The National Endowment for the Arts yesterday announced some 631 grants, totaling $29,775,000, as part of the $50 million allotted
to the agency from the federal economic stimulus package. These
grants, established “to support the preservation of jobs that are
threatened by declines in philanthropic and other support during the
current economic downturn,” are in addition to the grants, totaling
$19,799,000, awarded in April to 63 state and regional arts agencies under the stimulus package.
Among the 63 museum grantees just announced are the Baltimore Museum, Cleveland Museum,
Dia Center, Menil Foundation, Phillips Collection, San
Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Studio Museum in Harlem and
Wadsworth Atheneum. Many smaller institutions are also on this list,
including the Allentown Art Museum, Heckscher Museum and Montclair Art
Museum.
The museum grants were in the amount of $50,000 or $25,000, totaling $2,925,000—not a whole lot of museum jobs saved there.
There were also 41 grantees
in the “visual arts category,” including Art in General, the College
Art Association, Creative Time, the Highpoint Center for Printmaking
and Socrates Sculpture Park. These were also in the amounts of $50,000
or $25,000, for a total of $1,725,000.
In other words, the arts stimulus money was spread pretty thin, but had
the symbolic value of underscoring that arts jobs do have a role to
play in the nation’s economic recovery.
Now can they please confirm President Obama‘s nominee for NEA’s chairman?