Arts Council of Fairfax County receives $40,000 for Global Arts Initiative from National Endowment for the Arts. To support diverse cultural arts programs by Fairfax County’s ethnic and immigrant communities.
Fairfax County, VA -The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has announced 971 grants to nonprofit organizations nationwide totaling $74.85 million. The Arts Council of Fairfax County will receive $40,000 for a Global Arts Initiative to support diverse cultural arts programming by ethnic and immigrant communities throughout Fairfax County.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau Fairfax County is one of the most diverse communities in the United States with 9% Black or African American, 17% Asian, 15% Hispanics or Latinos, and 5% from other backgrounds. The Arts Council seeks to encourage arts experiences that are reflective of this diverse community through a new grant program, fostering cultural, social and political exchange through artistic interaction among diverse artists and the Fairfax community.
Arts grants will be awarded in 2015 through a competitive application process to arts organizations and individual artists partnering with non-profit organizations in the county. The Arts Council will be reaching out to diverse groups and conducting workshops with foreign language translation to encourage partnerships and facilitate the grant application process for groups that haven’t applied for funding previously. Detailed information and application guidelines for the Global Arts Initiative will be available in the fall of 2014 on the Arts Council’s website at http://artsfairfax.org/grants. The deadline for the application will be February 18, 2015.
“The new Global Arts Initiative grant program will enable us to better support and highlight Fairfax’s diverse cultural assets. Over 40% of the Fairfax County population is from diverse ethnic origins. This rich diversity can be celebrated and made more accessible to residents and visitors through the arts. We hope this initiative will serve as a catalyst for community building and tourism.”
– Linda S. Sullivan, President & CEO, Arts Council of Fairfax County
“Ballet Folklorico Mi Herencia Mexicana’s mission promotes and preserves Mexican folklore to create public awareness and appreciation of our Mexican heritage. The Global Arts Initiative will be a great service to the ethnic community in Fairfax.”
– Isidro and Jessica Galvez, Founding and Artistic Directors, Ballet Folklorico Mi Herencia Mexicana
“We are delighted about the Global Arts Initiative. Our organization is based in Chantilly, Sully District. This new opportunity would strengthen our mission to raise awareness of Indian culture in the local community, and to serve as an India focused integrated center for educational, social, cultural and recreational services.”
– Dhananjaya Kumar, President, India International School and Cultural Center
“We are so excited about the additional funding opportunity to support diverse programming in the county. Our dance troupe is based in Annandale, Mason District. We feature over 60 dancers of all ages and offer over 20 performances annually in various arts & cultural festivals throughout the region. Additional funding would enable us to expand our programming to more audiences educating them about our cultural heritage.”
– Stella Choi, Artistic Director, Fairfax Chinese Dance Troupe
“The NEA is pleased to announce that the Arts Council of Fairfax County is recommended for an NEA Art Works grant. These NEA-supported projects will not only have a positive impact on local economies, but will also provide opportunities for people of all ages to participate in the arts, help our communities to become more vibrant, and support our nation’s artists as they contribute to our cultural landscape.”
– Joan Shigekawa, Acting Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts
The arts drive private-sector investment. For every dollar invested by the NEA, grantee organizations raise an additional $9 in support from other, non-federal sources; and according to a 2012 economic impact study by Americans for the Arts the nonprofit arts industry and their audiences in Fairfax County generate $79 million in economic activity. The Arts Council is one of six Fairfax organizations that received a total of $235,000 in NEA Art Works grants. The Fairfax organizations receiving NEA funding are American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras, Arts Council of Fairfax County, Association of Writers & Writing Programs, Fall for the Book, George Mason University, and Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts.
See the press release: http://artsfairfax.org/test2/news/blog/press-releases
About the Arts Council of Fairfax County
Founded in 1964, the Arts Council of Fairfax County, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization designated as Fairfax County’s local arts agency. It is the only umbrella organization serving and representing all forms of art in Fairfax County. The Arts Council of Fairfax County is the voice of the arts, dedicated to fostering dynamic and diverse local arts, ensuring that arts thrive by providing vision, leadership, capacity building services, advocacy, funding, education, and information.
The Arts Council is funded in part by Fairfax County, corporations, foundations, individuals, and the Virginia Commission for the Arts, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.