JANUARY 11, 2023 – New York, NY – In its first major grant announcement of fiscal year 2023, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has named the recipients of federal funding for arts projects. Included in the NEA’s announcement are four Young Audiences Arts for Learning affiliates that were awarded funding in the Grants for Arts Projects and Challenge America categories totaling $70,000.
Young Audiences of Oregon & SW Washington (Portland, OR) was awarded $30,000 towards The Right Brain Initiative, an arts integration and professional development program serving the Portland metro region. The program supports artist residencies and workshops designed to train teachers in facilitating arts-integrated study that meets students' specific needs, with an emphasis on English Language learners, STEAM classrooms, and special education.
Young Audiences of Louisiana (New Orleans, LA) was awarded $10,000 to support early childhood performing arts residencies at New Orleans Public Library locations. Project activities include professional development for teaching artists around the neuroscience of childhood brain development, with a focus on the potential of arts learning to combat learning loss, childhood trauma, and the resulting developmental delays facing very young learners.
Center for Arts-Inspired Learning (Cleveland, OH) was awarded $20,000 to provide professional learning and training for teaching artists in areas such as curriculum development, trauma-aware arts-integration, and creative inclusion of students with disabilities. A focus of the program is serving teaching artists who might not otherwise have access to professional training, with seasoned teaching artists in mentorship roles.
Young Audiences of Massachusetts (Boston, MA) was awarded a $10,000 Challenge America grant in support of a literacy and music program for preschool-age children from low-income communities. As part of the project, teaching artists lead literacy-through-music lessons to equip students with language skills and engage their caregivers in lessons they can complete with the children at home.
Grants for Arts Projects, the Endowment’s largest grant program, covers a range of projects across arts disciplines and fields while supporting engagement with and access to arts learning at all stages of life. Challenge America grants offer support for projects that extend the reach of the arts to historically underserved areas with rich and dynamic cultural identities, promoting equal access to arts in communities across the country.
“Together, these grants show the NEA’s support nationwide for strengthening our arts and cultural ecosystems, providing equitable opportunities for arts participation and practice, and contributing to the health of our communities and our economy,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “I encourage everyone to explore these projects and the ways they help provide inspiration, understanding, and opportunities for us to live more artful lives.”
To find out more about the impact of National Endowment for the Arts grants, visit the NEA website at www.arts.gov.
About Young Audiences Arts for Learning
Founded in 1952, Young Audiences Arts for Learning’s mission is to inspire young people and expand their learning through the arts. We are the nation’s largest arts in education network, comprising local affiliates across the country that collectively impact over 5 million young people each year. The national Young Audiences Arts for Learning network works collaboratively to advance arts in education through advocacy, communications, fundraising, program development, professional learning, and other support. To explore our national network, please visit: www.youngaudiences.org/network
Contact
Lauren Altschuler
Young Audiences Arts for Learning
lauren@ya.org
