Twenty-three Georgia arts organizations, 18 of them in metro Atlanta, have been selected to receive grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the agency announced Thursday.
The 23 will be given individual grants from $10,000 to $40,000, through the NEA's Art Works and Challenge America programs, for a total of $405,000. True Colors Theatre Company and the Savannah Music Festival will receive the largest grants, at $40,000 each. Most grants are for $10,000.
There is at least one first-time awardee in this grant cycle, Atlanta's Out on Film Festival, which focuses on the LGBTQ community. The organization will get $10,000.
"This is hugely exciting for us," said Jim Farmer, executive director of Out on Film. "To be recognized on a national level is really great."
Farmer said organizers are still planning the fall 2020 festival, but women filmmakers will be featured. It’s a particularly resonate choice this year, “since they were left out by the Oscars,” he said. No women filmmakers were nominated in the Best Picture or Best Director categories when the 2019 nominees were announced in January by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Art Works grants are given to entities, “that celebrate our creativity and cultural heritage, invite mutual respect for differing beliefs and values,” the NEA said in a statement. Similarly, Challenge America grants support arts organizations that serve communities that have limited access to regular arts programming whether by economics, ethnicity, disability or geography, according to the NEA.
To see a full list of awardees and their projects visit https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/StateListReport-Jan2019.pdf
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