A man performing dance and drum in front of crowd with a group of women dancers.

2025 National Heritage Fellow Peniel Guerrier Peniel Guerrier brings Haitian history and tradition to life through powerful dance and drum. Visit arts.gov/honors/heritage to view tribute videos celebrating the 2025 Heritage honorees. Photo by Hypothetical

Musicians perform on a dramatically lit stage.

NEA Jazz Master Regina Carter performs at the 2023 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert with The String Queens—Kendall Isadore, Elise Sharp Dawn Michelle Johnson—and Shawn Purcell, Michael Bowie, and Alvester Garnett. Photo by Jati Lindsay

On a stage, a man plays the cello, while in front of him a line of four people dance and walk off the stage.

NEA Jazz Masters Marshall Allen, Chucho Valdés, Marilyn Crispell, and Gary Giddins during the finale of the 2025 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert. Photo by Jati Lindsay

Two men are seated on a stage, one playing the oud, another a large hand-held drum.

NEA National Heritage Fellow and oud player Rahim AlHaj performs alongside Issa Malluf at the 2015 NEA National Heritage Fellowships Concert. Heritage Fellowship nominations are open now; visit arts.gov/Heritage for details. Photo by Michael G. Stewart

Female performers onstage. They stand, singing, each gesturing with their raised right hand.

(counter-clockwise from bottom left) The Deaf West Theater production of Spring Awakening, supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. Photo by Joan Marcus, 2015

A chorus and orchestra performing.

Students from Alabama State University, Tuskegee University, and Huntingdon College perform A Time for Jubilee, a new oratoria by Dr. Nkeiru Okoye, supported by an NEA grant to Montgomery Symphony Orchestra. Photo by Jennifer Barker

In a grassy flatland, a man in a cowboy hat looks on while a cowboy rides a horse.

2025 NEA National Heritage Fellow Ernie Marsh, a bit and spur maker and silversmith, watches his brother ride using a bit and spurs he created. Learn more about Marsh and the 2025 Heritage Fellows in our tribute videos at arts.gov/Heritage. Photo by Hypothetical

A group of teenagers pose and laugh together.

Finalists backstage at the 2019 Poetry Out Loud finals in Washington, DC. Tune in to arts.gov to watch the 2026 finals April 28-29, 2026. Photo by James Kegley

Young adults on a stage, applauding. Three are wearing blue ribbons with medals.

State champions compete at the 2025 Poetry Out Loud finals. Tune in to arts.gov to watch the 2026 finals April 28-29, 2026. Photo by James Kegley

A woman in an elaborately embroidered dress speaks to another woman in a blue suit with a red flower in her hair. Between them are framed examples of embroidery and several dolls dressed in little embroidered costumes.

Palestinian embroiderer and honoree Feryal Abbasi-Ghnaim (right) with concert host Martha Gonzalez at the 2018 NEA National Heritage Fellowships concert. Heritage Fellowship nominations are open now; visit arts.gov/Heritage for details. Photo by Tom Pich

What’s Happening at the NEA

Photos of the 2025 NEA National Heritage Fellows on a film strip graphic
The Story of Our Heritage: 2025 NEA National Heritage Fellows Tribute Videos
Watch now!
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Looking, After the Fires: Art, Resilience, and U.S.–Japan Creative Exchange
red, white, and blue border with text reading NEA Grants for Arts Projects Guidelines Now Available
Project-based funding for organizations
Deadline: July 9, 2026.

Stories

See All Stories
A man holds an open old book in an archival space while two women look down at its contents
Read
Celebrating America's 250th Grant Spotlight: People's Light & Theatre Company
A man wearing a cowboy hat looks off into the distance
Watch
NEA National Heritage Tribute Video: Ernie Marsh
Conductor stands in front of an orchestra and choir
Read
Celebrating America's 250th Grant Spotlight: Montgomery Symphony Orchestra

News

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National Endowment for the Arts Awards New Round of Grants Celebrating America’s Birthday
Mary Anne Carter Profile Picture page
Mary Anne Carter Confirmed as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts
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National Endowment for the Arts Awards 50 Grants for Celebrating America250: Arts Projects Honoring the National Garden of American Heroes

Grants

The National Endowment for the Arts awards grants to nonprofit organizations, state arts agencies, and regional arts organizations in support of arts projects across the country.
Go to the Grants section »
Volunteer to be an NEA panelist »

Impact

See the impact of the Arts Endowment on your state, and how the agency's work in research, accessibility, and other areas has had a major impact in the arts and culture of the country.
Go to the Impact section »

Some Facts about the National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency that funds, promotes, and strengthens the creative capacity of our communities by providing all Americans with opportunities for arts participation.

Approximately 2,400 Grants

Recommended for grant awards annually in all 50 states, DC, and U.S. territories.

More than 60 Percent

Percentage of Arts Endowment grants that go to small and medium-sized organizations (budgets up to $2 million).

Approximately 34 Percent

Percentage of Arts Endowment-funded activities in high-poverty communities.

Some Facts from the National Endowment for the Arts

These facts are based on the most recent data (2023) from the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (ACPSA), which is produced jointly by the National Endowment for the Arts’ Office of Research & Analysis and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Commerce Department. The ACPSA tracks the annual economic impact of arts and cultural production from 35 industries, both commercial and nonprofit.

$1.2 trillion

Amount the arts and cultural industries contribute to the U.S. economy.

4.2 Percent

Percentage of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product is accounted for by arts and cultural industries.

Nearly 5.4 Million

Americans work in the arts and cultural industries on payroll.

Some Facts about the National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency that funds, promotes, and strengthens the creative capacity of our communities by providing all Americans with diverse opportunities for arts participation.

62 Cents

The Arts Endowment’s annual cost to each American.

0.003 Percent

The Arts Endowment’s percentage of the federal budget.

Nearly $6 Billion

Amount awarded by the Arts Endowment since its beginning in 1965.

Some Facts from the National Endowment for the Arts

These facts are based on the most recent data (2022) from the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA), a national survey conducted in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau that has allowed cultural policymakers, arts managers, scholars, and journalists to obtain reliable statistics about American patterns of arts engagement.

Utah

The state’s percentage of adults who attended a live performing arts event (62 percent) exceeded that of the national percentage of U.S. adults (38 percent).

Vermont

The percentage of the state’s adults who read a literary work (60 percent) far exceeded the national average (38 percent).

Wisconsin

The state’s adult population created or performed any type of art at a higher percentage (73 percent) than the national average for U.S. adults (52 percent).

Some Facts about the National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency that funds, promotes, and strengthens the creative capacity of our communities by providing all Americans with opportunities for arts participation.

Approximately $8 million

Amount of arts education funding for lifelong learning projects annually.

More than 24 million

Estimated number of people who attend a live arts event annually.

42

Percentage of NEA grants awarded to localities of less than a million people.