatre – $40,000 Memphis, TN, Art Works: Creativity Connects
Opera Memphis, Inc. – $15,000 Memphis, TN, Art Works – Opera
Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County, Tennessee (On behalf of Metro Nashville Arts Commission) – $85,000 Nashville, TN, Art Works: Creativity Connects
Nashville Symphony Association (Nashville Symphony) – $15,000 Nashville, TN, Art Works – Music
