The City of Austin Economic Development Department has been selected to receive a $500,000 American Rescue Plan grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to help the arts and cultural sector recover from the pandemic. The City will incorporate this funding into overall relief program efforts with anticipated distribution in the latter half of 2022.
“The NEA’s significant investment in local arts agencies, including the City of Austin, is a key element in helping the arts and culture sector recover and reopen, while ensuring that the American Rescue Plan funding is distributed equitably,” said Ann Eilers, NEA’s acting chair. “These grants recognize the vital role of local arts agencies and will allow them to help rebuild local economies and contribute to the well-being of our communities.”
“We are grateful to be approved for this funding from the National Endowment for the Arts,” says Sylnovia Holt Rabb, Acting Director for the Economic Development Department. “Our local arts organizations are critical to the foundation of Austin’s creative culture. We are proud to extend funding through the Cultural Arts Division to support arts education and make a lasting impact towards economic recovery.”
The Economic Development Department will develop programming to utilize the $500,000 award for sub-granting to eligible Austin arts education organizations and teaching artists. The Cultural Arts Division will manage the funds and will subgrant to individual teaching artists and organizations offering arts education activities, with a focus on underrepresented artists and organizations led by and actively serving communities of color. Funds can be used to support staff salaries, contracted personnel, facility fees, PPE and marketing expenses as well as to support artist fees/stipends relating to arts education activities like classes, workshops, and/or curriculum development.
This round of funding is the second of three installments of the NEA’s American Rescue Plan allocations. It totals over $20 million dollars awarded to 66 local arts agencies nationwide for subgranting. Last April, the NEA announced that 40 percent of its $135 million in ARP funding would be allocated to 62 state, jurisdictional, and regional arts organizations for regranting through their respective programs. The third installment of ARP funding to arts organizations to support their own operations will be announced in early 2022.
For more information on the NEA’s American Rescue Plan grants, including the full list of local arts agencies funded in this announcement, visit www.arts.gov/COVID-19/the-american-rescue-plan.
As additional economic recovery programs are developed, all eligibility details will be available on www.ATXrecovers.com.
### About the City of Austin Economic Development Department
The City of Austin Economic Development Department supports business growth, creative industries, and local communities. These programs build an equitable, sustainable economy to improve the lives of all Austin residents. To learn more about helpful resources, visit www.austintexas.gov/edd or follow us @AustinEconDev on Facebook and @AustinEconDev on Twitter. | 
