EngAGE is pleased to announce it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Grants for Arts Projects award of $35,000. This grant will support EngAGE in Creativity, our multidisciplinary arts engagement programming. The NEA will award 1,135 Grants for Arts Projects awards totaling more than $37 million as part of its second round of fiscal year 2024 grants.
“Projects like EngAGE in Creativity exemplify the creativity and care with which communities are telling their stories, creating connection, and responding to challenges and opportunities in their communities—all through the arts,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “So many aspects of our communities such as cultural vitality, health and wellbeing, infrastructure, and the economy are advanced and improved through investments in art and design, and the National Endowment for the Arts is committed to ensuring people across the country benefit.”
EngAGE believes that people of all ages, regardless of previous exposure to the arts, can develop an appreciation for art and become practicing artists. Our EngAGE in Creativity programming eliminates barriers by providing accessible, multidisciplinary arts programs ranging from music and dance to writing, acting, and painting, on site at no charge. We dispel pervasive misconceptions such as, “I am not an artist” or “I’m not creative,” by encouraging participation and providing support. To showcase and celebrate participants’ achievements, classes have culminating events such as art exhibits and performances which are open to friends, family, and neighbors.
Our creativity programs are based on research by Dr. Gene Cohen and others who have shown that structured arts education fosters mastery and promotes social engagement – key deterrents to feelings of isolation and loneliness at any age.
We are grateful to the NEA for their support of this important work.
For more information on other projects included in the NEA’s grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.
