OKLAHOMA CITY (January 22, 2020) – The National Endowment for the Arts has announced investment in four Oklahoma projects totaling $115,000 as part of the federal arts agency’s first round of funding for its 2020 fiscal year. The grants will serve Oklahomans across the state.
“This round of National Endowment for the Arts’ funding will make possible several projects that have deep and meaningful connections to Oklahoma,” said Oklahoma Arts Council Executive Director Amber Sharples. “Funding will benefit students statewide whose creative futures are boundless. It will empower the creation of a ballet that, in commemorating the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, memorializes one of our state’s most defining moments. It will invest in preserving the only authentically American approach to architecture, established right here in Oklahoma. And, it will support a landmark exhibition of artwork that reflects the creative achievements of a group of remarkable Native American women artists, including several Oklahomans. We are grateful that the National Endowment for the Arts recognizes the merit of supporting of these projects.”
Oklahoma projects earning grants are:
Oklahoma Arts Institute ($40,000) – to support the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain. The summer institute is a nationally recognized two-week residential school that provides professional training to Oklahoma high school students across artistic disciplines. Faculty artists include winners of the Pulitzer Prize and Academy, Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Awards.
Oklahoma City Ballet ($10,000) – to support the creation and presentation of choreographer Robert Mills’ “A Little Peace,” a work that commemorates the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City in 2020.
University of Oklahoma ($20,000) – to support the creation of an interactive online architectural history database about the American School of Architecture. In the 1950s and 60s, the school developed what is considered the only authentically American approach to architecture.
Philbrook Museum of Art ($45,000) – to support the exhibition and related programming of “Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists,” the first major thematic show exploring the artistic achievements of Native women. In organizing the groundbreaking show, the Minneapolis Institute of Art relied on collaboration with a group of Native artists, curators, and Native art historians that included numerous Oklahomans. The show features more than 115 works of art including “Women’s Voices at the Council,” a painting from the Oklahoma State Art Collection by Joan Hill (Muscogee Creek/Cherokee).
The next deadline for National Endowment for the Arts grant applications is February 13 in the Grants for Arts Project category. Oklahoma organizations are strongly encouraged to apply.
