Grant to support first-time residencies for 10 artists from diverse backgrounds.
Ten artists from across the United States will be able to work at The MacDowell Colony for the first time in 2015, thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. NEA Chairman Jane Chu announced that The MacDowell Colony is one of 919 nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant.
NEA Chairman Jane Chu said, “I’m pleased to be able to share the news of our support through Art Works, including the award to The MacDowell Colony. The arts foster value, connection, creativity and innovation for the American people and these recommended grants demonstrate those attributes and affirm that the arts are part of our everyday lives.”
The NEA grant will allow MacDowell to continue its outreach to artists nationwide who have never worked there before. On average, more than two-thirds of MacDowell Fellows come to the Colony for the first time. Cheryl A. Young, MacDowell’s executive director, says support for first-time residencies helps the Colony continue as a leader in identifying new artistic talent.
“The NEA has always been a champion of artists, and we appreciate their partnership in helping us to reach new populations of artists,” Young said. “The beauty of this grant, aside from its recognizing artists from various disciplines, is that it means recipients will also reflect a diversity of geographies, cultures, gender, and ages. It will add to the experiences of other MacDowell Fellows as artists come together to discuss their creative processes, and will enrich the surrounding community by way of our community engagement efforts.”
The 2015 grant will help fund fellowships covering all residency costs for participating artists. Fellowships provide use of a private studio building, all meals and accommodations, and opportunities to exchange ideas with other talented artists of various disciplines. Panels of experts in each discipline select applicants based on talent demonstrated by recent work samples. MacDowell provides residencies to more than 275 artists each year. In addition to fellowship support, nearly 40 percent of those artists receive needs-based financial aid to help defray the costs of travel and taking time off during the residency.
Art Works grants support the creation of art, public engagement with art, lifelong learning in the arts, and enhancement of the livability of communities through the arts. The NEA received 1,474 eligible applications under the Art Works category, requesting more than $75 million in funding. Of those applications, 919 are recommended for grants for a total of $26.6 million.
For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, please visit the NEA website at arts.gov. Follow the conversation about this and other NEA‐funded projects on Twitter at #NEAFall2014.
