1: Access to Artistic Excellence

To encourage and support artistic excellence; preserve our cultural heritage; and provide access to the arts for all Americans.

Other Information:

Program Outcome Goals: Through direct grant awards:• Artists and arts organizations have opportunities to create, interpret, present,and perform artistic work; • Artistic works and cultural traditions are preserved; • Audiences throughout the Nation have opportunities to experience a wide range of art forms and activities; • The arts contribute to the strengthening of communities; • Organizations enhance their ability to realize their artistic and public service goals. Rationale: The National Endowment for the Arts provides access to the arts throughout the Nation by encouraging applications from a variety of organizations, selecting the best projects, and awarding grants of money. Although government funds represent only a small fraction of the total support to non-profits for arts projects, the Arts Endowment nonetheless plays a vital, catalytic role in providing financial incentives that help to: encourage artistic creation; encourage the presentation of both new and established art works; preserve our cultural heritage; and enable Americans to participate in the experience of the arts through tours and presentations in communities throughout America. Strategies: The Arts Endowment will encourage and support excellence in the arts, both new and traditional, support the preservation of our cultural heritage, and provide access to the arts for all Americans through the careful review of applications and the award of grants for: • Creation of new works, including commissions • Regional and/or national tours • Home-base productions, performances and presentations • Exhibitions • Festivals • Publication and distribution of literary fiction • Readings • Screenings • Artists’ communities and residencies • Professional development and training• Individual fellowships for creative writing and translation • Preservation of cultural heritage • Conservation • Documentation • Multi-State presentations • Broadcasts • Audience Development Performance Measures: • Total number and aggregate dollar value of grants which encourage and supportartistic creativity • Total number and aggregate dollar value of grants which support the preservation of our cultural heritage • Total number and aggregate dollar value of grants which make the arts morewidely available • Total number of concerts/readings/performances • Total number of works conserved, repaired, restored, documented • Total number of residencies • Total number of individuals benefiting from projects (divided into broadcasting and non-broadcasting) which make the arts widely available Qualitative measure: In addition to the quantitative measures of Access to Artistic Excellence programs, a qualitative evaluation process is currently being explored at the Arts Endowment. Given our available resources, we are considering a process that, each year, will gather a small sample from the programs funded and assign an independent evaluator to assess the project’s quality and impact.

Objective(s):

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