Emerson awarded three grants from National Endowment for the Arts

Emerson College has been awarded three Grants for Arts Projects awards from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support Emerson Contemporary, ArtsEmerson and HowlRound Theatre Commons. 

Grants for Arts Projects provides funding opportunities to strengthen the nation’s arts and cultural ecosystem. It is the National Endowment for the Arts’ largest grants program for organizations, with grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. In July 2023, the NEA received 2,129 eligible applications. Emerson’s three projects are among the 1,135 projects across America totaling more than $37 million that were selected during this second round of Grants for Arts Projects fiscal year 2024 funding.

This is the first time the college has received three awards in the same funding round, and it is the first NEA grant received by Emerson Contemporary.

Emerson Contemporary was awarded its grant in the Media Arts category, for the purpose of supporting an exhibition series showcasing underrepresented artists in new media and digital art, and related public programming. The exhibitions will feature both New England and national and international artists, and examine themes such as the climate crisis, loss, collective trauma, and rituals of mourning. Each exhibition will include robust public program activities, intentional educational outreach and community engagement initiatives for Greater Boston.

ArtsEmerson was awarded its grant in the Presenting & Multidisciplinary Works category for the purpose of supporting the presentation of multidisciplinary works and related activities at ArtsEmerson. It will support the presentation of works by Theater Mitu and Beth Morrison Projects, which disrupt the narrative of the racialized prison system and reimagine our shared future as communal radical action.

HowlRound Theatre Commons was awarded its grant in the Theater category for the purpose of supporting HowlRound’s Latinx Theatre Commons Carnaval of New Latinx Musicals, which will evolve the canon by developing three to six new works of musical theater by, for, and about Latine communities. The Carnaval will invite Latine and allied decision-makers and scholars to witness, engage with, and become advocates for the featured artists and pieces.

For more information on the projects included in the National Endowment for the Arts grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.