NEA Grants for Arts Projects – Media Arts
Please see the full solicitation for complete information about the funding opportunity. Below is a summary assembled by the Research & Innovation Office (RIO). Note the matching requirement detailed in the Award Information section below. Per NEA guidelines, this call is only for the Media Arts discipline since CU Boulder submitted an application for the February 2023 deadline.
Program Summary
Grants for Arts Projects is NEA’s largest grants program for organizations, providing comprehensive and expansive funding opportunities for communities. Through project-based funding, the program supports opportunities for public engagement with the arts and arts education, for the integration of the arts with strategies promoting the health and well-being of people and communities, and for the improvement of overall capacity and capabilities within the arts sector.
Generally, an organization is limited to one application per year in the Grants for Arts Projects category. However, an organization of any artistic discipline may submit one additional application through the Media Arts discipline for the July deadline.
If your organization is submitting an additional application to the Media Arts discipline’s July deadline, the project must be an initiative that builds the capacity and expertise of arts organizations and/or artists to serve a broad public through digital or emergent technology and/or support tech-centered creative practices. Examples of such projects include activities that:
- Develop opportunities for artists, audiences, and learners to create, access, or explore art projects that incorporate new media, creative code, and/or cross-disciplinary collaborations at the intersection of arts and technology.
- Implement field-building initiatives that develop networks across artistic disciplines and relevant industries that invest in tech-centered creative practices and artist-driven explorations of digital or emergent technology.
- Deepen the capacity of arts organizations to deliver tech-centered, digital, and hybrid arts and cultural programs to audiences and learners.
- Support digital infrastructure for the cultural sector at the local, regional, or national level through cross-sector collaboration and programmatic partnerships, training or knowledge-sharing, evidence-based practices, and/or the development of resources.
- Integrate the arts with technology to bridge digital divides, increase digital literacy, and/or broaden engagement with computer science technology within local communities or across different segments of the arts sector.
The NEA recognizes the use of digital and emergent technology in creative media as a dynamic but consistently under-resourced field of artistic practice. Over the next few years, the NEA will invest in greater capacity for arts organizations and artists to offer digital opportunities for arts participation—inclusive of hybrid programming—to reach a broad public, as detailed in its FY2022-2026 Strategic Plan.
Deadlines
CU Internal Deadline: 11:59pm MST May 8, 2023
Sponsor Application Deadline: 9:59pm MST July 6, 2023
Internal Application Requirements (all in PDF format)
- Project Summary (2 pages maximum): Please be sure to address the artistic excellence and artistic merit of the project as described in the review criteria section.
- PI Curriculum Vitae
- Budget Overview (1 page maximum): A basic budget outlining project costs is sufficient; detailed OCG budgets are not required. Applicants must include the source of cost-share/matching funds in this budget overview and provide the name(s) from whom they have received commitments of matching support.
- Cost-Share Certification: Applicants must certify that they have confirmed cost-share commitments as part of the internal process and provide the name(s) of those who have committed in the budget overview. See RIO guidance for additional details.
To access the online application, visit: https://cuboulderovcr.secure-platform.com/a/solicitations/6860/home
Eligibility
Applicants must have a three-year history of arts programming prior to the application deadline. Eligible organizations that received American Rescue Plan (ARP) or CARES Act funding may apply to this program as long as there are no overlapping costs during the same grant period. See NEA’s eligibility guidance for full details.
Limited Submission Guidelines
An organization may submit only one application to the FY 2023 Grants for Arts Projects program (i.e., one application per calendar year), but may submit one additional application in through the Media Arts discipline at the July 6, 2023, deadline. The additional application must be for a distinctly different project than what was submitted in February.
Award Information
Grants range from $10,000 to $100,000. All grants require a nonfederal cost share or match of at least 1 to 1.
Award Duration: Up to 2 years
Review Criteria
Applications will be reviewed based on the artistic excellence and merit of the project.
The artistic excellence of the project, which includes the quality of the artists and other key individuals, creative process, works of art, organizations, arts education providers, artistic partners, and/or services involved in the project and their relevance to the audience or communities the project aims to serve.
The artistic merit of the project, which includes the:
- The value and appropriateness of the project to the organization’s mission, artistic field, artists, audience, community, and/or constituency.
- The ability to carry out the project based on such factors as the appropriateness of the budget, clarity of the project activities, resources involved, and the qualifications of the project's personnel and/or partnerships.
- Clearly defined goals and/or proposed outcomes and an appropriate plan to determine if those goals and/or outcomes are met. This includes, where relevant, measures to assess student and/or teacher learning in arts education.
- Evidence of direct compensation to artists, art collectives, and/or art workers.
- As applicable:
- Engagement with individuals whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, race or ethnicity, economics, or disability.
- Ability to strengthen the arts sector through knowledge-sharing and resources.