NEA Research Awards Application Deadline Approaching

From National Endowment for the Arts –

Deadline: March 25, 2024

Research Grants in the Arts supports research studies that investigate the value and/or impact of the arts, either as individual components of the U.S. arts ecology or as they interact with each other and/or with other domains of American life. The NEA will award 18 organizations grants totaling of $1,024,755.

Examples include:

• A $99,755 award to Rochester Institute of Technology in New York to support a mixed-methods research study on the availability and effectiveness of access accommodations for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals experiencing live theater.
• A $90,000 award to the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia to support a series of studies to develop a more inclusive measure of arts participation. Using established survey instruments such as the NEA’s Survey of Public Participation in the Arts and Arts Basic Survey, the project has the potential to benefit researchers and cultural and civic organizations and leaders seeking to better understand the relationships between the arts and community cohesion.
• A $45,000 award to University of Arkansas Main Campus in Fayetteville to support case studies examining the importance of collegiate jazz programs to the jazz ecosystems in three U.S. cities: Kansas City, Missouri; Portland, Oregon; and Atlanta, Georgia. Selected cities represent areas with varied and expansive jazz infrastructures not solely reliant on a collegiate program.

NEA Research Labs are grounded in the social and behavioral sciences and support transdisciplinary research teams investigating the value and impact of the arts for the benefit of both the arts and non-arts sectors. In total, 30 NEA Research Labs are operating nationwide.

Examples include:       

• A $150,000 award to the University of Southern California to support a research agenda and associated studies to be designed and implemented by the Brain and Music Lab within the university’s Brain and Creativity Institute. Researchers will conduct a series of studies examining the effects of music engagement on hearing, communication, and psychosocial well-being of individuals with or at risk for Alzheimer’s disease, and their caregivers.
• A $100,000 award to the University of Oregon to support a research agenda and associated studies to be designed and implemented by the Oregon Folklife Network. Researchers will study the impacts of traditional arts apprenticeships on artists and culture-bearers and the communities they serve, with a near-term goal of improving national data collection and reporting from an equity perspective.

This year’s Research Grants in the Arts application deadline is Monday, March 25, 2024. Visit arts.gov for guidelines and application resources.